THE SCENE: What type of creature is afflicting this medieval Welsh town — evil angel, revenant, or vampire? You decide!
THE TEXT: I know of a strange portent that occurred in Wales. William Laudun, an English knight, strong of body and proved valour came to Gilbert Foliot, then Bishop of Hereford, now of London, and said: “My Lord, I come to you for advice. A Welshman of evil life died of late unchristianly enough in my village, and straightway after four nights took to coming back every night to the village, and will not desist from summoning singly and by name his fellow-villagers, who upon being called at once fall sick and die within three days, so that now there are very few of them left.”
The bishop, marveling, said: “Peradventure the Lord has given power to the evil angel of that lost soul to move about in the dead corpse. However, let the body be exhumed, cut the neck through with a spade, and sprinkle the body and the grave well with holy water, and replace it.”
When this was done, the survivors were none the less plagued by the former illusion. So one night when the summoner had now left but few alive, he called William himself, citing him thrice. He, however, bold and quick as he was, and awake to the situation, darted out with his word drawn, and chased the demon, who fled, up to the grave, and there, as he fell into it, clave his head to the neck. From that hour the ravages of that wandering pestilence ceased, and did no more hurt either to William himself or to any one else. The true facts of his death I know, but not the explanation (cause).
– De Nugis Curialium, Walter Map, 12th Century AD
