One of my readers, a
mysterious figure known only as AcrylicCatt, has brought to my
attention the existence of vampire fruit. Vampire watermelons and
vampire pumpkins, to be exact.
Naturally, I couldn't just
let this one slide.
The belief in vampire
watermelons and pumpkins seems to originate from the Roma people of Kosovo-Metohija, in Yugoslavia. Historian Tatomir
Vukanovic traveled there from 1933 to 1948, while studying the
culture and folklore of the Roma and Serbs. Years later, the tidbit about vampire watermelons (and pumpkins) turned up in Vukanovic's longer essay on Roma vampire folklore, published in the not-so-politically-correct
Journal of the Gypsy Lore Society.
Apparently, the Roma
professed a heartfelt belief in vampire fruit, claiming that
pumpkins, and especially watermelons, were known to develop a taste
for blood and fight one another. They were even said to roll around,
looking to do harm to humans by, presumably, bumping up against them or
something, since they don't have teeth.
 |
| "I vant to suck your bluuuuuuuud...somehow..." |
Watermelons and pumpkins are
said to develop a taste for human blood if they're left outside under
the light of a full moon. Watermelons, apparently, may also turn into
vampires if they're kept longer than ten days. Pumpkins, however, can
turn into vampires if they're kept until after Christmas, or longer
than three years, though I'm not sure how that works out.
 |
| Christmas still comes every year, right? |
Once it has made the
ghastly transformation, vampire ground fruit is said to roll around,
“shaking itself” and growling. I guess they're capable of
moving pretty well under their own steam, hence the “looking for
people to bump up against” part of the legend.
 |
| Maybe they could jump at you? ~ Eric Kilby |
You can tell when your
watermelon or pumpkin has become a vampire, because it will start
weeping blood.
 |
| Like this. |
Don't get freaked out, it's
not really blood. Watermelons start to leak a little after a few
days. It's normal. It's not going to eat you.
 |
| Much. |
You
get rid of vampire watermelons, pumpkins and possibly even gourds the
same way you get rid of lobsters – by plunging them into boiling
water.
 |
| "Please! I have kids!" ~ Jerzy Strzelecki |
Then
you scrub the offending fruit with a “broom” (or a bristle brush,
I'm assuming), discard it, and then burn the broom. Cause, you know,
it's got vampire juice all over it by now.
|
| Something tells me they were putting you on, Vukanovic. |
