All language subtitles for Expedition.Unknown.S02E04.Hunting.Vampires.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP2.0.H.264-BurCyg.en

Gates: This Is Not A Place That
I Want To Be After Dark, Ivo.

For Thousands Of Years, Our
Nightmares Have Had One Name --

Vampire.

The Concept Of The Vampire

Is Something That Has
Real Roots In Romania.

But In The Home
Of The Dracula Legend...

There Is An Open Sarcophagus.

...Can I Finally Dig Up
The Truth Behind Our Fears?

Okay, Creepy Cemetery -- Check.

You Dig Up A Body
And Eat A Heart,

You're Gonna Get
A Little Attention.

Holy [Bleep]

Are You Kidding Me?

[ Wood Cracking ]Something Just Cracked.

[Bleep]

Since The Dawn Of Man,
Monsters Have Appeared

In Our Myths, Our Culture,
And Our Nightmares.

And There's One Type Of Monster

That Casts A Long Shadow
Over All The Rest --

Or No Shadow At All, Actually --

Vampires.

But Where Did The Legend

Of These Nocturnal Bloodsuckers
Come From,

And Could It Be
Based On Something Real?

Nonsense, Right?

Well, That's What I Thought.

But A Series Of Strange Reports
From Eastern Europe

Has Many People
Sleeping With The Lights On.

In A Village
In Southern Romania,

A Group Of Residents
Made Headline News

When They Claimed
A Recently Deceased Man

Came Back From The Dead.

They Exhumed His Body
And Performed

Ancient Anti-Vampire Rituals
On The Corpse,

Including Burning
And Eating His Heart.

And Across The Border
In Bulgaria,

Archaeologists Have Just Made
A Ghastly Discovery --

At A Mystical Site
High In The Mountains,

They've Uncovered
A Vampire Grave.

Was This Strange Burial The
Result Of Superstition,

Or Was There Something About
This Corpse

That Made It More Than Human?

What In The Name
Of The Living Dead

Is Going On In Eastern Europe?

I Intend To Find Out

By Getting To The Bottom
Of These Long-Held Beliefs.

So Pack Your Holy Water,
A Few Wooden Stakes,

And A Clean Pair Of Underwear,
Kids,

Because We're Going
Vampire Hunting.

My Name Is Josh Gates.

With A Degree In Archaeology
And A Passion For Exploration,

I Have A Tendency To End Up
In Some Very Strange Situations.

Good Lord!
[ Laughs ]

My Travels Have Taken Me
To The Ends Of The Earth

As I Investigate
The Greatest Legends In History.

We're Good To Fly.
Let's Go.

This Is...

--Captions By Vitac--
Www.Vitac.Com

Captions Paid For By
Discovery Communications

Morning In Bucharest, Romania.

This Is Eastern Europe
At Its Most Confusing --

A Place Where Stunning
Orthodox Churches

Share Real Estate With
Drab Soviet Apartment Buildings.

If You're Not Careful,
Bucharest Is The Kind Of City

That's Easy
To Be Unimpressed By.

That's The Truth.

It Doesn't Have
The Architectural

Sex Appeal Of Prague.

It Doesn't Have
The Opulence Of Vienna.

After 30 Years
Of Brutal Communist Rule,

Much Of The City It Once Was
Is Gone.

But Something Amazing
Is Happening In Bucharest.

The Bricks Of Communism
Have Crumbled,

And The City Is Getting
A Serious Second Wind.

Restaurants Are Bustling,

There's Music In The Air,

And On The Streets,

There's A Kinetic Energy
That's Impossible To Deny.

I'm Here To Begin My Quest
To Understand

The Long-Standing Belief
In The Vampire,

And To Do That, I'm Going To
Have To Dig Up The Perfect Ride.

♪♪

This Is A Russian
Ural Motorcycle

With Optional
Oak Coffin Sidecar.

It Is Amazing What You Can Find
On Romanian Craigslist.

How You Guys Doing?

[ Cheering ]

I'm Calling It --
Greatest Vehicle Of All Time.

It's Fuel-Efficient,
It's A Serious Head-Turner,

And If You Crash It,

You Can Just Roll Right Into
Your Final Resting Place.

Hi, Guys!

Romania And Vampires
Go Hand-In-Hand.

After All, This Is
The Home Of Transylvania

And The Legendary Dracula.

On My Way
To Meet My First Contact,

I Ride Over To Check Out
The Offerings

At The Peasants' Market.

In These Stalls,
Every Native Dish Of Romania

Is Here For The Tasting,

Including Their Insane Version
Of A Churro.

Whoo!
Hot! Hot!

Ya!

Good Lord, Sir.

That Is A Boiling-Hot
Tube Of Bread.

That's It.

People Say, "What Do You Think
Heaven Looks Like?"

I Can Tell You What Heaven Looks
Like -- It Looks Like This.

A Tube Of Buttery,
Sugared Bread.

That's It.
This Is My Baby Now.

I'm Going To Eat It.

I'm Gonna Eat My Baby.

Eat My Hot, Buttery Baby.

Shh.

This Is More Than A Market,
Though.

It's Also
A Kind Of Time Capsule.

On Every Table, Romania's
History Is Sprawled Out

To Be Haggled Over.

The Market Itself Is Situated In
A Nearly Forgotten Graveyard,

With Headstones
Surrounding The Vendors.

Romania's Past Is Steeped In
Eastern Orthodox Christianity

Commingled With Ancient
Pagan Beliefs And Symbols

Used To Ward Off Evil Forces
Like The Vampire.

Whew.

It Smells Funky
Inside That Mask.

Only A Few Blocks Away Are The
Eerie Remains Of Curtea Veche,

The 15Th-Century Fortress
Of Vlad The Impaler,

Romania's Most Famous Leader.

I'm Meeting With
Historian Oliviu Craznic,

Who Leads Me Down Into
The Catacombs Of The Castle.

We Are Going To The Older Parts
Of The Fortress.

-Uh-Huh.
-Please Watch Your Step.

It's Pretty Dark
Down There.

Sure.
It's Dracula's Basement --

Of Course It's Dark.

Oh, This Is Spooky.

This Was
Dracula's Fortress.

Dracula Was Here.

The Real One.

Amazing.

Surprisingly, Vlad Tepes

Is Nothing Short Of
A National Hero Here In Romania.

He Viciously Defended
Christianity

From The Invading
Islamic Ottomans,

And He Had A Penchant For
Impaling His Enemies On Spikes.

Vlad's Family Was Inducted Into

The Knightly
Order Of The Dragon, Or Dracul.

400 Years After Vlad's Death,
Though, Writer Bram Stoker

Took More Than A Little
Dramatic License With The Story.

With The Stroke Of A Pen,

Vlad Became Count Dracula,

And Dracula Became A Vampire.

But The Roots Of Vampire Belief
Run Much Deeper Here.

The Idea Of The Vampire,
Or The Concept Of The Vampire,

Is Something That Has Real Roots
In Romania, Right?

Yes, Of Course.

The Word "Vampire"
Is Not Used In Romanian Lore.

We Mostly
Call The Monster Strigoi,

Is The Main Word
For The Vampire.

The Strigoi Are The Original
Vampires Of Romania.

Belief In These Creatures
Is Older Than The Bible.

These Are Tortured Souls
That Rise From The Dead

To Drain The Energy
Of The Living.

Do People
In Romania Today

Still Believe Strongly
In The Strigoi?

In The Cities, No.

But Still,
There Are Some Villages

Which Believe
The Strigois Exist.

Not Too Far From There, There's
Even An Abandoned Church.

Some People Believe
There's A Strigoi There,

Coming Out At Night.

You May Want To
Check It Out.

Sounds Like A Place
I Do Not Want To Check Out.

If You Are Wearing A Cross,
You Probably Will Be Safe.

And, So,
What Do You Think?

Do You Think That
There's A Strigoi There?

I Think We Should
Keep An Open Mind

To The Mysteries
Of The Universe.

I Think We Should Investigate,
But We Still Rely On Facts.

And That's Not Far
From The City?

Not Far From The City.

I'm Not Exactly
Buying Oliviu's Story

That There May Be An Actual
Vampire Wandering Around

The Grounds Of A Nearby Church,

But This Kind Of Belief

Is Exactly Why
I'm Here To Investigate.

So, I Drive To
The Very Outskirts Of Bucharest

To See For Myself.

Just As The Sun Goes Down,

I Make It To
The Abandoned Church,

Where The Strigoi
Is Rumored To Be Lurking.

This Was One Of Hundreds
Of Orthodox Churches

That Were Closed And Abandoned

After The Communists
Took Over Romania In 1947

And Tried To Eliminate
What They Called

"A Remnant Of
The Capitalist State."

Churchyard At Night...

Not At All Scary.

Look At This Place.[ Dog Barking In Distance ]

This Place Is Incredible.

Okay, Let's See What's Inside.

Oh, My God, Look At This.

This Is Crazy.

The Entire Tower
Has Collapsed Down

Into The Middle Of The Church.

That Is Insane.

I've Never Seen Anything
Like That.

Whole Tower
Just Fell Into The Room.

This Church Was Dedicated To
St. Andrew,

Which Is A Saint
That Actually Has Ties To

The Strigoi-Vampire Legend.

There's Actually A St. Andrew's
Night Here In Romania

Where People Go Out And Kind Of
Protect Against The Strigoi.

It's Like
A Halloween-Type Night.

So It's No Wonder That
A Church Dedicated To This Saint

That Has Been Ripped Apart
And Destroyed,

That People Might Think That
There Could Be Living Dead Here.

Total Destruction.

If I Was A Strigoi,
Where Would I Come From?

Probably Right Here.

Okay, Creepy Cemetery -- Check.

Oh, Boy.

Holy [Bleep]
Look At This.

There Is An Open Sarcophagus.

Well, Let's See
What's Going On Here.

You Can See These Holes
That Drop Down To The Crypt.

Avoid Those.

Let's See
What's Inside Of This Thing.

Good Lord.

Oh! [Bleep][ Cat Yowls ]

Gates:
In An Abandoned Orthodox Church
Just Outside Of Bucharest,

I'm Investigating
The Legend Of The Strigoi,

The Romanian Vampires

Who Are Said To Rise From
Their Graves After Dark.

Locals Claim That A Strigoi
Has Been Sighted Here,

And While I'm Not As Convinced,

I Am Feeling Creeped Out

As I Try To Get To
The Bottom Of Their Story.

Let's See
What's Inside Of This Thing.

Good Lord.

Oh! [Bleep][ Cat Yowls ]

Cat.

Come On.

That Is Nonsense.

The Old Cat In The Sarcophagus.

I Should Have Seen That Coming
A Mile Away.

I Am Hereby Calling This.

No Strigoi In This Abandoned
Church And Cemetery.

I Think What We've Got Here Is A
Very Powerful Piece Of Folklore

And A Very Scary Location
Working In Concert

To Create, You Know,
A Boogeyman.

Okay.
Let's Go.

If I Find That Cat,
I'm Gonna Kill It.

♪♪

The Next Morning,
I Trade In My Coffin

For A Rattly 4X4 To Make Room
For Petra Rotar,

A Romanian Journalist And Author

Who's Well-Versed On The Modern
Belief In The Vampire.

In America,
When We Think Of Romania,

Or Transylvania,
In Particular,

All We Think About
Is Vampires.

But Then You Do Have These
Old, Strong Folklore Beliefs

About Things
Like The Strigoi.

So There Is Kind Of A Vampire
Belief Thing Happening Here.

Yes, It Is A Very Ancient Belief
And A Very Strong One --

In The Countryside,
Not In The Cities.

Right, Right.

It's One Of Those Rural Areas
Petra Mentioned

Where A Horrific Incident

Recently Made
International Headlines.

From Bucharest,
We Drive Three Hours West

Toward The Town Of Craiova.

Petra Arranges Access To Visit
The Local Police Station,

And The Prosecutor
Who Can Unseal The Case Files

And Explain The Details
Of The Event.

Hello.

Daniela Barbu
Had The Unpleasant Duty

To Charge Six Villagers
In Her Jurisdiction

With Exhuming And Desecrating
A Man's Fresh Grave.

The Villagers Claim
That They Were

Preventing The Man From
Rising As A Strigoi, Or Vampire.

So,
Tell Me About This Case.

[ Speaking Romanian ]

The Prosecutor's Office
Got A Complaint

By The Daughter
Of A Man Named Petre Toma.

She Said That The Dead Body Of
Her Father Was Desecrated.

He Was Buried In The Town,

And Very Short After
They Buried Petre Toma,

The Villagers
Start Feeling Ill

And Having Nightmares
Where They Saw Petre Toma.

[ Whispering Indistinctly ]

Believing That Petre Toma
Has Become A Strigoi,

Six People
From The Village

Went Into The Cemetery
During The Night.

They Dug Up The Body.

They Pulled Out The Heart.

They Grilled It.

And With The Ashes,
They Prepared A Potion,

And Everybody Who Was Ill In
That Village Drank That Potion.

Wow.

That Is Dramatic.

The Six Men Were Convicted
To Six Months Jail

For Desecrating Graves.

And Did They Serve
The Six-Month Term?

It Was Suspended.

-It Was Suspended?
-Yes.

Wow.

And Is It Possible
To Look At The Report?

[ Speaking Romanian ]

Yes, But The Autopsy Photos
Are There,

And They're
Quite Disturbing.

These Are
The Autopsy Photos?

Yeah.

Oof.
Wow.

The Gruesome Autopsy Photos
Need No Translation.

This Crime Is A Horror
In Any Language.

Oof.

Wow.

It's Really --
It's Hard To Look At.

It's Very Violent.

Very Graphic.

And How Far Is This Village
From Here?

Less Than One Hour Away.

So, What's The Name
Of This Village?

-Marotinu De Sus.
-Marotinu De Sus.

Have Other People Gone Down To
This Village To Talk To Them?

-Yes.
-How Did That Go?

The Last Group
That Went There,

They Were Chased Away
By The Villagers.

Like, Actually
Chased Out Of The Town?

Yes.

Well, You Know, You Dig Up
A Body And Eat A Heart,

You're Gonna Get
A Little Attention.

I Mean, Right?

They Would Like To
Bury All That Stuff.

That's What We Call A Bad Pun,
Petra.

After Several Hours
On The Road Together,

Petra And I Have Kind Of A
Tracy-Hepburn Thing Going On.

And I Will
Hide Behind You.

Mostly, I'm Just Hoping
She Keeps Me

From Getting My Ass Kicked
In This Town.

Do You Have A Gun?

No, I Don't Have A Gun.
Do You Have A Gun?

No.
Do You Know How To Fight?

Do I Know How To Fight?

No Karate Moves?
Nothing?

Nothing.
No Karate Moves.

I'm A Lover, Not A Fighter,
Petra.

[ Laughs ]

Then We Are [Bleep]

[ Laughs ]

Marotinu De Sus.

Looks Friendly Enough.

You Have Shivers?

Not Yet.

There Is The Cemetery.

There She Is.

♪♪

Since The Villagers Have Been

Extremely Hostile
Toward Outsiders,

I'm Eager To See Toma's
Gravestone Firsthand,

And Then Get Out Of Here
As Fast As Possible.

This Is It.

-You Found It?
-Yeah.

Toma, Petre.

Here?

So, Toma, Petre.

Born 1937.

So, This Was
What They Removed?

They Broke Out
The Edge Of The Tomb?

Yes.

That's Amazing.

It's Just Incredible To Think
That Something Like This

Could Happen In
The Modern World, You Know?

I Know, Dude.
This Is...

Shocking For Me, Too.

I Don't Know.
Just Being Here Makes It Seem --

Uh-Oh, We Got Incoming.

-[ Speaking Romanian ]
-[Bleep]

-You Got This?
-They're Upset.

Yeah, Thank You,
I Get That.

[ Speaking Romanian ]

Uh-Oh, We Got Incoming.

-[ Speaking Romanian ]
-[Bleep]

Gates: While Examining
The Grave Of A Romanian Man

Believed By Villagers
To Be A Real-Life Vampire,

My Translator And I
Are Accosted

By Several Members
Of The Local Welcome Wagon.

-You Got This?
-They're Upset.

Yeah, Thank You,
I Get That.

[ Speaking Romanian ]

Hello.

[ Conversation In Romanian ]

I --
Let's All Just Stay Calm.

Petra Does Some Quick Talking
And Defuses The Situation.

She Explains That We're Only
Here To Learn About The Strigoi,

And The Men Calm Down
Enough To Talk.

[ Speaking Romanian ]

He's Saying That They're Upset
That We Are Here.

Okay, So We Can Leave.
It's Okay.

We Can Leave.

But We're Not
Disturbing Anything.

[ Speaking Romanian ]

What's He Saying?

This Guy Is Related With
A Man Who Dug Up The Body.

He's Related To One Of The
People That Dug Up The Body?

-Yeah.
-He's In Your Family?

Yes.

Does He Think It's Possible
That We Could Talk With Him?

[ Speaking Romanian ]

[ Speaking Romanian ]

Yeah,
He Can Take Us To Him.

You Can? Yeah?

-Yes.
-Okay.

The Man,
Whose Name Is Florin,

Agrees To Introduce Us
To His Relative.

It's An Offer I Can't Refuse.

Petra, On The Other Hand,

Isn't So Eager
To Continue Here After Dark,

So We Part Ways.

This Means That
I'll Be Traveling Alone

With A Complete Stranger

To Meet A Cannibal
Romanian-Vampire-Killer.

Not My Ideal Saturday Night.

Whoa.

A Lake.

He Lives Here?

He Lives Across.

-He Lives Over There?
-Yes.

Florin's Cousin Mitrica,

The Man Who Helped Exhume
Petre Toma,

Lives On A Swampy Island
Across The Lake.

-You Ready?
-Ready.

Here We Go.

♪♪

I Did Not Think I Was Gonna
End Up In A Rowboat Today.

-Very Nice Night.
-Yes.

-Beautiful.
-Beautiful Night.

Yes.

I Feel Like
I'm On A Date Out Here.

Have You Ever Seen
"The Little Mermaid"?

Do You Know
"The Little Mermaid"?

"Little Mermaid"?
No?

No.

Just Reminded Me
Of Something.

By The Time We Reach The Island,
Darkness Is Falling.

-Okay? Yeah.
-Okay.

As We Leave The Boat
And Head Into The Woods,

I'm Both Intrigued
And Nervous

About Meeting
Florin's Cousin.

This Way.

What Kind Of A Man Could Commit
Such A Horrific Act,

And How Will He React
To Meeting Me?

Soon, I See The Light
Of A Ramshackle Cabin...

And I Come Face-To-Face
With Mitrica Mircea.

Nice To Meet You.

He Greets Me
With A Handshake,

But I Can't Say
That I Feel At Ease

Out Here
In The Middle Of The Woods.

Thank You Very Much
For Talking With Me.

I Appreciate It.

[ Speaking Romanian ]

I've Read About This Story,
About This Man, Petre Toma.

You Were Involved
In That Story, Yes?

[ Speaking Romanian ]

Interpreter: Yes, I Was
The Leader Of The Group.

Several People In The Village
Became Ill.

In Their Sleep, They Saw Visions
Of Petre Toma,

Who Had Recently Died.

So We Took Action.

When You Opened The Grave,
Did The Man Look Like A Strigoi?

Was There Anything Strange
About His Body?

When I Opened The Grave,

Toma Had Blood
In The Corners Of His Mouth,

And His Beard And Nails
Had Grown.

These Are The Signs
Of The Strigoi.

Do You Understand Why
Somebody Would Be Upset

That This Happened?

People Were Sick.

We Performed The Ceremony
And They Got Better --

Immediately Better.

What We Did Saved Them.

Gates:
Mitrica Isn't Backtracking
A Single Step On His Actions.

Not Only Is He Not Sorry,

He's Convinced
That He Was Right

To Dig Up
His Neighbor's Grave.

I Saw The Photographs Of --
Of What You Did To That Body.

And What About Guilt?

Do You Ever Feel Bad
About What You Did?

Absolutely Not.

You Do Not Understand.

This Is Not One Event.

This Has Happened
Many Times.

To Learn That This Is Not An
Isolated Incident Is Shocking.

It Turns Out
That In Many Romanian Burials,

People's Hearts Are Pierced
With A Pin Or Thorn

To Prevent Them From Becoming
Strigoi In The First Place.

What We Did,
We Did To Save People.

Mm-Hmm.
I Can Certainly See That.

You Really Believe That What
You Did Was For A Good Cause.

Thank You For Your Time.
I Appreciate It.

Mitrica May Have Conviction,

But That Doesn't Make Him
A Medical Expert.

It Turns Out
That Blood Often Appears

In The Corner Of Corpse's Mouths
Due To Internal Hemorrhaging,

And Hair And Nails Do Not
Continue To Grow After Death,

But Appear To, As The Skin
Shrinks Around Them.

As To Why The Villagers Fell
Ill, Had Visions Of Petre Toma,

Or Were Cured By The Ritual,
I Simply Don't Know.

I Want To Say It's The Power
Of Hysterical Belief,

But I'm Not Gonna Hang Around
These Woods To Find Out.

My Trip Through Romania
Has Been A Firsthand Lesson

In The Power Of Folklore
And Superstition.

But Where Do These Beliefs
Come From,

And Could They Be Based On
Something Real?

To Continue
My Search For Answers,

I'm Headed To Bulgaria,

Where Archaeologists
Have Recently Made

A Stunning Discovery
Of An Ancient Vampire Grave.

I Head Due South

And Approach The Border Crossing
Of The Two Countries,

Which Is Delineated By
The Danube River.

After Adding A Passport Stamp
To My Collection --

Number 97,
Not That I'm Counting...

Ciao....I Board A Ferry

To Ross The River Into Bulgaria.

We Set Sail Under Light Rain
And Ominous Skies,

Which I Hope Aren't A Portent Of
Doom For The Expedition Ahead.

The Vessel Docks
In The Town Of Vidin,

But I'm Not In Bulgaria Yet.

I Hand The Officials
My Paperwork...

Here You Go.

...But I Suddenly Hit
An Unexpected Snag.

Little Bit Of An Issue Here.

The Car Registration Here In
My Romanian 4X4 Is A Photocopy,

And Not The Original.

That Is Not Going Over Well.

Gates:
I'm Doing My Best To Cross
From Romania Into Bulgaria,

Where A Major
Archaeological Find

May Shed Some Light On The
Origins Of The Vampire Legend.

Bulgarian Customs, Though,

May Be Tougher To Clear
Than I Thought.

A Little Bit Of An Issue Here.

The Car Registration Here In
My Romanian 4X4 Is A Photocopy,

And Not The Original.

That Is Not Going Over Well.

If I Don't Make It Through
This Crossing,

My Vampire Hunt Is Over.

They Ask Me For More
Documentation, Which,

Unfortunately, Is The One Thing
Not In My Glove Compartment.

I Have A Pine Cone.
I Don't Know If That's...

Probably Not
What You're Looking For.

After An Hour Of
Watching The Border Police

Argue Over My Fate,
They Do Something Unexpected --

They Let Me Through.

I'm Guessing The Pine Cone
Did The Trick.

Okay.
We're Okay.

Thank You.

Thank You.
Ciao.

♪ Now We're Standing At The End
Of The World, My Friend ♪

♪ And There's Nothing
We Can Do About It Now ♪

♪ Yeah, We're Standing At The
End Of The World, My Friend ♪

♪ We're Gonna Watch It On Tv,
Standing On The End ♪

For A Country On The Losing Side

Of Every World Conflict
Of The 20Th Century,

Bulgaria Has Proven To Be
Surprisingly Resilient.

Glimmering Church Domes...

Cobblestone Streets...

And The People, Well,
They're Hospitality Defined.

To Meet My Next Contact,

I'm Headed Southeast
Past The Capital Of Sofia

Into The City Of Plovdiv.

Outside Of Town, Bulgaria's
True Character Begins To Emerge.

This Is A Land Of Empty Spaces,

With Pristine Forests Covering
Nearly 40% Of The Nation.

It Is Also A Place Of Mountains,

And As I Make My Way Over The
Narrow 5,000-Foot Shipka Pass,

The Roads Get A Little...Rustic.

This Road Has Seen Better Days.

I Reach The Top Of The Peak

And Catch Sight
Of What Appears To Be...

A Spaceship.

♪♪

Welcome, Comrades,

To The Skeletal Remains
Of Bulgarian Communism.

This Is Buzludzh.

That's Bulgarian
For "Glacial" Or "Ice,"

Which Seems Appropriate,

Since It Is Absolutely Freezing
Up Here.

As You Can See, It's In
A Pretty Terrible State Of Ruin.

I Squeeze Inside
The Decaying Monument

For A Look At One Of The World's
Most Breathtaking Modern Ruins.

Look At This.

Wow.

This Is
The Definition Of Spooky.

This Mountain Was The Site
Of An Incredible Battle

Between Bulgarian
And Russian Forces

As They Fought Back
Against The Ottoman Empire.

Later, This Was The Birthplace
Of Socialism In Bulgaria.

Buzludzh Was Once
A Symbol Of Glory,

A Gleaming
And Space-Age Structure

To Celebrate Bulgaria's
Socialist Future.

But As The Winds Of Democracy
Swept Through The Balkans

In The 1990S,
The Future Became The Past,

And Buzludzh Fell Silent.

I Leave The Crumbling Remains
In The Rear-View Mirror

And Press On With My Search.

Before I Drive To An
Archaeological Site

Where A Vampire Grave
Has Been Discovered,

An Anthropologist Here
Has Received A Call

To Perform An Anti-Vampire
Ritual For A Local Village,

And He's Invited Me
To Assist Him.

Our Meeting Place
Is In The Rhodopes Mountains,

Where The River Arda
Snakes Through

Dark And Foreboding Forests.

I'm Meeting Ivo Maev,

An Anthropologist And Expert In
The Vampire Legend In Bulgaria.

Hello, Josh.

Ivo.

-Yeah, Nice To Meet You.
-Nice To Meet You, Too.

What A Dramatic Spot.

This Is Incredible.

It's Called
Devil's Bridge.

-Devil's Bridge?
-Yeah.

That's A Very Sinister-Sounding
Name For A Bridge.

Yeah,
Because There Is A Legend Here.

The Man Who Built The Bridge
Made A Deal With The Devil.

As You See,
It's Still Stable.

-It's Still Standing.
-Seven Centuries.

Legends Like That
Are Exactly Why I'm Here.

There Is An Abandoned Village
Not Far Away From Here.

The Last Person Who Lived
In This Village Died Recently,

And People Are Afraid,
Really, Of Him

Because He Could Be
Transformed Into A Vampire.

Okay.
That Sounds Scary.

They Asked Me To Perform
An Anti-Vampire Ritual.

What Is The Ritual?

We Have To Find
A Special Plant

And To Plant This Herb
Around The Grave.

Okay,
Sounds Interesting.

Are You Ready To Begin?

I'm Ready.
Let's Go.

Okay.
Follow Me That Way.

These Rituals Seem To Be
A Less Gruesome Variation

Of Their Romanian Cousins.

The Plants We Need
Lie Some Distance Away,

And As We Hike On,
We Come To A Minor Obstacle.

Holy [Bleep]

Are You Kidding Me?

-It's Safe?
-Absolutely.

Just Try To Step Over The Rope
Here Very Slowly.

When Was The Last Time Anybody
Walked Across This Bridge?

-I Walked Across It.
-You Walked Across It?

-Yeah, Yeah, Yeah.
-In 1754?

[ Laughs ]
1754.

Just Two Months Ago.

We Can Cross.
We Can Cross.

Okay. Here We Go.
Nice And Slow.

[ Wood Creaking ]

Though The Bridge
Is Still Technically Standing,

The Walkway Is Rotting Into
Mulch, And It's A Long Way Down.

Slowly.

[ Wood Cracking ]

Something Just Cracked.

[ Wood Cracking ][Bleep]

Gates: In The Backwoods
Of Bulgaria,

My Guide, Ivo, And I Are Having
A "Temple Of Doom" Moment.

We're Seeking Out A Plant
Used In Anti-Vampire Rituals,

But The Wood Planks
Of This Bridge

Are Disintegrating
Beneath Our Feet.

-[Bleep]
-You Okay?

-Yeah, Yeah, I'm Fine.
-Come On.

You're Here,
Okay, Okay, Okay.

Everything's Cool.

Everything's Cool.
Nice And Slow.

Yeah, I'm Fine.
The Bridge, Not So Much.

This Is The Only Way
How We Can Cross.

I Know. No, I'm With You.
Here We Go.

-Yeah, Yeah.
-I'm Going Very Slowly.

-Here We Go.
-Okay, Yeah.

♪♪

Couple More Steps.

Okay.

-Yeah!
-We're Alive!

Absolutely.
I Told You.

You Have Any Doubts?

-Yeah, I Had A Lot Of Doubts.
-[ Laughs ]

Okay, Let's Find This Stupid
Plant And Get Out Of Here.

Come On.

Ivo And I Set To Work
Collecting The Elements

For An Ancient Ritual Meant To
Ward Off Or Kill Vampires.

Nearby Villagers Believe A Fresh
Grave On The Outskirts Of Town

May Give Rise To A Vampire,

So They've Asked Ivo To Collect
Samples Of A Verbena Plant.

Aha.
There We Go.

-You Found It?
-Yeah.

Let Me See.

Oh, Look At That.

See?

It's Quite Pretty,
Actually.

But It's Poisonous?

Poisonous,
Especially The Root.

They Think The Roots Will Go
Down And Poison The Body.

-Yeah. Poison The Body.
-I See.

How Much Do We Need?

We Need A Few Plants.

-Just A Few?
-Yeah.

Okay.

We Cross Back Over
The World's [Bleep] Bridge

And Pass Into Someplace
Even More Unsettling --

A Bulgarian Ghost Town.

[ Spooky,
Indistinct Whispering ]

With A Shrinking Population
In These Mountains,

The Villagers Have Abandoned
This Part Of Town.

[ Whispering Continues ]

This Is Not A Place That I
Want To Be After Dark, Ivo.

[ Laughs ]

This Is It.

Yeah,
This Is The Grave.

Nearby Lies The Lonely Grave
Of This Area's Last Inhabitant,

The Man Whose Soul
Ivo Is Here To Save.

No Headstone,
Just Loose Stones?

Yeah. And Nobody Knows
What Happened With This Guy.

And Bones.
Look.

Animal Bones?

Animal Bones.

-Cow, Maybe?
-Yeah.

So,
Why Are These Bones Here?

Yeah, I Don't Know.
Could Be A Ritual.

Okay, So What Do We Do
With The Verbena?

My Idea Is To
Plant Verbena Here,

Near The Head,
The Legs,

-Both Sides.
-Uh-Huh.

Just To Organize A Symbolic
Cross Over The Body.

Okay,
Let's Do It.

Here's The Verbena.

Yeah.

We Transplant The Verbena
Onto The Grave,

Hopefully Laying To Rest
Any Fears In The Village

That A New Vampire
Will Be Lurking In The Night.

So This
Completes The Cross.

Yeah, Exactly.

Let's Go Back To The Town
And Let Them Know.

Okay.

We Walk Back Down The Hill,

But Instead Of
A Sleepy Town Preparing For Bed,

We Find
A Lively Celebration.

This Dance Is Meant To
Ward Off Evil,

And Is, Without A Doubt,
A Dangerous Affair.

Uh-Huh.

The Coals Are Glowing Hot As
The Men Kick Through The Embers.

Thrown Into A Trancelike State,
They Feel No Pain,

Even When They Take The Coals
In Their Bare Hands.

Hey!

Thank You Very Much.

That Was Amazing.

♪♪

The Next Morning,
I Press On To The East

And Pass Through
The City Of Plovdiv.

Nearby, There May Be Proof That

The Ancient Fear Of Vampires
Had A Scientific Origin.

I'm Bound For
The Ancient City Of Perperikon.

This Is Probably
The Most Famous Historic Site

In All Of Bulgaria.

[ Hawk Screeches ]

I've Arranged To Meet With

Archaeologist Nickolay Ovcharov
And His Team,

Who Recently Made
An Astounding Vampire Discovery.

-Hi!
-How Are You?

I'm Josh.
-Hi, Josh.

Nice To Meet You!
How Are You?

-Hi. I'm Todor.
-Todor.

-Welcome.
-Victoria.

Victoria,
Nice To Meet You.

I've Been Reading About
Your Work.

You're A Very Prominent Guy
Here In Bulgaria.

[ Speaking Bulgarian ]

"They Call Me
The Bulgarian Indiana Jones."

Bulgarian Indiana Jones.
Right Down To The Hat.

[ Whip Cracks ]

I've Read A Lot About The Work
That You've Been Doing Here.

This Vampire Skeleton
That You Found

Got A Lot Of Attention
In The Press.

[ Speaking Bulgarian ]

Yes, Indeed.

It Attracted The Attention Of
The People All Over The World.

Gates: The Medieval Skeleton
They Unearthed

Was Found With A Metal Spike
Driven Through Its Neck.

Needless To Say, The Vampire
Grave Made Some Headlines.

Well, I'm Really Excited
To See The Site.

I Can't Wait To See
What You've Been Doing Up There.

Unfortunately, We Don't Have
A Lot Of Light Left In The Day.

[ Speaking Bulgarian ]

The Spirit Of This Place
Is More Important,

And Maybe It's Even Better
At Night.

Okay.

Get Ready
For A Nice Ride.

Whoa!

Good Lord!

Yeah!

In Ancient Times, Perperikon
Was Visited By Leaders

Like Alexander The Great
And The Emperor Augustus,

Who Came To Consult
A Pagan Oracle Here.

In The Past 4,000 Years,
This Land Has Been Home To

Greeks, Thracians, Romans,
Byzantines, And Bulgarians.

So The Ruins Of Perperikon

Are Like An Archaeological
Slot Machine --

When You Dig Here,
You Never Know

What Kind Of
Marvelous Discovery You'll Make.

With Night Falling, We Trek
Through The Maze Of Ruins,

Threading Our Way To Professor
Ovcharov's Latest Find.

Oh, My God.

Gates: An Archaeological Dig

In The Ancient Bulgarian City
Of Perperikon

Has Uncovered
An Amazing Specimen

That Could Change The Way
We Look At The Vampire Legend.

Oh, My God.

Amazing.

We're Looking At
A Unique Gift From The Past --

An Almost Perfectly Preserved
Skeleton Over 800 Years Old.

And The People That Buried It

Went To Extreme Lengths To
Make Sure That It Stayed Dead.

So,
This Is The Metal.

And What Is It,
Exactly?

It's A Ploughshare,

The Tool That The Local People
Use To Plough The Ground.

So This Is Something That Was
Done After The Person Died.

This Was Then
Driven Into Them.

Definitely,
It Happened After Death,

And It Shows Evidence
That This Is A Ritual

Preventing This Person
From Becoming A Vampire.

It's Quite Gruesome, Really,
In A Way.

What Do You Think It Was
About This Person

That Caused Other People
To Perform This Ritual?

[ Speaking Bulgarian ]

Many Different Things,
It Could Be.

It Could Be
A Health Condition.

It Could Be
An Unknown Disease,

Scary For The Family,
For The Others.

Or It Could
Have Been Suicide.

This Is So Incredible,

To Think That This Was
Buried Inside Of Someone Is...

It Shows How Powerful
The Belief Must Have Been.

It Makes This Whole Idea
Of Vampires Real, In A Way.

We Would Love To Be Able To
Test The Dna.

Would It Be Possible For Us
To Take A Sample To Test?

[ Speaking Bulgarian ]

Of Course It Is Possible,

And We Would Be
Very Thankful

If We Learn Something More
About This Person.

-Yeah?
-[ Speaks Bulgarian ]

Great.

Gates: In Order To Figure Out If
There Was Any Genetic Condition

Or Abnormality
That Could Explain

Why This Poor Soul Was Staked
To The Back Of His Coffin,

I'm Taking Dna To Be Tested
In The United States.

The Sample -- A Tooth From The
Skull Of The Purported Vampire.

Back In The U.S., The Tooth
We Recovered From Perperikon

Has Been Analyzed For Disease
And Genetic Abnormality,

And The Results Are Intriguing.

The Dna In The Tooth Shows Signs
Of A Genetic Disorder,

And May Be An Indicator
For Porphyria.

This Blood Disease
Causes Victims

To Become Sensitive To Sunlight.

Their Gums Shrink, Making
Their Teeth Look Fang-Like.

Victims Even Develop
An Aversion To Garlic.

Other So-Called Vampire
Skeletons Found In Europe

Show Signs Of Plague Or Cholera,

Diseases That May Have
Inspired People To Believe

That The Victims Weren't Just
Sick, But Possessed.

Like The Devil Himself, The
Vampire Has Had Dozens Of Faces.

In Antiquity, It Was A Demon.

In The Middle Ages,
A Rotting Corpse.

Now, In Modern Times,
It Has Become A Romantic Figure.

Vampires Both Transcend Death
And Inflict It.

They Embody
Our Fear Of Mortality

And Our Desire
For Everlasting Life.

But For All The Hold They Have
Over Our Imaginations,

They Are In The End,
Just A Myth --

One That, Over The Centuries,
Has Had A Tragic Human Cost.

I've Seen That Cost Firsthand.

In Romania, I Visited The
Disturbed Grave

Of An Innocent Person

And Met A Man
Who Let Superstition

Drive Him To An Obscene Purpose.

In Bulgaria,
I Witnessed The Persecution

Of An Unfortunate Soul
With An Untreatable Disease.

Perhaps Human Beings
Created The Vampire Myth

So We Don't Have To
Admit Our Own Cruelty.

After All, If There's
No Such Thing As A Vampire,

Then The Monsters
That Haunt Our Nightmares...

Are Ourselves.