Vampire pumpkins and watermelons are a folk legend from the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

, in southeastern

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, described by ethnologist

Tatomir Vukanović Tatomir P. Vukanović (1907–1997) was a Serbian ethnologist of the Balkans region of south-eastern Europe. Born in Vranje, Southern Serbia, he concentrated on the history, folklore and culture of the Serb and Roma (Gypsy) inhabitants of Yugoslav ...

. The story is associated with the

Romani people The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sig ...

of the region, from whom much of traditional

vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mi ...

folklore originated. The story was popularized by

Terry Pratchett Sir Terence David John Pratchett (28 April 1948 – 12 March 2015) was an English humourist, satirist, and author of fantasy novels, especially comical works. He is best known for his ''Discworld'' series of 41 novels. Pratchett's first nov ...

's 1998 book ''

Carpe Jugulum ''Carpe Jugulum'' (; Latatian for "seize the throat", cf. ''Carpe diem'') is a comic fantasy novel by English writer Terry Pratchett, the twenty-third in the ''Discworld'' series. It was first published in 1998. In ''Carpe Jugulum'', Terry Pra ...

'', a comic fantasy novel making extensive use of vampire legends. Pratchett has stated that he did not invent the vampire watermelon story himself. It is found in several other works: Jan Perkowski's 1976 book reprinted Vukanović's account, the

webcomic Webcomics (also known as online comics or Internet comics) are comics published on a website or mobile app. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers, or comic books. Webcomics can be co ...

'' Digger'' incorporates a field of vampire

squash Squash may refer to: Sports * Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets * Squash (professional wrestling), an extremely one-sided match in professional wrestling * Squash tennis, a game similar to squash but pla ...

(most of which resemble

butternut squash Butternut squash (''Cucurbita moschata''), known in Australia and New Zealand as butternut pumpkin or gramma, is a type of winter squash that grows on a vine. It has a sweet, nutty taste similar to that of a pumpkin. It has tan-yellow skin and ...

es in appearance),

Ursula Vernon Ursula Vernon (born May 28, 1977) is an American freelance writer, artist and illustrator. She has won numerous awards for her work in various mediums, including the Hugo Award for her graphic novel '' Digger'', the Nebula Award for her short st ...

''Digger'' comic strip, 2007 June 08
/ref>

References

Sources

*T. P. Vukanović, ''The Vampire''; published in four parts in the ''Journal of the Gypsy Lore Society'' from 1957 to 1960.

**(reprinted in) Jan L. Perkowski, ''Vampires of the Slavs'' (Columbus, Ohio: Slavica Publishers, 1976) *Matthew Bunson, ''The Vampire Encyclopedia'' (New York: Gramercy, 2000)
Annotations for ''Carpe Jugulum''
(see the note for page 150). {{DEFAULTSORT:Vampire Pumpkins And Watermelons Romani legendary creatures Vampires Squashes and pumpkins Watermelons Mythological plants Slavic legendary creatures Romani folklore