 The two incidents were well @-@ documented . Government officials examined the bodies , wrote case reports , and published books throughout Europe . The hysteria , commonly referred to as the " 18th @-@ Century Vampire Controversy " , raged for a generation . The problem was exacerbated by rural epidemics of so @-@ claimed vampire attacks , undoubtedly caused by the higher amount of superstition that was present in village communities , with locals digging up bodies and in some cases , staking them . 
