In 1903 at the small Swiss village of Ropraz an horrific crime is perpetrated.
On his way to cut wood with his son Hermann, local man Francois Rod discovers a recently opened tomb in the village graveyard.
The body of a newly buried young woman has been violated and attacked in the most sickening way. Her left hand has been severed, her genitals mutilated and her heart cut out. The sickening and appalling nature of the crime sends shockwaves of fear and repulsion through the local community. However, the terrible violation of the tomb serves also to re-ignite dormant superstitions and repressed fears as terrified villagers turn to crucifixes and garlic as protection against what they believe must be a supernatural threat to their safety. The violation of recently buried bodies continues and soon the local people are baying for the blood of the vampire who is said to have carried out the attacks. A likely suspect is soon found in the form of a disturbed stable boy with blood-shot eyes called Charles-Augustin Favez.
The plot of The Vampire of Ropraz is particularly discomforting because Swiss author Jacques Chessex based it on a true story.
At a slender 106 pages in length it might be considered something of a brief work but be assured it packs a considerable visceral punch and once read is unlikely to be quickly forgotten. It is a disconcerting and troubling read that appears to point an accusing finger at abuses within society that arguably lead to further abuse and at the apparent need for people to cloak frightening events in metaphors such as a belief in the existence of vampires.
Chessex also notes how society appears to condone the violence of individuals in certain situations such as war. At times darkly poetic in its use of stark, bleak language The Vampire of Ropraz sits somewhere between the horror of Greek Tragedy and the unsentimental reportage of war correspondence. Unusual and compelling The Vampire of Ropraz is a harsh portrait of monstrous yet human actions.
Giles Morgan
The Vampire of Ropraz
Jacques Chessex
Bitter Lemon Press, £6.99, 9781904738336
