The shackled skeletons of a woman and child found in Poland brought back memories of vampires.

“This is a cemetery for outcast people who were feared after death. And, perhaps, during his lifetime.”

Polish archaeologists have discovered the remains of a 17th-century woman and child padlocked in their burial place. Against the backdrop of Halloween being celebrated these days, this find has a special sinister meaning.

Archaeologists in Poland have discovered the remains of a 17th-century child padlocked in his grave to prevent him from rising from the dead, a discovery that draws attention to vampire beliefs as Halloween approaches, Reuters notes.

The bones of a six- or seven-year-old child are the most recent discovery in a cemetery in the northern Polish village of Pien, dating back to an era when ghosts, zombies and other supernatural phenomena were seen as more than just masquerade fun.

The body of a woman was also found in the cemetery with a padlock on her leg and a sickle around her neck, suggesting that she was believed to be a vampire, Reuters further notes.

“This is a cemetery for outcast people who were certainly feared in death, and perhaps even in life… who were suspected of contact with evil spirits, people who also behaved differently in some way,” said Dariusz Polinski, researcher of medieval burials at the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń (Poland).

The child was buried face down with a triangular iron lock under his foot, likely in an attempt to prevent him from sitting up and leaving the grave to feast on the living, Dariusz Polinski added.

“These are people who, if it was done intentionally, were afraid … of contact with these people, because they could bite, drink blood,” Polinsky states.

The child’s grave was desecrated at some point after the burial and all bones were removed except the leg bones.

Archaeologists have found other methods used to stop the living dead, and Polinsky describes strange practices found in some burials.

“There were also a large number of graves with stones… which were also supposed to protect against the deceased, placed in various places, for example on the elbow, on the larynx or on the neck,” says the Polish medievalist.