The majority of Vukanović's article discusses human vampires; vampiric agricultural tools are also mentioned. Though modern readers may be skeptical that such beliefs ever existed, the superstition

Superstition

Superstition is a belief in supernatural causality: that one event leads to the cause of another without any process in the physical world linking the two events....

s of Gypsy culture are well documented. The Journal of the Gypsy Lore Society has many articles that are collections of Gypsy tales, presumably oral history

Oral history

Oral history is the collection and study of historical information about individuals, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews...

. However others are horror stories that allegedly include the direct involvement of the source (e.g., the fatal consequences of disrespecting the dead). In this context, vampire pumpkins and watermelons are not necessarily any more implausible than other superstitious beliefs.

The story was popularized by Terry Pratchett

Terry Pratchett

Sir Terence David John "Terry" Pratchett, OBE is an English novelist, known for his frequently comical work in the fantasy genre. He is best known for his popular and long-running Discworld series of comic fantasy novels...

's 1998 book Carpe Jugulum

Carpe Jugulum

Carpe Jugulum ) is a comic fantasy novel by Terry Pratchett, the twenty-third in the Discworld series. It was first published in 1998....

, 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

Jan L. Perkowski

Jan L. Perkowski is originally from Perth Amboy, New Jersey, and is Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures at the University of Virginia. He has three consecutive degrees including a PhD from Harvard University...

's 1976 book reprinted Vukanović's account, the webcomic

Webcomic

Webcomics, online comics, or Internet comics are comics published on a website. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers or often in self-published books....

 Digger incorporates a field of vampire squash (most of which resemble butternut squash

Butternut squash

Butternut squash , also known in Australia and New Zealand as butternut pumpkin, is a type of winter squash. It has a sweet, nutty taste similar to that of a pumpkin. It has yellow skin and orange fleshy pulp. When ripe, it turns increasingly deep orange, and becomes sweeter and richer. It grows on...

es in appearance), and recent popular books on the topic of vampirism include a mention .

Vampire vegetables play a central role in the Bunnicula

Bunnicula

Bunnicula is a children's book series written by James Howe about a vampire bunny that sucks the juice out of vegetables. It is also the name of the first book in the series, published 1979 .The story is centered on the Monroe family and their pets and is told from the perspective of their dog...

series of children's books written by James and Deborah Howe.

Sources

• T. P. Vukanović, The Vampire; published in four parts in the Journal of the Gypsy Lore Society from 1957 to 1960. (excerpts)
  • (reprinted in) Jan L. Perkowski
    Jan L. Perkowski
    Jan L. Perkowski is originally from Perth Amboy, New Jersey, and is Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures at the University of Virginia. He has three consecutive degrees including a PhD from Harvard University...
    
    , 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).