Vampire grave discovered in Bulgaria and other news

As an archeologist, the chances of finding some grisly discoveries throughout your career will probably be quite high. After all, for every dinosaur bone you brush off, the chance of finding human remains from hundreds of years ago must be quite probable.

For one particular wannabe Indiana Jones in Bulgaria, however, a recent discovery was even more grisly than most, as he managed to uncover the grave of what appears to be a suspected vampire from hundreds of years in the past. 

Whether the accusations of blood lust are more than likely untrue, that doesn't make the uncovering any less fascinating. Professor Nikolai Ovcharov dug up the figure in Bulgaria, and was shocked to discover that it has a stake still impaled in its chest, even after having been under the ground for more than 700 years, with his death estimated to have come in the 13th century. 

The professor said that it was often the case in eastern Europe during this period that people who died in unusual circumstances would then be afforded this treatment in order to prevent them returning as a vampire later. It was common in cases where people had committed suicide, for example. 

As well as having a stake thrust into his chest, the poor gent in the shallow grave was also found to have had part of one of his legs removed, although it's not clear whether or not this is part of any anti-vampire ritual. 

Elsewhere in the world of strange news, some people in the US are welcoming Halloween celebrations a little earlier than usual this month, with reports doing the rounds of clowns bringing terror to the people of California by roaming the streets in terrifying costumes. 

No one seems to know why, but it appears apparent that a group of men are donning the, frankly horrible, clown outfits and taking a wander through the town of Wasco late at night, snapping pictures of themselves in costume and clutching a bunch of balloons. 

However, while the appearance of the clowns has brought some fear to the people of Wasco and many have called in the help of police, authorities say that they have actually not done anything wrong, and there's no indication that they are linked to crime in any way.