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Overview
A travelling pot seller rests near a graveyard while his horse grazes. A grave opens beneath him and a white-shrouded corpse climbs out carrying its coffin lid. The dead man leaves the lid by a church door and visits the village. The traveller takes it, and the returning corpse follows its trace to him, first threatening violence and then begging for its return when challenged with a hatchet.
The traveller makes the return conditional on learning what the dead man has done. The corpse admits killing two youths and explains a restorative use of a fragment of its shroud. After recovering the lid it returns to its grave, but cockcrow interrupts the burial, leaving an edge visible. The traveller restores the two victims; their relatives initially arrest him because his knowledge seems incriminating. His explanation sends the village to the identifiable grave, where they stake the corpse and finally reward him. Ralston’s commentary calls such beings vampires, but this selected tale states killing rather than specifically describing blood drinking.
Origins & earliest records
Ralston, Russian Fairy Tales, hosted Hurst edition: The Coffin-Lid, pp. 314–315; note 408; source note: Afanasief V, pp. 142–144, Tambof Government.
Records & interpretation
Complete English narrative with an explicit source and regional attribution in the numbered note. Narrator commentary is distinguished from actions actually stated in the tale.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Russian Fairy Tales: The Coffin-Lid, pp. 314–315; note 408
Source note: Afanasief V, pp. 142–144, Tambof Government. Original Russian not independently collated.
Family & connections
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References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Primary historical translationRalston: The Coffin-Lid, pp. 314–315; note 408Research access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.