17th century vampire graves in Poland asks - are vampires real

The question of whether vampires ever existed continues to pester us and Hollywood has minted millions with fantasies revolving around the blood thirsty vampires of the likes of Count Dracula, the mysterious fictional character created by Bram Stoker in his 1897 Gothic horror novel.
Scientists have now identified potential "vampires" in 17th-18th century Poland – they were apparently buried with rocks and sickles across their bodies to ward off evil to prevent them from rising from their graves, as is generally believed. It seems in northwestern Poland, apotropaic funerary rites took place throughout the 17th-18th century – this was a traditional practice that was meant to ward off evil.
This came to light during excavations at a cemetery in northwestern Poland - six unusual graves were revealed. Some of the bodies had sickles across the bodies or large rocks under the chins of select individuals while others were normal burials.
A suggestion has emerged from the authors which could be a possible explanation behind these burials – it may be bodies of victims of the cholera epidemics that were prevalent in Eastern Europe during the 17th century. Belief has it that the first person to die from an infectious disease outbreak could return from the dead as a vampire.
Incidentally, Hollywood seized the opportunity to reinvent vampires in today’s settings through their Twilight Saga series consisting of five movies - the series has grossed over $3.3 billion in worldwide receipts and consists, to date. These are: Twilight (2008), The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009), The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010) and The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn in two parts (2011 and 2012).