Throughout Europe there was one generally acknowledged method of identifying the suspected vampire. The natural decomposition of the body after death was assumed to be due to the departure of the soul from the body. In most cases if, after exhumation, a body was found to be uncorrupted, it was usually assumed that the soul remained with the body or that a demonic spirit had taken possession of the body.

The exception to this belief was found in the case of saints, martyrs and other especially godly individuals. In these cases the failure of the body to decompose naturally was believed to be a divine blessing rather than a demonic curse. In most cases, such corpses were likely to be summarily cremated by the peasants who exhumed the corpse.

In Romania and Tchecoslovakei, horses were taken to a cemetery, as it was believed they would refuse to cross over a vampire's grave.