Bulgarian Umbrella (Signature Weapon)

This post is part of my Signature Weapons series. While most of the weapons mentioned so far are either traditional weapons and/or belong to crime fiction, this one is fairly modern and was made infamous during the Cold War. You may never have heard the term Bulgarian umbrella, but I think you probably know the device: a seemingly mundane umbrella with a hidden mechanism capable of shooting ricin in a victim's body. It has been used in real life by the Bulgarian ecret Services against dissidents. It's a signature weapon in the truest sense, the literal sense. Because of its origins, it belongs more to spy thriller than crime fiction, at least it's a more natural fit, but who knows, sometimes both genres connect. Obviously (and naturally), this is a villain's weapon. 

Vampire corpses found in Bulgaria

Picture taken from this book, showing Dracula decomposing after being stabbed. It's not a very good picture, but it fits the topic. I hope this arresting title will draw the attention of my fellow horror fans. Tonight I am feeling very much like an undead myself, being very tired after an exhausting day of work. So anyway, I read this bit of news about two vampire bodies found in Bulgaria. I have little to say, only that I had pleasant shivers reading it. Archeology is a fun discipline when you discover something like this. Had I been a child, I think I would have believed in vampires just reading this news. It gives an interesting insights about mankind's superstitions, makes old vampire stories a little bit more palatable. Cool. (And, for the record, I never believed in vampires. It's one of the few superstitions I never bought into. But I love them as monsters.)