A VAMPIRE tomb has been unearthed with a sickle around its neck to prevent the “monster” from ever rising.

The tomb was discovered by archaeologists deep beneath a church in northern Poland after they began conservation work on the church.

The remains were discovered with a sickle around its neck – thought to behead the “vampire” if it ever tried to rise from the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ.

Archaeologists working at the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Pączewo say the vampire tomb is the first of its kind to be discovered inside a church.

Two other skeletons were buried nearby.

According to anthropologist Dr Justyna Karkus, the remains were that of a 50-year-old male with numerous healed injuries to his skull.

She said: “The skull with numerous injuries indicates that the man had many deep scars on his face during his life.

“During one of the blows, he also lost some of his teeth.

“He looked different than average people. And that can be scary.

“In the 17th century, this man was accused of vampirism.”

She added the discovery of a vampire burial in a church is especially rare, saying: “No one expects to find a vampire in a church.”

While it’s the first case of a “vampire” being buried inside a church, it is not the first time archaeologists have discovered graves with sickles on the neck.