Magia Posthuma: Karl Ferdinand von Schertz, Calmet and revenant beliefs

Abstract

Considered lost for many years, Karl Ferdinand von Schertz’s Magia Posthuma from 1706 has gained the reputation of an influential book on vampires. Recent research shows that the book itself deals exclusively with Moravian revenant and witchcraft beliefs, and that the book had a limited impact on the vampire debate of the eighteenth century. Similarly, the term ‘magia posthuma’ appears to have had limited use before it was employed by the Habsburg court of Maria Theresa in her ruling against superstitious acts towards corpses.