Sava Savanović

Legend

Sava Savanović was said to have lived in an old watermill on the Rogačica river, at Zarožje village in the municipality of Bajina Bašta. It was said that he killed and drank the blood of the millers when they came to mill their grains. Although he is usually said to have been the first Serbian vampire, there are claims that he was pre-dated in Serbian folklore by Petar Blagojević from Veliko Gradište, who died in 1724. Blagojević and the affair surrounding him came to European attention at the time, under the name Peter Plogojowitz, and represented one of the earliest examples of vampire hysteria.

Mill

For the last several decades the watermill associated with Savanović has been owned by the Jagodić family, and is usually called "Jagodića vodenica" (Jagodići's watermill). It was in operation until the late 1950s. After its closure, it became a tourist site along with other attractions in Valjevo and nearby villages.

In 2012, the mill collapsed. The municipal authorities issued a tongue-in-cheek public health warning, advising people that Savanović was now free to look for a new home.

In culture

Sava Savanović appears in the story Posle devedeset godina (After Ninety Years), written by the Serbian realist writer Milovan Glišić, and in the horror film Leptirica inspired by the story. He also appears in the novel Strah i njegov sluga (Fear and His Servant) written by Mirjana Novaković.