Methods of destroying suspected vampires varied,with staking the most commonly cited method,particularly in southern Slavic cultures.Ash was the preferred wood in Russia and the Baltic states,or hawthorn in Serbia,with a record of oak in Silesia. Potential vampires were most often staked through the heart,though the mouth was targeted in Russia and northern Germany and the stomach in north-eastern Serbia.Piercing the skin of the chest was a way of "deflating" the bloated vampire;this is similar to the act of burying sharp objects,such as sickles,in with the corpse, so that they may penetrate the skin if the body bloats sufficiently while transforming into a revenant.Decapitation was the preferred method in German and western Slavic areas,with the head buried between the feet,behind the buttocks or away from the body.This act was seen as a way of hastening the departure of the soul,which in some cultures,was said to linger in the corpse.Humans are good fellows!!!