Loana, also known as Leona or Loana the Bloodthirster, was a young Romanian woman who became famous for her alleged death by drinking her own blood in a pagan ritual. Her life and tragic end remain shrouded in mystery and myth, but some details have been shared about her story.
Loana Constantinescu, her real name, lived in Timisoara, the second-largest city in Romania. She practiced Zoroastrianism, an ancient religion that originated in ancient Persia and is still followed by millions today, mainly in East Asia. However, since Christianity was the dominant religion in Timisoara, her spiritual beliefs were seen as sinful, evil, and inappropriate by her neighbors.
She was accused of witchcraft, drinking the blood of local children, and communing with Satan and evil spirits from the afterlife. In October 1909, a group of vigilantes dragged her out of her home and beat her in the street, severely injuring her. After spending two days in the hospital, she checked herself out and returned home, where she died the following day.
Loana, the bloodthirster’s death
Her body had cuts on her arms and legs and a significant amount of blood in her stomach. It was reported that she had drained her body of blood in a ritual and then drank it, leading to cardiac arrest and extensive blood loss. Her apartment also contained occult items, effigies, herbs, symbols, and an altar.
After her death, strange events occurred, adding to the mystery and horror of her story. Two ministers who organized the community against Loana died from a rare blood-borne illness a year later. Other vigilante group members that attacked her met untimely deaths, including accidents and fires.
There are also rumors that people who shared her picture online experienced severe bruises and nightmares until they deleted the image. However, it is unclear if the picture is actually of Loana, and the details surrounding her life and death remain shrouded in myth and legend. Despite the uncertainties surrounding her story, the tale of Loana the Bloodthirster remains chilling and intriguing, which continues to capture the imagination of those who hear it.
The picture presented here is said to have been taken in 1909, during a time when it was common practice to take staged photographs of deceased individuals. Such photographs were considered a dignified way to honor the dead. However, over a century has passed, and most of the stories behind these images have been lost to time, with only a few eerie exceptions remaining.
One such exception is the story of Loana, whose death was not directly caused by the vigilantes’ attack but rather by ritual suicide. It is said that Loana cut her arms and legs multiple times, draining a large amount of blood into a goblet. Her cause of death was likely a combination of extensive blood loss and internal shock from ingesting such a large quantity of blood, which led to cardiac arrest. Although no official death certificate exists, the medical examiner allegedly made this claim.
Local accounts suggest that the two ministers who spread rumors of Loana’s association with Satan were afflicted with a rare blood-borne illness and died less than a year after Loana’s suicide. Other members of the vigilante group also met with untimely deaths, such as one who was crushed to death by a falling tree, and another who perished in a fire that claimed the lives of his wife and child. Recent accounts suggest that the alleged curse did not end with the deaths of Loana’s tormentors. Reports have surfaced of strange phenomena surrounding the circulation of her postmortem photograph online.
