The article presents the conduct in the face of a suspicion of bubonic plague in small towns
and villages of the Podolian Voivodeship at the beginning of 1762 in the light of the accounts written
by officers of the Polish army; the sources were included in the appendix. The article focuses
mainly on social conduct in the face of the plague, as compared with other examples noted down
in the sources. Moreover, the attempts to keep the plague under control by the supreme authorities
are described. Much attention is devoted to an analysis of the practice of beheading the deceased,
which was to protect people from vampires. Custom of this type, which was a part of the system of
magical beliefs, survived over the centuries and had the decisive influence on the behaviour of the
community, especially in such a critical period as the bubonic plague or its mere suspicion. Contrary
to big cities of the Republic of Poland, the way of thinking about disease retained in rural areas
had little to do with modern prevention.