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When countries and cultures made contact with each other, they all found that they shared legends and myths about creatures that stalked and preyed on human beings. The fact that people, who had no earlier contact with each other and were often separated by oceans, could have a common myth made folk believe more strongly that there was fact behind their own long held beliefs
It was true that science can help to explain some of the vampire ‘symptoms’ – but science tends to select the symptoms that it can explain and ignore the others. Some of these medical conditions would have killed the sufferer in childhood, long before a myth of adult vampires could have started
In this article I am going to try and compare the different vampire myths across countries and continents. The spelling was different depending on the era when it was written; often the spelling changes when it was translated into a different language and then back again
Where countries no longer exist but can still be identified inside modern land boundaries, the ancient country name is used
Some of the myths on here may not conform to your definition of a vampire – I have used the definition from several sources to make sure that I have not missed out a myth that may conform to someone else’s definition of a vampire
It is not a complete list …
AFRICA
Unnamed - Asasabonsam
Africa, with its spirit-based religions, has legends of vampire-like beings. One tribe, the Caffre, believed that the dead could return and survive on the blood of the living. The name of these undead cannot be found in modern references
The people of the Ashanti tribe of Western Africa believed in the Asasabonsam. They were human in appearance, but had iron teeth. They lived in the forest, sitting in the trees and using its hook-shaped feet to catch passers-by. They also bit their victims on the thumb
ALBANIA
Liugat - Sampiro - Shtriga
Albanians of Turkish descent were supposed to turn into a vampire called Liugat or Sampiro when they died. They felt they should go out at night in a shroud and high heel shoes (really) to spread death and destruction
Albanians also believed in the Shtriga, an elderly woman who fed on infants by drinking their blood. She also caused adults to wither and die. She could also change into a moth, fly, or bee at night
ARMENIA
Dakhanavar
The Dakhanavar was an indescribable creature that protected a valley near Mount Ararat by sucking blood from the feet of travellers. Legend had it that it ran off when two travellers slept with their feet under each other’s head, the Dakhanavar thought that a two headed creature that it could not attack had been sent to destroy it
AUSTRIA
Vampire
Reports from Austrian-controlled Serbia prepared by Austrian officials between 1725 and 1732 introduced the word vampire into routine European use. In 1755 the town of Olmutz in Austria was itself the scene of several vampire reports
AUSTRALIA
Yara-ma-yha-who
Local Koori legend tells of the Yara-ma-yha-who, a 4ft high creature with a huge head and mouth but no teeth, whose feet and hands had suckers like an octopus. It dropped on people from its fig tree and drained them of blood through their fingers and toes. The victim would then be helpless. The Yara-ma-yha-who would then return to swallow them whole and regurgitate them. The whole process was somehow non-fatal but the victim would eventually turn into a furry bush creature
BABYLONIA
Ekimmu - Lilith
The Babylonian Ekimmu, was supposed to be the ghost of an unburied person and in some cases a spirit who did not receive enough offerings. It was supposed to live underground and emerge at night to feed off the living
The Hebrew Bible (Book of Isaiah) described Lilith but her roots are more likely in Babylonian demon studies. Lilith was a monster who roamed at night taking on the appearance of an owl. She would hunt, seeking to kill newborn children and pregnant women. Lilith was the wife of Adam before Adam and Eve, according to tradition; but she was demonised because she refused to obey Adam. She was considered evil for such "radical" desires and became a vampire who eventually attacked the children of Adam and Eve (humans)
BELARUS
Mjertovjec
The Mjertovjec was a werewolf or witch who had given up all their beliefs and had then died. This vampire was supposed to follow poppy seeds from its home back to its tomb
BENIN
Asiman - Obayifo
Witches that travelled at night as a glowing ball and sucked blood from children, were called Asiman or Obayifo
BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA
Blautsauger
The Blautsauger was a hairy vampire with no skeleton. It could turn into a rat or a wolf. The Blautsauger tried to get people to eat dirt from its tomb so they would become vampires too. Scattering hawthorn flowers along the road from its home to the tomb was supposed to slow it down
BRAZIL
Lobishomen - Lobishoen
The Lobishomen or Lobishoen was a small, stumpy hunchback, with bloodless lips, yellow skin, black teeth, bushy beard and it looked like a monkey, the bite of this vampire turned its female victims into nymphomaniacs. To kill a Lobishoen, you had to get it drunk on blood and crucify it to a tree while stabbing it
BULGARIA
Krvopijac – Obur - Ustrel
Drinking alcohol or smoking during Lent would turn a person into Krvopijac. Villagers would get a nude teenage virgin on a black foal to ride through the local graveyard every full moon. Where the horse wouldn't go was where the Krvopijac was. Only a monk called a Djadadjii could kill the Krvopijac. The monk would order the Krvopijac’s soul into a bottle of blood, which was then burnt
Some people believe that the Krvopijac were also called the Obur, but the Obur couldn’t be traced by the full moon horse exercise. The Obur was recorded as being a gluttonous blood drinker but also ate rich food or excrement. The Obur was also very loud, capable of creating noises not unlike that of a firecracker, and had the ability to move objects like a poltergeist
A child that had been born on a Saturday, and who had died before baptism was believed to return as an Ustrel on the ninth day of its burial. The Ustrel was believed to rise from its grave, and attack local sheep and cattle, draining their blood. If an Ustrel was attacking a community's livestock, they hired a vampirdzhija, or vampire hunter. This person had an ability to see the Ustrels, and could detect whether or not there was an Ustrel in the community
BURMA
Thaye - Tasei
Disembodied evil spirits were called Thaye or Tasei. They could appear as tall dark people with huge ears, long tongues and tusk-like teeth. They entered town at noon or by dark and usually cause minor illness
CHINA
Ch'ing Shih - Chiang Shih - Kiang Shi
In China a vampire had red staring eyes, long curved nails, long hair, was a green-white colour and could fly. It was called a Ch'ing Shih, Chiang Shih or Kiang Shi. They were created when a cat jumped over a corpse. They took their power from the moon. They had poisonous breath but mostly killed by completely draining a victim’s blood. If a Chiang Shih encountered a pile of rice, it had to count the grains before it could pass on. It could be held in place by a circle of rice around it. Its immaterial form was a sphere of light. The Ch'ing Shih often lived underground. It was first recorded first journalised by J de Groot in ‘The Religious System of China’ in 1892
CRETE
Kathakano
The Cretian vampire Kathakano was much like your Hollywood vampire, but could only be killed by chopping of the head and boiling it in vinegar
CROATIA
Kuzlak - Pijawika
Croatia was the site of one of the first vampire epidemics of the modern age. In 1672 Giure Grando, late of Khring on the Istrian peninsula, Croatia, returned from the grave and caused many deaths. He was not so much a breed but more of a one-off vampire
When an infant was not breast-fed enough and died, it was supposed to turn into a Kuzlak. It would return from the dead and attack its mother
An older child killed my its mother’s neglect would turn into a Pijawika, which could only be killed by cutting off its head and sticking it between its legs
THE CZECH REPUBLIC
Ogoljen - unnamed
The Ogoljen wandered about with soil from its tomb in its navel. To kill it you had to bury at a crossroads it
There was also an unnamed Moravian vampire who droppeds its death shroud and wandered about naked. That one can be destroyed by stealing its shroud
DENMARK
Mara
In Denmark the Mara looked like a human during the day and destroyed those who fall in love with her
DALMATIA
Kosak – Pricosak – Tenjac - Vukodlak
In well-documented testimony from a trial that began in October 1737 and ended in 1738 in the (then) independent city-state of Dubrovnik, not far north from Montenegro, the names given for "vampire" included Kosak, Pricosak, Tenjac, and Vukodlak. Strangely this was the only surviving detail of the trial
EUROPE
Seccubus - Incubus
In Europe the Seccubus (female) and Incubus (male) were sometimes considered to be a vampire breed. The general way they fed was by having sex with the victim, exhausting them and, then feeding on the energy released during sex. They entered homes uninvited and took on the appearance of other persons. They often visited the same victim more than once. The victim of a Succubus experienced the visits as dreams. The male version of a Succubus was an Incubus
FRANCE
Moribondo
In France a Moribondo attacked cattle, drinking their blood. Villagers protected their herds with a circle of fire
GERMANY
Nachzehrer – Neuntöter - Mulé
A child born with an amniotic membrane over their head (caul), or anyone who died by drowning, became a Nachzehrer. It lay in its tomb with its left eye open and gnawed on its shroud or itself. It caused plagues (and also ties cows tails together). It was killed by shoving something in its mouth or chopping its head off with an executioner's axe. Garlic would keep the Nachzehrer at bay. Minister Georg Röhrer reported these creatures in detail to none other than Martin Luther
The Neuntöter from Pomerania was almost identical to the Nachzehrer, but could only be killed by being decapitated between 11pm and midnight
Gypsies believe in the Mulé. Mulé literally means, "one who was dead." A Mulé was any individual, especially a person who died an untimely death (suicide, accident) that might become a vampire and search out the people who caused their death. Mulé looked normal, except for a possible missing finger or animal-like limb. The Slavic and German Gypsies often believed that vampires had no bones, and thus, the Mulé supposedly were boneless
GREECE
Catacano – Bruculaco – Callicantzaros - Lamia - Strigoe - Lamiai
Catacano were the happy vampires. They grinned constantly. They spat blood on people who then became its victim - it burns. To kill one, it was isolated behind salt water or you could have boiled its head in vinegar
The Bruculaco had swollen, hard skin and sounded like a drum when hit and it also spread the plague. It could scream once per night, if you answered the call you died. Cutting of its head and either burning or boiling it killed it for good
A child born between Christmas and the Twelfth Night (5 January) became a Callicantzaros after death – it appeared between Christmas and Twelfth Night each year to tear people to pieces with its long fingernails. The rest of the year it existed in some nether world
The Lamia or Strigoe had the upper body of a woman and usually the lower body of a winged serpent, but sometimes a snake. They ate children and drank their blood. Lamia, as the mythology goes, was the lover of Zeus. Zeus' wife, Hera, fought her. Lamia was driven insane, and killed her own children. At night, it was said, she hunted other human children to kill as well. Lamias could be attacked and killed with normal weapons
Lamiai may also be another name for Lamias but the Lamiai not only attacked children, they were also supposed to have the extra power to shape change into beautiful young maidens, to attract and seduce young men in that form
Although not a Greek vampire - the Greek word Vrykolakas was pretty much interchangeable with Lampir (Bosnian), Vurvulak(Albanian), Upirina(Serbo-Croatian), and Vukodlak(Croatian). It was basically just an evil being amongst the Southern Slavs that attacked people at night, and it was said that there was one for every Slavic clan
HUNGARY
Lidérc - Nora
A Lidérc was a Hungarian Succubus-like creature, that could appear as a person, animal, or shining light. They did not have the ability to change shape, but existed in all shapes at once, choosing which form an observer might see it in
A Nora was a small bald humanoid, that would move around on all fours, and was claimed to be invisible. He would attack by jumping on his victim and sucking on their breasts
INDIA
Churel – Jakhin - Mukai – Nagulai – Punyaiama – Bhuta – Brahmaparusha – Rakshasas - Yatu-Dhana – Chedipe – Pisachas – Vetala - Betail
A woman who had died unnaturally or in childbirth could return with her feet on back to front as a Churel (also known as Jakhin, Mukai or Nagulai). She would try to remove the water from the blood of the men of the family while it was still in their veins
The Punyaiama looked like an old woman. It passed a magic thread down a chimney and sucked the blood from the sleeping or mad/drunk women. It was also a cannibal
Appearing at night as shadows, flickering lights or mists, the Bhuta were souls of those who died untimely. They lived in cemeteries. They ate filthy food and were always thirsty. They had the ability to possess people. They were mostly harmless, although they would attack babies who have just fed, as they love milk. They could transmogrify into owls or bats
In North India, the Brahmaparusha were identical to the Bhuta except they were always pictured with their head encircled with intestines, and a skull filled with blood from which it drank. The Nepalese "Lord of Death" was depicted in ancient wall paintings holding a blood-filled goblet in the form of a human skull while standing in a pool of blood. Some of these wall paintings are as old as 3000 B.C
Rakshasas were ogres or demons, they lived in cemeteries and had a human, humanoid or half-animal shape. They are described in the ancient Indian holy writings called the Vedas (about 1500 B.C.) They liked disrupting rituals and burials. They had fangs and attacked infants and pregnant women. They were first described in the Atharva Veda. Anything that they left behind would be devoured by a separate breed, the Yatu-Dhana who were considered either vampires or evil sorcerers
The Chedipe (means prostitute) entered a house at night sending everyone into a trance and sucked blood from the toe of the male of the house
The Pisachas were creatures that were hideous in appearance, bloodthirsty, and repellant. They were supposed to be products of the anger of the deity Brahma. The word Pisachas means literally, "eaters of raw flesh"
This Indian vampire spirit, the Vetala was also known as the Betail. It was said that they inhabited and animated the bodies of the dead. Vetalas are the subject for many Indian stories and legends, including preying on humans and stealing their blood. It hanged from a tree upside-down, not unlike a bat, and had no blood of its own
INDONESIA
Pontianak - Buo
A Pontianak was a woman who died either a virgin or in childbirth. Out of jealousy it would attack infants or emasculate the men it seduced. They flew at night as birds but, in human form, the hole in their backs was a dead give-away. To escape one, you had to pluck a strand of their long black hair
Warriors of Borneo slain in battle could become Buo, who returned from the dead to get revenge
IRELAND
Dearg-Dul - Dearg-Due
There was supposed to be an Irish vampire called Dearg-Dul or Dearg-Due but I can’t find out much about it but there are lots of references about how to kill it. According to Montague Summers, this Irish vampire could be held at bay by piling large amount of stones on its grave
ISTRIA
Strigon - Vedavec
The people of the Istrian countryside were firmly convinced that sorcerers sucked the blood of children. This sucker of blood they called Strigon or Vedavec. They believed that after his death a Strigon wandered about the village around midnight, knocking at, or striking, doors and that someone would die within days in the house whose doors he had struck
ITALY
Strix – Stegra – Benandanti – Chialchuit – Cialcuit - Vencul – Mora - Matrizza - Monacella
The Strix was a night demon from ancient Rome that attacked infants. Ovid described them in Fasti. This Strix developed into the Stegra - a woman who flies about in bird form and attacks infants. These were also recorded in the Saxon capitulary of Charlemagne in 781
During the 16th century (and most probably before), in the northern Italian region of Friuli, there were the Benandanti. These were all men who were born with a caul (amniotic membrane still attached to the top of the infant's head and forming a veil). Such a person was usually brought into the league of benandanti when he was in his late teens. They left their bodies at night to fight against witches who threatened their community. This was spookily similar to the Slovene Kresnik
What we know about the Benandanti was from records of trials in which they were also accused of practicing witchcraft. The same trials mentioned Chialchuit, Cialcuit, Vencul, Mora [Friuli] and Matrizza [Trieste]
An incubus that was called Monacella in Northern Italy was called Vedomec, Vešca and Mora by the Slovenes
JAPAN
Kappa – Vampire Cat – Vampire Fox
The Kappa were ugly, green child-like creatures with webbed fingers and toes. They looked like a monkey. Sometimes they were said to have tortoise like shells and smelled of fish. They also had concave heads that held water (if the water spilled out, the Kappa lost its strength). The Kappa dragged horses and cows into their watery homes where they sucked the blood from their anuses. They would leave the water to steal fruit, rape women and steal people's livers but could enter into binding agreements promising not to attack people
Another Japanese vampire legend involves an unnamed vampire cat (although sometimes a fox) that took the form of a prince's concubine after killing her
MACEDONIA
Vryolakas
The Vryolakas was a messy wine drinker in life, when undead it can be killed by a nail through the navel or pouring oil over the body. It can be deterred by scattering bird seed on the tomb (it would stop and count the seeds, one per century)
MESOPOTAMIA
Ekiminu
Folklore evidence of the vampire tale can be found with the ancient Chaldeans in Mesopotamia, near the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers, and with Assyrian writings on clay or stone tablets
Assyrian folklore believed that an Ekiminu was created by improper burials. They became malignant spirits, half ghost - half vampire. They were naturally invisible and were capable of possessing humans. They were destroyed by using wooden weapons or by exorcism
MALAYSIA
Langsuyar – Langsuir – Penanggalan – Bas – Pelesit - Polong
Much like the Indonesian Pontianak, the Langsuyar or Langsuir was recognised by her long fingernails, green robe, ankle length black hair that covered a hole in her neck. She was created by dying during childbirth (or gaving birth to a stillborn child called a Pontianak). The hole was where she fed on infants' blood. She fooled men into marrying her as a human but at the first big dance she got over excited and flew off into the trees. Sir Wouldiam Maxwell in the Journal of the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society circa 1885 recorded the Langsuyar
Like the Phii Krasue of Thailand, the Penanggalan of Malaysia consisted of a head and some entrails. The Penanggalan actually separated from its whole, female form into a motionless, headless, gutless body and a flying head. It seeked out the blood of children, mothers or the blood from childbirth
The Bas was a spirit believed in by the Chewong people of Malaysia. The food of the Bas was Ruwai, which was loosely translated as soul, vitality, or life. The Bas most often hunted pigs, but were said to occasionally attack humans, if hunger-driven enough, or by accident. The most common way to keep the Bas away was to build a fire, which it saw as a sign of civilization or humanity, and it would stay away
A Malaysian vampiric being that took on the form of a house cricket was called a Pelesit. If someone was being attacked by a Polong, the Pelesit generally was with it. The Pelesit would arrive before the Polong, enter the victim’s body, and prepare the way for the Polong
The Polong was a one inch tall Malaysian female, which was believed to be a witch’s familiar. In return for daily blood from the witch, the Polong would do many tasks, including attacking the witch's enemies
MEXICO
Cihuateteo - Camazotz – Tlahuelpuchi – Camazotz – Tlahuelpuchi - Algul
Cihuateteo, Camazotz or Tlahuelpuchi was either a stillborn baby or a mother who had died in childbirth, which attacked and paralysed babies. It flew and was chalked white on its hands, arms and face. If you offered it bread to fill them up they didn't go attacking humans. If you didn't have any bread, meteorites would also do it. They would die if they were caught in sunlight – this was one of the few vampire legends to actually mention sunlight
Described as a 'man-bat' with a sharp nose, large teeth and claws, the Camazotz was a part of Mayan agricultural myth. The descent of the Camazotz into the earth was linked to the planting of maize
The Tlahuelpuchi could transform itself into several different animal types (usually leaving its legs behind) and attacked infants, and occasionally adults or children. It was always female
It was also said that the vampire may have lived in Mexico prior to the arrival of Spanish Conquistadors, according to the vampire author Montague Summers whose 1928 book The Vampire - His Kith and Kin was a classic. He also wrote that Arabia knew of the vampire as well. Vampire-like beings appeared in the "Tales of the Arabian Nights" called Algul; this was a ghoul which consumed human flesh
NAMIBIA
Otgiruru
The Herero people believed that a vampire called an Otgiruru, which looked like a dog, killed those who answer its call
PERU
Pishtaco - Canchus
The Pishtaco was a vampire that fed off human fat first, then drank the blood
In very ancient Peru there were also vampire legends; the Canchus were believed to be devil worshipers who sucked the blood of the young
PHILIPPINES
Aswang
The Aswang was a beautiful maiden who flew through the night as a large bird, landed on the roof of the victim and fed through a long pointed tubular tongue which reached from the roof to the bed below and pierces the neck of the sleeping victim. The Aswang then flew home before dawn (looking pregnant from the blood) and breast-fed her children. They were supposed to get their supernatural powers from an ointment
POLAND
Upierczi - Viesczy
The Upierczi vampires have origins in both Poland and Russia, and are also called Viesczy. They had a sting under the tongue instead of the fangs. They were active from noon to midnight and could only be destroyed by burning. When burned, the body would burst, giving rise to hundreds of small, disgusting animals (maggots, rats, etc.). If any of these creatures escaped then the Upierczi's spirit would escape too, and would return to seek revenge
Both Polish and Russian vampires emerged from their coffins only between midday and midnight; in addition, their coffins were filled with blood, and they had such enormous hunger that they usually ate their winding sheets inside their coffins
POLYNESIA
Talamaur
The Talamaur sucked the life from the dying and sometimes devoured the heart of healthy men while they were asleep
PORTUGAL
Bruxsa
The Bruxsa was a woman during the day and a bird by night: it seduced travellers and sucked the blood of children. It was a popular excuse to murder women during the Inquisition. It was very similar to the Philippine Aswang
PRUSSIA
Gierach – Viesczy - Stryz
Gierach, Viesczy or Stryz were Prussian vampires. Sprinkling poppy seeds in the grave of this vampire would send it to sleep or keep it busy (a stocking or fishing net to unravel would do just as well). East Prussia (now North Poland) reported vampire epidemics in 1710, 1721 and 1750
ROMANIA
Vircolac – Murohy – Nosferatu - Strigoi – Stryx – Stringes - Strigoi Vii - Strigoiu mort – Pricolic - Moroi
All Romanian vampires are said to be particularly active on the British St George's Day (23 April) and Scottish St Andrew's Day (30 November). They could take on the shape of dogs, cats, frogs and insects. A Vircolac (or Murohy) drained the energy from people. To kill it, people had to cut out its heart and split it, then bang a nail in the forehead (or in eyes and heart if female), then dump the body in the mountains, shove garlic in the mouth, or smear it with pig fat on St Ignatius Day
Nosferatu was old Slavonic for plague carrier, it does not mean undead. A lot of causes are quoted, it could be the illegitimate son of two illegitimate parents, the seventh son of a seventh son, a bastard, born with a caul, if the mother had not eaten salt while pregnant or had been looked at by a vampire while pregnant. The Nosferatu fed on its family and makes husbands impotent
The Strigoi (Stryx/Stringes) was supposed to be created by an unusual occurrence either at birth or death. A living Strigoi was a person who was born with either a caul or a little tail. They were often like owls
There's also the Strigoi Vii, who were witches destined to become vampires after death
A Strigoiu mort was a dead red-headed women made to live again by the accidental return of its soul (usually because they died prematurely), who squatted in deserted houses at night. To kill it you had to bang a nail through it the chest or blow up its coffin
In Romanian lore, the names for an undead vampire include: Pricolic, Moroi
What we know today about ancient Roman belief about the Stryx was from what Ovid wrote in his book Fasti. According to Ovid, the Striges atttacked children at night in a form resembling that of a screech owl
In a tale about the Striges that Ovid wrote, the Striges created wounds on an infant's chest with their beaks and talons and then drank the blood from these wounds. The striges returned night after night to prey on the infant until the parents appealed to the demi-goddess Crane. Crane then appeared and went through the home performing rituals to ban the return of the Striges. Her last act was to place a branch of white thorn in the window of the infant's room
RUSSIA
Vampirs – Uppyr – Upierczi - Ereticy - Erestuny
Heretics, witches and suicides were thought to turn into Vampirs, Uppyr or Upierczi after death. They caused drought. If you banged a stake through them would kill them, doing it more than once would bring them back
Ereticy or Erestuny were re-animated corpses brought back by sorcerers to begin feeding on their relatives. They also fed on or women who'd sold their souls to Satan. They slept on graves and made noises in the public bathrooms
SERBIA
Vorkudlak - Lampir - Vlkodlak – Mulo - Vampyre
In Serbia, the most common names for an undead vampire are Vampir and Vorkudlak. In Bosnia, Croatia, and Montenegro, the names include not only the two just mentioned but also Lampir
This should not be confused with the Vlkodlak who looked drunk, was over 20 years old and could only be undead for 7 years, then had to repeat the process somewhere else. It caused eclipses and could be killed by piercing its navel with a hawthorn branch and setting it on fire with vigil candles
A Mulo was a dead gypsy who wore white and was active all day and night. It would boil the women it wants and then fillet them. To kill it people would call in a Dhampir (a vampire's degenerate son) who would defeat it in combat
In 1725, villagers of Kisilovo in the Vojvodina region of Serbia reported that Peter Plogojowitz had returned from the grave - the Austrian government report on this incident used the word 'vampire' for the first time
The French version of the word 'vampyre' was introduced into the language seven years later (1732) when Arnold Paole was blamed for dozens of deaths of people and cattle around the town of Medvegia, Serbia. He was apparently bitten by a vampire while fighting in Kosova. The detailed description of his corpse being dug up (with growing hair, flesh complexion and fresh blood evident) as well as his dramatic staking became one of the best selling government reports ever
[MONTENEGRO AND] SERBIA
Vjestitza – Vestizsa – Tenatz - Vukodlak
The Vjestitza or Vestizsa was another female witch of the Balkan countries whose main prey were infants but were also sometimes blamed for adult illnesses. The Vjestititza was typically an old woman whose soul left her body at night when she went to sleep. Her soul then tooks the body of a hen, a black moth, or a fly
The Tenatz came from Montenegro, these were supposed to be the bodies of deceased people taken over by spirits. They would roam around at night and suck sleeping people’s blood. They would change into mice to enter and exit their gravesites
The Montenegran Vukodlak could turn into a wolf but only went out in the full moon. Crows would not go near its tomb
SCOTLAND
Baobban Sith - Redcap
The Baobban Sith were occasionally seen as crows or ravens, but usually these vampires were young maidens or fairies in long green dresses (which hide their cloven hooves). They are afraid or repelled by horses and cause massive wounds on the necks and shoulders of men they dance with
The Redcap was a malignant spirit who haunted abandoned castles and other places where violence had occurred. If someone slept in a spot haunted by the redcap, it would attempt to dip its cap in human blood. It could easily be driven off with a word from the Bible or a cross
SLOVENIA
Kudlak – Vorkudlak - Kresnik - Crusnik
In Croatian and Slovenian lore on the peninsula of Istria, a person born with a caul (embryonic membrane still attached to the top of the head, forming a veil) was destined to become either a Kudlak (abbreviation for Vorkudlak) or a Kresnik (possibly Crusnik). It could also be a person who has certain supernatural powers and uses them to the detriment of his community even before he dies. In other words, a person so destined to become a Kudlak would already begin a career of evil while still alive - his soul would leave his body at night in animal form and fly through the air to attack people or to magically do other harm to the community he lived in. When he died, he became an undead vampire who was then an even greater threat to the community. But if a person born with a caul became a Kresnik, he became a champion of the community. While he lived, his soul left his body in animal form at night to fight against both living and undead Kudlaks. According to one account, a person born with a red or dark caul became a Kudlak but a person born with a white or clear caul became a Kresnik
SOUTH AMERICA
Cihuateteo - Tlahuelpuchi
Aztec women, who died in childbirth, as well as their babies, became Cihuateteo. They wandered the night and attacked children, leaving them paralysed or diseased. Described physically as having white faces, and very chalky arms and hands. They wore the garb of Tlazolteotl, goddess of sorcery, lust, and evil
The Tlahuelpuchi was an Aztecan person, usually female, which supposedly had the ability to shape shift into various animals and attack people, most often infants, and suck their blood. The most common was to change into a turkey, but dogs, cats, buzzards, were known
THAILAND
Phii - Phii Song Nang - Phii Krasue
The Phii was one of countless spirits from Thai mythology, the Phii Song Nang was basically identical to the Pontianak of Indonesia and Malaysia - it attacked young men mostly. A seer or 'Maw Du' was called in to make spells and incantations to get rid of this Phii. The Phii Krasue was similar to the Pelagganan of Malaysia and Kappa of Japan in that it consisted of a head and entrails and had a tendency to feed from people's bottoms with its long tongue
TIBET
Bhagavan Vajra – Heruka - Vajra-Krotishaurima - Ratna-Herucka - Padma-Heruka - Dark-Green Ghasmari - Kerimas - the Lotus Order
The Wrathful Dieties are also known as the 58 blood-drinking deities, these vampires were figures representing the brain's reason and the deceased's vampire activities, which appeared to the spirit of the recently dead from the eigth day onwards whilst they wandered the karma-dominated zones of the afterlife in Buddhist teachings. These include: Bhagavan Vajra- Heruka, Vajra-Krotishaurima, Ratna-Herucka, Padma-Heruka, Dark-Green Ghasmari, plus eight Kerimas and the Lotus Order
WEST INDIES
Asema – Loogaroo - Sukuyan
An elderly person by day, a skin shedding ball of flying blue light by night, the Asema would drain a person to death if it liked the taste of their blood. Killed by sunlight (hence a mixture of seeds and nails would keep them busy - picking, dropping, picking... till dawn). Better yet, you can shrink the skin while they are a ball so they can't fit back into it!
Known in Surinam as the Asema, in Haiti as the Loogaroo, and in Trinidad as the Sukuyan. Their roots are thought to be the Aziman of the Fo peoples of Benin. These vampires made pacts with the devil. The devil would ask for some warm blood each night, and in return, give the Loogaroo magical powers. When hunting for blood, they would take their skin off, and take the form of a fiery ball of light
Modern Embellishments
In 1897, the author Bram Stoker wrote Dracula to wide acclaim, even the church declared it as one of the best ever romantic novels. Set in Transylvania, the book introduced Count Dracula and immortaliised the vampire myth. Dracula could not be seen in mirrors, he slept in a coffin, feared daylight, crosses and garlic, and his mouth contained two fangs to puncture his victims' throats to suck out their blood. He was one of the undead and once bitten the victim would also become a vampire. This image of the cloaked vampire in a castle continued in further books and movies, until Ann Rice began a new version with her book An Interview with a Vampire
The book An Interview with a Vampire and subsequent film further modified and updated the vampire story, and many of today's vampire tales mirror Ann Rice's image of characters like Lestat - suave and sophisticated aristocrats with a passion for blood and sexual activities. Various psychological conditions have similar traits to this type of vampire, where the afflicted person has a desire to drink blood during sex and in extreme cases would resort to necrophilia (sleeping with the dead) and even murder
Sources:
www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A273566
www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki
www.istrianet.org/istria/legends/
Acknowledgements:
The Religious System of China
Saxon capitulary of Charlemagne
Journal - Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society
Dracula
Interview with a vampire
Thanks to:
darkangel03
MistressSiobhan
domangelus
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