Vampires From Around The World

Place Of Origin:The Scottish Highlands

Physical Description:An entrancinglybeautifulA young woman wears a white or green dress. Some legends claim they have cloven feet hidden under long, flowing dresses.

How The Creature Is Born: Only women bitten by a baobhan sith become one. Men bitten are fed upon and die.

Abilities: The baobhan sith lacks fangs. She has long, razor-sharp fingernails.that she uses to cut and drink blood. She speaks any language by reading minds to better lure victims. The baobhan sith travel in groups and turn into wolves.How To Defeat Them:

Kill the baobhan sith and cover her grave with stones to stop her from rising. They also fear iron and horses due to iron horseshoes. If a beautiful, seductive fairy woman approaches you in the woods, stay on your horse. You can kill a baobhan sith with iron, like impaling them with an iron stake.Cultural Context: They are afraidof iron and horses because of iron horseshoes. If a beautiful, seductive fairy woman approaches you in the woods, stay on your horse. You can kill a baobhan sith with iron, such as impaling them with an iron stake.

Cultural Context: The baobhan sith ispronounced"baa'van see," which is where the word banshee comes from. Scottish Gaelic translates baobhan sith to "fairy woman," suggesting these vampires link to a long tradition of fairy folklore. Some myths claim baobhan sith, and fairies generally, were fallen angels who sought human blood for salvation.fallen angelswho sought human blood for salvation.

Place Of Origin: Romania, specifically Transylvania

Physical Description:The strigoi take manyforms, including shapeshifting into bats orwolves. They appear as they were before death and haunt families by slowly draining their life force. A female strigoi can act normal and marry, then suck her husband's life force until he dies.

How The Creature Is Born: The folklore of the strigoi shows many ways to become this vampiric being. One method is suicide. Another is being born feet first, which makes you a vampire after you die. If you are the seventh son or daughter, you become a strigoi. Being born with a third nipple, a tail, or a witch's curse also likely makes you a strigoi. Romania must be full of strigoi with many ways to become one.folkloreOf the strigoi, many ways exist to become this vampiric being. Suicide is one way. Being born feet first makes you a vampire after death. Seventh sons or daughters become strigoi. Having a third nipple, a tail, or a witch's curse also makes you likely to become a strigoi. Romania must hold many strigoi with these many ways to become one.

Abilities:The Romanian strigoi has superhuman speed, mind-reading, godlike strength, immortality, astral projection (visiting you in dreams), and shapeshifting.

How To Defeat Them:There are manytheoriesSome claim defeating the Strigoi requires stabbing a person's heart and stomach with knitting needles if they die first. This stops them from becoming a bloodthirsty undead vampire. In 2005, men from a small Romanian village were arrested for exhuming a corpse. They attempted to kill a vampire by digging up the body, removing the heart, burning the heart, and drinking a potion made from the ashes. The body received stakes and garlic before being returned to the ground.

Cultural Context: In Romanian, strigoi means "scream." According to Romanian vampire historian historianAdrien Cremene says Romanian vampire lore comes from Dacian mythology, from the time the Dacian people ruled the area now called Romania, as far back as 2000 BCE.

Scholar Claudia Costin states many traditional Romanian stories about the strigoi saw these vampires as a tool of punishmentand a moral message for people to follow pre-Christian divine law: Life must end naturally, and the living world must not cross the dead world.

Place Of Origin:Alukah is a figurefrom Judaism, not from any single place. These legends come from ancient Mesopotamian demonology.

Physical Description:Alukah appearsas a beautiful woman who lures any man to her through seduction.

How The Creature Is Born: Only one Alukah exists; she is the daughter of Lilith. Alukah has two daughters she must feed blood to.

Abilities:When Alukah's hair is loose, she can turn into a bat and fly. She can also shapeshiftinto a wolf. She is a seductive, beautiful female who draws men to death. She has two daughters she needs to feed, and they all die without enough blood. She can curse any womb to stop a child from being born.

The Jewish Torah describes Alukah, including this passage from Proverbs30:15-16: "The leech has two daughters, 'Give,' 'Give.' There are three things that will not be satisfied, Four that will not say: 'Enough.' Sheol, and the barren womb, Earth, that is never satisfied with water and fire that never says: 'Enough.'"

How To Defeat Them:To kill Alukah, you must deny her blood. If you bury her after that, you must stuff her mouth with dirt to stop her from returning as a demon.

Cultural Context:In Hebrew, Alukah translates to "horse-leech," a type of leech with a mouth full of fangs to drink blood from livestock. Legend states Alukah is the daughter of Lilith, the predecessor to Eve who rejected God's rules and was expelled from Eden. Lilith also possesses the power to curse wombs.

Place Of Origin: In Malaysia, it is called the pontianak. This lore appears in Indonesia but uses the name kuntilanak.

Physical Description: The pontianak appears as a beautifulThe Pontianak is a goddess-like woman. She uses her strange beauty to draw men into her trap. Then, she rips out their organs with her long claws and eats them. She usually shows long black hair, white skin, and red eyes.

How the creature is born:The Pontianak is more a vampiric ghost than a vampire. A woman dies in childbirth or from a violent crime committed by men. This creature returns to Earth seeking revenge.

Abilities: The Pontianak hassuperhumanstrength and shapeshifting. Her supernatural beauty lures men to death. She only appears during a full moon.

How To Defeat Them: You can tell a Pontianak isapproachingwhen you hear a baby crying and smell flowers. Kill her by driving a long nail into the nape of her neck; a hole will appear. Some legends claim that if you nail her neck, she becomes a beautiful, young wife until you remove the nail.

Cultural Context: Experts point out the Pontianak lore in Malaysian society rose with the creation of new Islamic trade routes.creation of new Islamic trade routesThe pontianak may represent tensions between traditional religions like animism, Hinduism, and Buddhism and Islam. They may also show patriarchal violence in Southeast Asian communities and childbirth dangers. Pontianak inspired many horror movies in Malaysia and Indonesia, making them a monster celebrity.

PortugalPortugal

Bruxsas are almost always women., and they take the shape of beautiful young seductresses to draw their prey. They say they meet weekly to honor their master, Satan, slowly gaining power. When powerful, they shapeshift into a giant bird to hunt and stalk prey.How The Creature Is Born:, and take the form of beautiful young seductresses to lure prey. They meet weekly to honor Satan and slowly gain power. Powerful enough, they shapeshift into a giant bird to hunt and stalk prey.

Abilities:As the Bruxsa's power grows, she can change into many forms, mainly a large black bird, but also a rat, wolf, or ant. She can walk in sunlight but is strongest between midnight and 2 a.m.

How To Defeat Them:As the bruxsa's power grows, she shapeshifts into many forms, like a large black bird, a rat, a wolf, or an ant. She walks in sunlight, but her power peaks between midnight and 2 a.m.

AmuletsBruxsas favor the blood of children. Mothers in Portugal found ways to ward them off or punish them after an attack.Cultural Context:translates

Cultural Context:The bruxsa, whichtranslatesThe 'Bruxsa' entered the witch category, similar to the brujas of Spain and Mexico. The Inquisition used this legend to scare people about demons and Satan while trying to end Portugal's pagan beliefs.

Place Of Origin:Wabanaki land, now Maine, split into four tribes across Maine and New England: the Maliseet, the Micmac, the Penobscot, and the Passamaquoddy tribes.

Physical Description:During the day, the skadegamutc looks like an undeadThe skadegamutc acts like a zombie. At night, it turns into a ball of light, traveling through the woods to find someone to attack.

How The Creature Is Born:Skadegamutc form when powerful magicians create them.magiciansThese individuals stay immortal by feasting on the blood and flesh of human victims.

Abilities: This creature appears dead during the day, so people think it is just a corpse. At night, it shifts into a light orb and hunts for victims. The skadegamutc finds people lost in the woods or separated from their group. They also seek out grief, often targeting funerals to feed on the blood of sad humans.

How To Defeat Them: FireFire is the only thing that kills the skadegamutc.

Cultural Context:Folklore passed down for centuries tells the story of the skadegamutc. Like much folklore, it might have started to scare children away from wandering alone in the woods. It also makes travelers stick together to avoid getting lost and caught by the skadegamutc.

Place Of Origin:India

Physical Description: The vetala takes over the bodies of humans or animals and brings them back to life to follow its orders. It looks exactly like the corpse it reanimates.

How The Creature Is Born:The vetala is not a reanimatedperson who lived in a body like other vampires. Instead, the vetala is a demon that possesses the corpse of any dead human or animal. If bodies lack a proper burial, the vetala possesses them easily. They have fangs with venom that dull victims so they can drink their blood for days.

Abilities: They can psychicallysee into the past, any point in the present, and the future, gaining knowledge that helps them beat any foe. The vetala also hangs upside down from trees, playing tricks on mortals. These creatures exist between the living and dead, connecting them deeply to both. They often appear in graveyards. They enjoy causing panic, destruction, and death.

According to the Sanskrit story collection Vetala PanchvimshatiThe vetala date to the 11th century. These creatures excelled at telling riddles. One story shows the monster asks a king riddles. If the king answers correctly, the vetala flies off. If the king fails, the vetala travels with him. If the king lies about not knowing an answer, his head shatters into a million pieces.

How To Defeat Them:Killing the vetala proves hard because its spirit inhabits a corpse.it inhabitsIf you destroy the body the vetala possesses, it finds a new one. Give a deceased person a proper burial; a vetala cannot possess that body. This stops them.

Cultural Context: Bram Stoker and his familyvisitedIndia many times. He was also close friends with Sir Richard Burton, the famous Indologist. Burton helped Stoker translate Indian stories, including vetala tales. Infamous Dracula likely drew inspiration from Indian vetala lore.

Place Of Origin:Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Romania, Belarus, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic.

Physical Description: Upirs have pale skin and are usually male. Their lips are pulled back, and they have bloody red gums and sharp teeth. They have an unquenchableUpirs have a thirst for blood greater than most vampires. They eat victims' hearts, bathe in blood, and sleep in it.

How The Creature Is Born: Slavic traditions state Upirs come from corpses of people who committed deadly sins. People who were witches or necromancers also became upirs in death. Anyone with a cursed soul could rise as a bloodthirsty upir.deadlyAlso, people who were witches or necromancers become upirs when they die. Anyone with a damned soul had a chance to rise as a bloodthirsty upir.

Abilities: Upirs walk fine in daylight but hunt at night. They eat children first and prey on parents later. Their teeth are stronger than iron; they can bite through anything.

How To Defeat Them:Stab Upirs in the heart with a priest-blessed stake to defeat them. Make it better by soaking them in holy water. Some legends warn to only pierce them once; stabbing them twice makes them stronger.

Cultural Context:The upir came fromregional pagan traditionsThese traditions showed a clear split between body and soul. When the body died, the soul wandered the Earth for 40 days. Only unclean souls became upirs. This tradition stayed the same, with minor changes when Eastern and Central Europe adopted Christianity.

The Belarusian form is the upor. It only differs because it can change into a horse. Slavic legends use upyrs and ubers for this monster.

Place Of Origin: St Lucia, Jamaica, Dominica, Guyana, Suriname, Guadeloupe, Haiti, the Bahamas, Louisiana, and more.

Physical Description:During the day, the soucouyantThe soucouyant appears as an old, haggard crone. At night, the woman peels off her skin, crushing it in a mortar for a magical ingredient in potions and spells. She transforms into a young woman, then catches fire to find her next victim. This soucouyant enters homes through cracks and keyholes.

How the creature forms:No origin story exists for the soucouyant.soucouyantSome believe getting bitten by one turns you into a soucouyant yourself.

Abilities:These monsters drain victims' blood through soft body parts while they sleep, leaving blue marks. Lore varies by location: some soucouyants kill, some take blood, others turn victims into soucouyants who must obey their master. Some stories claim the soucouyant hunts those who wronged others, killing them as payback or for the greater good. She uses black magic and works with other Caribbean monsters like the bazil, trading victims' blood.

How To Defeat Them:To catch a soucouyant, a person must spread rice everywhere around their home. The creature must pick up every grain, taking forever. This keeps the potential victim free to catch the monster while it cleans up the rice. To kill the creature, find their personal mortar with their skin, then mix in salt and pepper. The soucouyant cannot put her skin back on and dies from the pain of itching and burning.catchTo catch a soucouyant, a person needs to place heaps of rice around their home. The creature will pick up every grain, which takes forever, letting the potential victim catch the monster while it cleans the rice. To kill the creature, locate their personal mortar with their skin and mix in salt and pepper. The soucouyant cannot put her skin back on; she perishes from itching and burning.

Cultural Context: The soucouyant has different names across the Caribbean depending on the region. Barbados and the Bahamas call her a hag. Jamaica, Guyana, and Belize use Ole Haig. Suriname calls her asema, and Haiti, Louisiana, and Grenada call her a loogaroo.

Many folklore scholars think the soucouyant myth may have originated in West Africa.originated in West AfricaEuropean influences shaped it via the Atlantic slave trade. Some suggest the soucouyant served as an excuse for family members not returning home during peak Middle Passage activity.

Place Of Origin: China, Taiwan, and Japan

Physical Description: Jiangshi have pale skin with a green-blue tint, but they keep their former physical features. Their mouths hold razor-sharp teeth, and their nails grow stiff and unbreakable, making attacks easier. Moss grows on them from their decay, and their breath is foul; one sniff knocks you out.physicalTheir mouths hold razor-sharp teeth, and their nails grow stiff and unbreakable, making attacks easier. Moss grows on them from their decay, and their breath is foul; one sniff knocks you out.

How The Creature Is Born: Jiangshi are reanimated corpses of people who were alive. Grieving families perform rituals to bring them back, creating soulless monsters with rigor mortis that hop around.

Abilities: Jiangshi hop to move. They move fast and far. They appear before or behind you in seconds without warning. They gain power from moon and stars shining on their corpse at night until they wake up. They turn into a light orb that hypnotizes and lures victims to death. Jiangshi do not feed on blood or flesh. They take qi, or energy, from a living person until that person dies.

Defeat Them:You cannot surely kill a jiangshi. But you can repel it and keep it away. Use mirrors, wood nailed under the door, black dog blood, fire, vinegar, Taoist talismans held to the jiangshi's head, a rooster's call, jujube seeds, or black donkey hooves.

Cultural Context:Jiangshitranslatesto "stiff corpse." The jiangshi lore started with Qin Shi Huang, the founder of the Qin dynasty, emperor in 247 BC. He united China through many bloody battles. Families who lost sons in those wars sought Taoist priests for closure. They begged priests to bring sons back to life for proper burials. Legends say these rituals reanimated the soldiers' corpses, but their souls lacked purity, making them thirst for human blood.

Place Of Origin:South AfricaspecificallyMpondo, Xhosa, Bhaca, Nguni, Ndebele, and Zulu folklore.

Physical Description:Only women see the bird's true form: a lightning bolt. As a bird, its body is white with red wings, a red beak, red feet, and a red tail. Different tribes show varied appearances. Some claim it changes into a handsome man or a man in a grey suit.

How The Creature Is Born: The impundulu is created bywitchesor sorcerers seeking revenge on enemies. They send the creator to torment the target. Witches and sorcerers also use impundulu eggs as strong magical ingredients and their fat to repel other impundulus.

Abilities:The impundulu makes thunder when it flaps its wings andlightningwhen it lands and lays its eggs. If the eggs survive, it brings bad luck. It gives victims tuberculosis to drain their blood and life force. The creature can also turn into a handsome man and seduce women, turning them into haggard witches and often stealing their children. The impundulu controls minds to make anyone have sex.

How To Defeat Them:Impundulus love milk more than blood. Kill them by leavingpoisonedmilk out for them.

Cultural Context:Impundulu lore shifts between tribes. Some say a nosebleed means the impundulu attacked you in your sleep. The Xhosa people think passing the bird to a daughter or granddaughter removes it. If they fail, the bird gets tuberculosis and dies.

Place Of Origin: The Romani diaspora spread across Europe, especially in the Balkans.

Physical Description: A literal watermelon (or a pumpkin) shows a drop of blood on its skin. This blood signals its change into a vampiric fruit.

How The Creature Is Born: Any fruit left outside during a full moon can become a vampire fruit.

Abilities: Romani lore claims the vampiric watermelons or pumpkinstremble and make a sound like "brrrl brrrl brrrl." These items fly around houses at night, harming livestock mainly. They pose little threat to people.

How To Defeat Them: No one has recorded a way to defeat a vampire watermelon.

Cultural Context: Word of mouth records much Romani lore. Written history of these legends is scarce. The Gypsy Lore Societyhas recorded Romani history since 1888. This group keeps the stories of vampire watermelons alive.

Place Of Origin:Bali, Indonesia

Physical Description: Leyaks have razor-sharp, very long fangs and a long tongue in their true form. During the day, they transform into a human shape to avoid capture. But at sunset, their head and entrails leave their body and fly away. They can also change into animals and fly. Some stories say the leyak travels as a fireball.

How The Creature Is Born: Leyaks are normal humans who use magic and sorcery to transform. To keep their leyak powers, they must feed on embryonic blood.

Abilities:The leyak flies after pregnant women or women with newborns because an infant's blood is its favorite food. They can change into animals, especially pigs.

How To Defeat Them:Leyaks can only survive in Bali. To truly escape them, you must leave Bali. To destroy a leyak, find its floating head, then stab a sword through the neck and up the head. This stops the head from reattaching and kills the leyak.

Cultural Context: "Le" means witch and "ak" means bad, so the leak or leyak translates to "bad witch." There are only three legendary leyaks: two female and one male.