Our Vampires Are Different/Myth, Legend and Folklore

To be blunt, any nocturnal carnivorous or parasitic supernatural being will be labeled a "Vampire" by folklorists. Entire books have been written on the subject. Examples (of vampires, not books) include:

• Romanian mythology has what's called strigoi. Quick notes:
  • Unlike Russia's upir, which is a walking, bloodsucking corpse from day one, strigoi start as harmless poltergeists.
  • Some ill-omens can point to a human rising as a strigoi, but they're just indicators of what's possible: stuff like a black cat walking across the grave, moonlight falling on it, monkshood growing nearby, the list goes on and isn't conclusive.
  • Driving a stake through the heart of a recently deceased strigoi vio (or human doomed to rise as a strigoi mort) will keep it from rising altogether. If that can't be done, wait until the spirit manifests through poltergeist activity and then call in the priest to excorcise it.
  • The ghost grows increasingly more volatile until it's spent seven whole years in the town it inhabited in life. Then it's free to wander around the land.
  • Full-fledged s. mort can be identified by red eyes, red hair, and a pale complexion.
  • Feasts on human blood. Also has two hearts.
  • Makes more of 'em by fathering children instead of with an infectious bite. The kids will become strigoi mort after death.
• Romanian lore also includes an Eldritch Abomination variant called a Varcolac, that apparently has the ability to swallow the moon for a small amount of time.
• Malaysian vampire lore includes a truly bizarre creature called a Penanngalan, which looks human by day, but by night detaches its head and flies (trailing its intestines) to people's windows where it uses its long, thin tongue to suck blood. It can be killed by filling its body with glass (so it shreds it's organs on re-entry) or trapped with thorns on a windowsill. Notably, this vampire, unlike most mythological variants, is vulnerable to sunlight, but only in its detached form, which is why trapping it until sun-up is a viable way to kill it.
  • Philipino mythology has basically the same creature, but instead called a Manananggal, that detaches its entire upper body and grows bat wings.
  • The Japanese have two very similar creatures, one that detaches its head and is basically the same as a Penanggal, and one that simply stretches its neck out.
  • And finally, Burma has an all-male variant called a Kephn, that is arguably worse then all of the above because it feeds on people's souls.
• In the Andes, there is the Pishtaco. Instead of drinking your blood, he drains the fat out of your body and sells it to the white man on the coast, who uses it to grease his machines. After he's dried you out, he cuts you up. Makes an appearance in Death in the Andes by Mario Vargas Llosa.
• India has the Vetala, an evil spirit that inhabits a corpse, transforms it into a batlike monster and drinks blood. It's notable for functioning more like a trickster spirit then a vampire, and enjoys rhymes and riddles.
• Africa has the Adze, a disgusting, hunched gnome that takes the shape of a firefly to feed on blood.

---

Back to Our Vampires Are Different