Afrit.-In Arabian lore, an afrit is the vampiric spirit of a murdered man who seeks to avenge his death. The demon rises up like smoke from the blood of the victim. The afrit can be stopped by driving a nail into the blood-stained ground.
Aswang manananggal.-Shape-shifting Philipine viscera suckers (these attack pregnant women), aswang manananggals fly about as bodiless heads with trailing entrails and feed on human flesh, blood, organs, and mucus, especially that of fetuses and newborns. They are accompanied by small birds who act as familiars and reconaissance, locating prey. By the way, aswang mananangals are either men or women who are likely to be respected members of their communities.
Bhuta.- In India a bhuta is a malignant spirit or demon or a spirit of the dead. If the latter, they usually are the restless souls of men who died untimely deaths. Bhutas are flesh eaters who haunt forests and empty dwellings by day and night. They are flickering lights or misty apparitions that cast no shadows and hover above the ground. Thus, they can be avoided by lying flat on the ground. In particular, they plague living people who do not perform the proper funerary right for the dead. Like the European vampire, bhutas are blamed for blighted crops, diseased livestock, natural and domestic calamities, accidents, illness, plagues, and insanity. They can enter human bodies and make victims sicken and die.
Brahmaparusha.-Indian vampire similar to the bhuta, the brahmaparusha is commonly depicted as a male demon wearing a wreath of intestines around his head, gnawing the flesh off a man's head, and drinking blood from the skill.
Ekimmu.-In Babylonian and Assyrian demonology, an ekimmu is the restless spirit of the dead denied entry to the underworld that is forced to prowl the earth. It is created though lack of burial, improper burial, or lack of proper attention by the living, especially the leaving of food and liquids intended to sustain the spirit on its journey to the underworld. The ekimmu vampirizes human not by preying on their blood or flesh but by entering their households at night and causing misfortune and destruction.
Empusa.-A Greek demonic vampire spirit, the empusa has no shape of its own, but appears as a foul phantom in a myriad of guises, sometimes in the form of an alluring young woman. It enters the body of its human prey to consume its flesh and drink its blood.
Eretik.-In Russian folklore, an eretik is a heretic who becomes a vampire after death, sucking blood and eating flesh. Heretics include Old Believers (the keepers of the old religion) as well as wizards and sorcerers.
Hantu langsuir (langsuyar).-In Malayan lore, a hantu langsuir is the spirit of a woman who died in childbirth, becoming a demon that subsists on blood, milk, and entrails of newborns, nursing mothers, and pregnant women. The hantu langsuir drains its victim's blood through a hole at the base of the neck. It sometimes shape-shifts into the form of an owl.
Hantu penanggalan.-A Malayan vicera sucker that is usually female, the hantu penanggalan flies about as a bodiless head with trailing entrails. Like other birth demons, it preys upon pregnant women and newborns, sucking their blood and eating their viscera.
Krasyy.-In Thai and Laotian demonology, krasyys are old women who shape-shift into viscera suckers and fly about on moonless nights. They particularly like infants, but will feast on human excrement as a substitite.
Lamia.-A class of monstrous female birth demons, lamiae a destroyer deity in Babylonian adn Assyrian lore, and Lamia, a goddess who was the mistress of Zeus. Hera, the wife of Zeus, was so enraged by the liaison that she killed the offspring that resulted from the union. In revenge, Lamia swore to kill the children of others. Lamiae became female demons with deformed lower limbs who preyed upon newborns, drinking there blood and consuming their flesh. In Hebrew lore, lamiae are represented by Lilith, Adam's first wife, who was punished for leaving her husband. in some places it is said that she walks the earth, drinking the blood of innocents.
Loogaroo.-A West Indies vampire, a loogaoo is an old woman who has made a pact with the Devil. She shape-shifts by first removing her skin and becoming a blob of light. The loogaroo likes to suck human blood. Her name bears a strong resemblance to the French term for werewolf, loup garou. If the loogaroo is injured while in her shape-shifted form, she will, like the werewolf, show her wound when she changes back to human form.
Mullo.-A Gypsy vampire whose name literally means the "living dead," mullos are restless spirits of the dead who rise from the grave to avenge their deaths, wreak havok upon those persons they disliked in life, and indulge in their insatiable sexual appetites. In particular, they strangle animals and humans for their blood. They appear in human form, except that they have no bones, leaving them behind in their graves. Some of them have hair so long it touches the ground. Indian Gypsies see vampires with flaming yellow hair, flesh the color of congealed blood, and tusklike fangs.
Nachzehrer.-A nachzehrer is a Silesian revenant who vampirises its relatives. While in the grave, it first eats its own clothing and flesh, which causes its nearest relataives to sicken and die. The nachzehrer then leaves its grave at midnight every night to search out the remaining family members and suck their blood.
nosferatu.-Romanian word meaning "undead."
Obayifo.-In Ashanti lore, an obayifo is a witch, or sometimes a wizard, who sucks the blood of children, causing them to pine and die. It also saps the vitality from crops, blighting them.
Pijawica.- A pijawica is a Croatian vampire whose name comes from the root pit, meaning "to drink." The name refers less to blood drinking than to alcoholism, which is associated with vampirism in Eastern European folklore.
Pisaca.-A flesh-eating Indian demon, a pisaca haunts cremation grounds, doorways, royal roads, and deserted houses. Seeing one means death will come within nine months. Pisacas can become invisible and enter the bodies of the living throught their mouth. Once inside, they feed on intestines and feces.
Polong.-A Malaysian vampire in the shape of a tiny person, either male or female, who has the ability to fly, a polong is made by collecting the blood of a man who has been murdered. The blood is left in a bottle for two weeks, and magical incantations are said over it. The polong grows in the blood and chirps when ready to emerge. Its human creator then must cut a finger daily for the polong to suck. The polong then can be dispatched to attack enemies by burrowing into them and making them sicken and die. It travels with its familiar, a pelesit, a cricketlike demon with a sharp tail. The pelesit burrows its tail into the victim, making a tunnel by which the polong enters the body to suck blood.
Pontianak.-An Indonesian viscera sucker that is the spirit of a woman who died in childbirth, a pontianak's favored prey are pregnant women. She kills both woman and fetus by stabbing the woman in the abdomen with her talons.
Raksasa.- In Indian lore, a raksasa is a type of vampiric demon that operates at night, especially during dark and new moons. Like the greek birth demons, raksasas attack the vulnerable, especially children and women at their weddings. They also attack men while they eat and drink, enteringtheir bodies and driving them insane. Raksasas usually appear as humans with fiery eyes and abnormally long tongues. They also can shape-shiftinto dogs, eagles, vultures, owls, and cuckoos and can masquerade as dwarfs, husbands, and lovers.
Sarkomenos.-With a name meaning "the fleshy one," a sarkomenos is a ghoulish vampire of Crete and Rhodes.
Striga (strix).-In Greco-Roman lore, striges are females who can shape-shift into voracious birds of prey--usually owls--and, like lamiae, feast upon the blood and flesh of children. THey are particularly fond of livers and internal organs. Striges fly at night, and no locks or barriers can keep them out. Ovid said striges use their beaks to pick out a child's milk-fed bowels.
Strigoi.-A Romanian term for vampire, the name strigoi is almost exclusively applied to the returning dead. When applied to the liveing, it refers to a witch or wizard. Living strigoi who perform magical work-for-hire are held in good regard.
Talamaur.-In Melanesian lore, a talamur is the soul of a dead person that sustains itself by vampirizing the last sparks of strength of the dying and just dead.
Tanggal.-An Indonesian sorceress who detaches her head and bowels from her body and flies about at night looking for human prey, the tanggal uses her large ears or lungs to fly.
Tengu.- A tengu is a Japanese vampire demon in the shape of a bird.
Upior.-Polish word for "vampire."
Vampir.-Hungarian word for "vampire."
Vetala.-In Hindu lore, the vetala is a class of ghouls or vampires that lurk about cemeteries and reanimate the dead. They have guman bodies that have the hands and feet turned backward. They live in stones, and their eerie singing is often heard in cemeteries. They enjoy playing nasty tricks on the living.
Vieszcy.-A Kashub vampire, the telltale sign of the vieszcy is that the left eye remains open after death.
Vukodlak.-A southern Slavic vampire-werewolf, the vukodlak's name literally means "wolf's hair." Most often male, the vukodlak is created forty days after death by the entry into the corpse by a demonic spirit that reanimates the body. The vukodlak leaves its grave to drin human blood and have sexual relations with its former wife or girlfriends or young widows.
Vyrkolakas.-The Greek term for vyrkolakas is generally the revenant of a man that rises from the grave, preys upon humans and animals for their blood, and tears out the livers of its victims.
Wampira.-Russian word for "vampire."
Xiang shi (ch'iang shih).-In Chinese demonology, a xiang shi is a vampire created from the po, the power of the two souls posessed by every human. Either the po or the hun, the higher soul, can remain with the corpse, but only the po has the power to become an evil spirit in the form of the xiang shi. The vampire, which has red staring eyes and long crooked talons, lives inside the corpse and keeps the host alive by preying on other corpses or living people.
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