Vampire Folklore and Mythology The myths and legend of the Vampire have been present throughout history of man. Every civilization had their own version of the folklore vampire, and I would like to take a few moments to share some of these things with you. I am intentionally not including all of the popular depictions of the vampire, because we know quite enough of all that, and it is information easily found on at least a million other websites. My goal is to share some of the more obscure manifestations of the vampire throughout history. Some of this information might not be perfectly accurate, as sources vary widely, and resources do not seem to agree on many of these. We are currently working to modify and correct all errors here. Beside that one small flaw, Please Enjoy.
>From Greece we hear tale of the Vrykolakas, which were quite different from the "lamaia", "empusai"(vampiric entities), and "mormolykiai"(hobgoblins), in that they marked an uncanny resemblance to the European archetypes of the vampires, and were given many of the same attributes in the folklore regarding them. The Vrykolakas were accounted to have risen from their graves, and returned to their own families, some, even to live elsewhere and marry and father children. The lamaia were spirit beings, rather than re-animated corpses. They attribute their name to the tragic tale of Lamia, the beautiful queen of Libya with whom Zeus fathered children. Hera, Zeus's wife comes up with a method of revenge, taking Lamia's children away from her. Powerless to strike out at Hera, she, in turn, believes then that all mortal women should suffer as she has, and makes the decision to kill the offspring of other women, by drinking the blood of the children. They were known as demons who sucked the life blood from children, but also had the power to transform into maidens, and seduce young men. An interesting tale of Vampire in Greece was that of the Callicantzaros, which was in strange relation to the 12 day following the Christian Christmas holiday. It was believed that all infants born from Christmas day to New Years were unlucky, and destined to become vampires. The powers of the Callicantzaros was limited to this time period, and the rest of the year, they circle about some vague ethereal plane. (I suppose I would have been quite hated and feared in Greece, as I was born on Dec 29.) In the Talmud we have the legend of Lilith, (which seems to be a tale that was borrowed from the earlier Babylonian texts and lore). She drank the blood of children, supposedly due to the angst over being rejected from the Garden of Eden. The common consensus is that Lillith was the first wife of Adam, who rejected her because she was too dominant, sexually, for him. Other theories point to the thought that she was EVE. Lilith is also believed to be the cause of nocturnal emissions in men, often referred to as a "succubus", or demon who invades the dreams on men or the purpose of sexual engagement. Christianity does not mention this Lillith, but breifly, and a large amount of belief in the vampire came from, and evolved from this legend. The Asasabonasam and Obayifo were the Vampire entities of African lore. The Asabonasam was a vampire-like monster species found in the folklore of the Ashanti people of Ghana. They proclaimed to be humanoid, with sets of iron teeth. They lived deep in the jungles, and were rarely encountered. They sat in the trees and dangled their feet down, to catch passersby. In Nigeria, the Yako people's believed that there were disembodied witches that attacked people as they slept at night, and ulcers were considered a sign of such attacks. Similar stories show up in the folklore of other regions, such as Hags. In Haiti, we see the "Loogaroo", in Surinam, the "Asema", and in Trinidad, the "Sukayan". In Brazil a form of vampire called the Lobishomen was known to attack women, causing them to acquire strange and obsessive sexual habits. African American lore shows little legend, in contrast, but we do have the tales of the "Fifollet", known widely in Louisiana, which is a combination of the traditional "will-o-the-wisp" lore with the traditional Incubus/Succubus beliefs. Among some of the other folklore accounts of the Vampires who walked the night seeking sexual gratification, we find The Strigoi of Rumania, the Liderc of Hungary, The Mora of Poland, and The Melusine of France. India has a large amount of vampire mythology. We find in such tales s the Mahabharata and Ramayana, the Rakshasas and Rakshasis (fem.). These were believed to be demon-like and ogrish creatures who lived in the cemeteries, disturbing ritual and devotions, and slaying infants. The tale of Hanuman gives account that the deity, upon entering the city of Lanka, saw every imaginable variety of these beasts. Many deities are reputed to gain their honor and reputations by slaying these creatures. They were depicted as "asra-pa" or blood drinking, and like the Greek Lamiai, they sought out pregnant women as victims as well. The Yatu-dhana were described as those sorcerers who devoured the remains left by the Rakashasas. The Pisachas (eaters of raw flesh) are described as blood seeking ghouls and the sources of malignant diseases. The Vetala was described as a HAG, that would only drink the blood from a deranged or crazed female. The Jigar-Khor was described as a ghoul who steals and eats human livers, by the use of magick., The Hanh Saburo were said to chase men into the forests by use of canine familiars, and then, drink their blood. The Chedipe was shown as a prostitute, rding a tiger through the night. She was claimed to enter the home of sleeping men, and suck their blood from them through their toes. There were several different terms given to the archetypes of women who died unnaturally and returned from th grave, namely the "Churels", "Jakhin", "Jakhai" "Mukhai", "Nagulai" and "alvantin". The Hant-Pare was described as something of an ethereal leech, clinging to the wounds of human, and extracting the blood that way. The Vetalas and Betails were probably the closest in form to the European vampires, spirits that inhabited the corpse of the dead. The Indian goddess, Kali, was acclaimed to control and command such creatures. She is a dark goddess, usually depicted as having black skin. She thrives on the battlefield, where she becomes drunk on the blood of her slain enemies. Her vampirism is sometimes attributed to a battle with Raktaviya, the King of Demons, in which she was forced to drink his blood in order to defeat him. >From Denmark we find the Mara, a female vampire which by day assumes the form of a human woman. She makes men fall in love with her, then attacks them in the night. She is another of the Succubi that are so prevalent throughout history. Of Malaysia and surrounding countries we have the tales of the male Bajang and female Langsuir. The Bajang was reputed to cry like a cat outside the door of his victims, and were fabled to have come from several different ways. Hereditary Bajang comes from one's ancestors having done evil, and "acquired" Bajang came about from having stood over the grave of a stillborn child, summoning the spirit forth. The Bajang are said to be able to be caught and become the familiar of a witch. The Langsuir was known for a hole in the back of her neck through which she was reputed to drink the blood of children. It was said that by cutting her hair and nails and placing them in the hole of her neck, she would become cured of her condition. Ireland had the Dherg-dul, who could only be kept in its grave by placing a cairn of stones over the top. The Dakhanavar is an Armenian vampire that assumes the role of a protector of a valley and drinks the blood of his victims through their feet. There can also be found the Chaing-shih of China, the Civateteo of Central America, and even the vampir of Russia. In Japan, we do not find the classical blood-sucking vampire, but the Kappa, a human-like grotesque creature with a concave head that held water. It was fabled that if this water spilled, the Kappa would lose it's power. There are fables of "Vampire Cats" in Japanese literature. In Mynanmar, formerly known as Burma, we have tales of the Thaye and Tasai, who were disembodied spirits who had bad Karma to work out, who often assumed human form and fed of corpses or went into the villages and attacked the living. In the Philippines, we have the Aswang, which could fly, and were described as beautiful maidens who flew about to feed at night, and returned home before dawn to resume their family duties. In its vampiric state, the Aswang became like a huge bird who drank the blood of her victims through a pinprick in the jugular vein, through a hollowed out tongue. In Thailand, we find the Phi, sometimes believed to be the spirits of those who were killed by animals, women who died during childbirth, those who died unexpectedly, or those who were not properly buried. They were reputed to bite, scratch, and cause disease. Tibet has the 58 Blood-Drinking Deities, also referred to as the "Wrathful Deities". In Russia, we find the Uppyr, which was closely linked with the topics of witchcraft and heresy. One was believed to become a vampire after death, if one was a heretic. Also, the Eretik, Kudesnik, Orcelnik, Koldun, and Snaxar. In Scottland, we find the Baobban Sith, known to appear as ravens or crows, but more often as maidens with flowing green gowns that hid their hooves. Indeed, the manifestations of vampires and vampire-like creatures is astounding. This listing is not complete, as I am certain there are other obscure references throughout history. As I learn more, I will continue to update this page. In the mean time, I>D> posts up useful tidbits on the ticker at the index page of CROSSROADS. **SMILE**
