In Bulgaria there is a type of vampiric fay called a vepir. It is created in the same fashion as a VAPIR — by its body not receiving proper funerary rites, such as not being given a final bath or if a cat, dog, or shadow crosses over the corpse before it can be buried. Events such as these usually happen to those people in society who do not have anyone to look after their funerary needs, such as those who were drunkards, murderers, thieves, witches, and those who had been excommunicated from the church.
The only way to destroy a vepir is to exhume the body and rebury it facedown. This is done so that it will not be able to dig its way to the surface.
Source: Bryant, Handbook of Death, 99; Journal of Slavic Linguistics, 265; Perkowski, The Darkling, 38; Ronay, Truth about Dracula, 22; Summers, Vampire: His Kith and Kin, 22
In the vampiric lore of Lithuania there is a type of vampiric fay called a veles that is created when a woman who has been frivolous or idle her whole life finally dies. When it returns, its true form is that of a cloudlike spirit, but it can assume the appearance of a beautiful young woman with long, flowing HAIR and the most beautiful-sounding voice ever heard. Its voice is so alluring and memorable that it causes anyone who has heard it to lose all concerns and thoughts for anything else, including the need to drink, eat, or sleep, for several days. As her prey is typically men, the veles usually appears provocatively dressed or naked.
Veles only ever attack when the mood suits them, using its skill of dance and song to lure a man off into the woods where it will drain his life from him (see ENERGY VAMPIRE). A ring of deep and rich grass is left behind where the veles danced. Walking upon it brings bad luck (see FEAR GORTAGH).
Like the SAMODIVA from Bulgarian lore, the veles is a fierce warrior, riding upon deer or a stag, using a bow and arrow when in combat or to hunt. It is so powerful that it shakes the ground when it enters into a physical altercation. In addition to being a warrior and possessing the gift of prophecy, the veles has the ability to magically heal and shape-shift into a falcon, snake, swan, and wolf.
Living in sacred caves, trees, and wells, and receiving offerings of cakes, fresh fruits and vegetables, flowers, and ribbons will keep it happy enough to not want to hunt. From time to time a veles can be persuaded to lend its assistance to a human, but no amount of bribery can convince it — it must be in the mood to be predisposed to helping already. Any vow that is given to a veles must be taken extremely seriously, as the veles will kill anyone who breaks a promise to it.
The varacolaci of Romanian vampire lore is created when a baby who was never baptized dies or when a person commits suicide. However, becoming a varacolaci can also be a hereditary condition that can pass down the bloodline for generations.
When the varacolaci rises from its grave as a vampiric REVENANT, it looks as it did in life except that now it is noticeably pale and has driedout skin.
Although it hunts throughout the year, the varacolaci is particularly active on St. George’s Day (April 23) and St. Andrew’s Day (November 30), a dangerous prospect indeed as it is quite possibly the strongest of all the vampires. When a varacolaci attacks a person, it drains him of his blood, but its bite does not leave a wound behind. It has the ability to shape-shift into a cat, dog, flea, frog, or spider. The varacolaci can place itself into a deep trance and cause a lunar or solar eclipse to occur. Additionally, it can use its psychic abilities to safely travel anywhere it wishes by a means of astral projection called “midnight spinning”. While in this state, its astral form looks like a dragon or some sort of unnamed monster with many mouths. However, if the varacolaci’s body is moved while it is in one of its trances, its spirit will not be able to find its way back to its body, causing it to sleep forever.
If a deceased person is suspected of being capable of returning as a varacolaci, his undead resurrection can be prevented if a thorny bush is planted on top of his grave (see UNDEATH). If the person died from an act of suicide, then his body should be thrown into running water as soon as possible.
In Bulgaria there is a vampiric REVENANT called a vapir. It is created when a body is not given its proper burial rites, such as being given one final bath, or if a cat, dog, or shadow crosses over the corpse before it can be buried. Drunkards, murderers, thieves, witches, and those who had been excommunicated from the church in life are all likely candidates to rise from the dead as vapirs, either of their own volition or because they had no one to prepare their bodies and give them a proper burial.
The only way to destroy a vapir is to hire a VAMPIRDZHIJA. He will kill the vampire either by using the BOTTLING technique or by staking it with a wooden stake.
Source: Indiana University, Journal of Slavic Linguistics, 257-258, 265; MacDermott, Bulgarian Folk Customs, 66, 67; Summers, Werewolf in Lore and Legend, 15
The word vanpir (“werewolf ”) was said to have been created by an unnamed German officer. In 1726 there were thousands of reports filed that the plague that was running unchecked in the southeast Slavic regions was started by REVENANTs. In life these revenants had been werewolves, but after they died, they had come back as what the locals called VRYKOLAKA. The German officer changed the word vrykolaka for one he allegedly made up — vanpir. No reason has ever been given for his decision to have done this. German newspapers began to pick up on the story and it spread. Eventually it came to France where the odd and obviously foreign word was changed once again, this time to a more familiar and as terror-inspiring word — VAMPYRE. Again the story began to spread and managed to make its way over the channel into England. This time the word’s spelling was changed to suit its British audience and became vampire.
Source: Singh, The Sun, 276; Suckling, Vampires, 54; White, Notes and Queries, vol.41, 522
In 1734 the word vampire was considered to be spelled correctly in the English language as vampyre, with its plural form as vampyres.
The word was likely created by a French newspaper article that was translated from a German report. Its only connotation then was used to describe an undead creature that preyed upon animals and humans for their blood, and in most cases, spread some sort of illness or disease (see UNDEATH).
The word vampyre was still in popular use when John William Polidori published his short story “The Vampyre” in New Monthly Magazine’s April 1819 edition. It was about Lord Ruthven and successfully created the archetype of the first aristocratic, heartless, wealthy, worldtraveling vampire who would seduce women and lure them into a secluded place to drain them dry of their blood. However, by the time BRAM STOKER’S DRACULA was published in 1897, the "y" had already been exchanged for an "i", as the word we use today, vampire, was already in use.
Source: Folklore Forum Society, Folklore Forum, vol.10, 26-28; Hulme, Myth-land, 75-76; Polidori, Vampyre: A Tale; Senf, Vampire in Nineteenth-Century English Literature, 3, 21
A vampiric witch is a living human being who practices some form of magic (not necessarily witchcraft) who also partakes in some sort of vampiric activity such as consuming human flesh, draining life-energy from a living being, or drinking human blood. Sometimes referred to as a sorcerer, a vampiric witch can be of either gender. The act of taking and consuming life is not necessary to sustain the life of a vampiric witch but rather, it very often is a required element in the use of her magic. Very often these witches will have a vampiric familiar assisting them.
A list of vampiric witches and the creatures they use as familiars are ABHARTACH, ASANBONSAM, ASEMA, ASEMANN, ASIMAN, ASRAPA, ASWANG MANNANANGGAL, ASWANG WITCH, AXEMAN, BAISEA, BROXA, BRUJA, CHEVÊCHE, CHORDEVA, DRUDE, DSCHUMA, GAUKEMARES, IARA, ICHANTI, IMPUNDULU, ISITHFUNTELA, JIGAR KHOY, JIGARKHWAR, KARA-KONDJIOLOS, LEYAK, LOOGAROO, RALARATRI, RUVAUSH, SHTRIGA, SOULIS, STREGA, STREGHOI, STRIGA, STRIGES, STRIGOII VII, STRYX, TIKOLOSHE, TLACIQUES, and the UMAMLAMBO.
Source: Ankarloo, Witchcraft and Magic, 214-216; Belanger, Sacred Hunger, 22; Madsan, Virgin’s Children, 206; McNally, In Search of Dracula, 264
The word vampiresa is used regionally by the Gypsies of southeastern Europe when describing the daughter born of a union between a human and a vampire.
Other such beings born as the result of a vampiric union are the DHAMPIRE, DJADADJII, KRVOIJAC and the LAMPIJEROVIC.
Source: Gypsy Lore Society, Journal, 111; Indiana University, Journal, vol.14, 266; Perkowski, Vampires of the Slavs, 217
Вампиреса
Локальное слово «вампиреса» используется цыганами Южно-Восточной Европы при описании девочки, рожденной от союза человека и вампира.
During the 1930s and ’40s a researcher named T.P.Vukavonic was studying the Lesani Gypsies of Serbia for a book he went on to write, titled The Vampire. Much speculation has always existed around Vukavonic’s telling of the Lesani’s belief in a vampiric pumpkin, and in truth they may have been teasing the author and made up the story on the spot. No matter if the belief was originally meant to be a joke or the retelling was some bit of old and nearly forgotten lore, the fact remains that the vampire pumpkin has woven itself into the lore of the vampire.
The Lesani Gypsies of Serbia have a belief that by keeping a pumpkin in one’s home for more than ten days, by using it as a siphon that has not been opened for three or more years, or by keeping it in the house after Christmas Day will cause this fruit to become a vampire.
The vampiric pumpkin will look much like it did before its spoiling, maintaining its color, shape, and size. Fortunately, the vampire pumpkin does not actually attack anyone in a physical way, making it quite possibly the most harmless of all vampires; however, it does ooze blood and roll around on the floor making an annoying “brr, brr, brr” sound. To destroy the vampire pumpkin, there is a precise process that must be followed. First, the fruit must be boiled in water after which the water is thrown away. Then the vampire is scrubbed with a short whisk broom and the pumpkin is thrown away. Lastly, the broom must be burned.
Source: Gypsy Lore Society, Journal of the Gypsy Lore Society, 25-27; Keyworth, Troublesome Corpses, 70; Perkowski, Vampires of the Slavs, 207; Shashi, Roma, 134
On the morning of September 8, 1967, the body of a female Appaloosa pony named Lady was found dead in the San Luis Valley, Colorado, United States. All of the flesh from the shoulders to the tip of its muzzle was missing; the bones of the neck and skull were as white and bleached as bones that had been sitting in the sun for a year. The skull cavity was empty and dry. A strong smell of medicine was in the air and scorch marks were on the ground all around the corpse. Despite the gruesome state of the beloved horse that once belonged to Nellie Lewis, there was not a drop of blood to be found at the scene. Perhaps more interesting is the fact that there was a set of horse hooves all around the body that did not belong to Lady but to another horse, one whose hooves were reported as being 18 inches wide. Lady was the very first of the muchpopularized animal mutations that continued uninterrupted for the next 30 years in the San Luis Valley.
A necropsy of the horse’s remains showed that it had a badly infected leg at the time of death. A reexamination of the body was made some years later and it was discovered there were two BULLET holes in the animal’s pelvic bone.
Source: Keel, Complete Guide to Mysterious Beings, 84-85; Murphy, Mysteries and Legends of Colorado, 93-99; O’Brien, Secrets of the Mysterious Valley, 9-15; Randles, World’s Best “True” UFO Stories, 83
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