A Chedipe is an evil sorceress known from stories of the Koya people, most of whom live near the Godavari River in Andhra Pradesh.

The Chedipe looks and acts like a normal woman during the day. At night, though, she removes all her clothes and rides a tiger silently through the streets of seven villages in search of victims, returning home in the early morning.

The Chedipe usually preys on men. However, in a few tales her victims are women, or even whole families.

When a Chedipe attacks, she walks naked to the door of her victim’s house. The door swings open silently, by magic. As the Chedipe enters the house, she casts a spell on the occupants, causing them to fall into an impenetrable slumber. She makes her way to the place where her victim is sleeping and kneels by his feet. Then she begins sucking his blood out through his toe.

The next morning, the man may feel uneasy and light-headed, as if he were a little stoned. If he is smart, he will consult a wadde (a Koya shaman or healer). If the wadde correctly diagnoses the problem, he will give the man medicine to ward off the Chedipe, and his condition will improve in a few days. But if the man does not get proper treatment, the Chedipe will return the next night, and the next, until he slowly withers away and dies.

Sometimes, if a man has insulted a Chedipe or wronged her in some way, she may kill him more quickly, by ripping out his tongue.