vampire An entity or person who attacks the living, causing wasting away, misfortune, and even death. Folklore traditions describe different types of vampires, but they are most commonly associated with the restless dead who escape their graves to wreak havoc upon the living. The origin of the word vampire is uncertain; it is thought to be of Slavic origin, with the root noun being the Serbian word bamiiup. The word vampire made its first appearance in Western literature in the early 18th century when news of the Eastern European “vampire cult” broke. According to the folklore of the vampire cult, certain persons became vampires after death and returned from the grave to attack the living. Causes were suicide, murder, sudden and especially violent death, sinful life, Curses, death due to vampirism, improper handling of the corpse and improper burial, and failing to make a confession prior to death. The vampires embodied the characteristics of restless ghosts, poltergeists, incubi and succubi, and nightmare DemonS. Victims wasted away as though the life force were being drained from them. The remedy consisted of identifying the culprit by digging up bodies and looking for telltale signs of vampirism, usually Blood oozing from body cavities and insufficient decomposition. These indicated that the vampire was able to suck off the blood, or the essence of the blood, from the living. The corpse was staked, mutilated, hacked to pieces, or burned to stop the attacks. Vampires were thought to be the cause of plagues, epidemics, blighted crops, sick animals, and any other misfortune. Even animals could return from the grave as vampires. The vampire entered Western Romantic and Victorian literature and performing arts, proving to be one of the most durable and alluring characters. Initially a creature of evil, the vampire mutated to more humanlike forms. Bram Stoker’s Count Dracula set the prototype for the vampire as a reanimated corpse who lives in society and who possesses great occult and magical knowledge and skills and supernormal powers. The vampire evolved from villain to antihero and even hero, serving as a staple for modern romantic leads. Other types of vampires are: Supernatural Entities Not all vampires are reanimated humans or animals. Some are Demons who may have the ability to shapeshift into human form. Supernatural vampires are sexual predators or those who prefer to attack the living for their organs, blood, and entrails. Some, like the Greek lamiae, are childbirth Demons, causing sudden death to newborns and their mothers. In Japanese lore, the kappa is a horrible water imp who likes to drink human blood and eat entrails. The kappa is 326 vampire named after the river god Kappa, whom it serves as a messenger. The kappa resembles a monkey. It is about the height of a 10-year-old boy and has webbed hands and feet, a monkey face, a long beak-like nose, and a tortoise shell on its back. On top of its head is a bowl-like indentation that contains a clear, jellylike substance which is the source of the kappa’s power. Short black hair rings the indentation. The kappa lives in swampy areas, ponds, lakes, and rivers, where it taunts its victims—men, women, and children—into treacherous or deep waters so that they drown. It also attacks animals. After the victims are dead, the kappa enters the bodies through the anus, drinks their blood, and sucks out their entrails. It is especially fond of livers. Sometimes it will devour some of the flesh. Some vampire Demons are created by Magic, such as the polong, a Malayan vampire in the shape of a tiny person, either male or female, about the size of a thumbtack and with the ability to fly. A polong is made magically by collecting the blood of a person 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 as a Familiar to attack enemies by burrowing into them and making them sicken and die. It travels with its own 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. The bite becomes infected, and the victim goes insane and raves about cats.

The Encyclopedia of Magic and Alchemy Written by Rosemary Ellen Guiley Copyright © 2006 by Visionary Living, Inc.