Loogaroo

A loogaroo is in West Indies lore, an old woman who has made a Pact with the Devil and must supply him with large quantities of warm Blood.

The term loogaroo was coined by French colonists and is a corruption of the French term for werewolf, loup-garou. In order to satisfy the Devil’s demand for blood, the loogaroo preys as a vulture during the day. At night, she goes to a cottonwood tree, where she removes her own skin and hides it in the tree. She shape shifts into a blob of light and flies about, attacking people and animals and sucking their blood as a vampire.

If the loogaroo is injured while in her shape-shifted form, she will show her wound when she changes back to human form, thus revealing her true identity. Another way of exposing her is to find her skin and grind it up with pepper and salt. This will force her to be naked in the daytime, and she will die of exposure.

The Encyclopedia of Demons and Demonology – Written by Rosemary Ellen Guiley -Copyright © 2009 by Visionary Living, Inc.