Vampire Sorcerers and Witches Certain individuals are believed to be born as natural vampires, possessing the same powers as sorcerers and witches. Some are readily identified at birth by such physical oddities such as teeth already showing; a spine deformity that resembles a tail; or the presence of the caul, the inner fetal membrane of amniotic fluid, which at birth sometimes still covers the body, especially the head. If a child is the seventh child of seven children who are all the same sex, he or she is fated to be a living vampire. In Romanian lore, if a pregnant woman does not eat SALT—a protector against all things evil—her child will be born a living vampire. In other folklore traditions, vampire sorcerers and witches are living persons who learn their evil trade from others and then pass their vampiric skills on to initiates. Vampire sorcerers and witches use their powers to wreak havoc, destruction, and death among the living. They cast the Evil Eye and BEWICTHMENTS on human and beast alike. They shapeshift into dogs, cats, horses, and other animals in order to frighten people. In Romanian lore female living vampires are dry in the body and red in the face before and after death. When they go out to work their evil, they leave their homes through their chimneys and return exhausted and in rags. Male vampires are bald, and after death they grow a tail and hooves. In Russian lore, living vampire sorcerers have the power to take over the body of a person who is dying or who has died, preferably a villainous or insane person. The invaded body becomes a type of vampire called an erestun. The erestun maintains the outward appearance of a good peasant but carries on his vampiric activity among the people in secret. He stalks the family of the dead person and then others and devours them like a cannibal. The erestun is destroyed by whipping him to death with a whip that is used for heavily loaded horses. To prevent him from reanimating in the grave, a traditional method of vampire-killing is employed: a stake made of aspen is driven through his back between the shoulders. In the lore of the Karachay, the obur is a shape-shifting vampire witch or wizard. Oburs recognize each other. They possess the knowledge to make magical salves. They take off all their clothing, smear their bodies with salve, and then wallow in the ashes on the edge of their fires. They mount brooms with whips in hand, run around the room in circles, and fly up the chimney in the forms of cat. They enter the houses of victims via the chimneys after all members of the household have gone to sleep. They drink their blood, especially of the children, and leave a black bruise at the wound. At dawn they return to their own homes, going back down the chimneys. They resume their normal human appearance. Oburs shape-shift into wolves and dogs to attack livestock out in pasture and drink their blood. In lore found in Europe, vampire sorcerers and witches are not limited to the night hours for their evil activities but can come out in the daytime all year round. Their power is greatest during the times of the full moon and are weakest at the new moon. They meet with dead vampires and teach them magical incantations and spells and decide on their programs of evil. Living vampire sorcerers and witches walk about the boundaries of villages, taking “power” from things, such as certain animals, bread, and bees—whatever is locally important to the sustaining of life and prosperity. “Taking power” zaps the life force. When the power is taken, the animals do not perform their natural functions: Hens do not lay eggs, cows do not give milk, bees do not make honey. A female vampire who has power over bread steals the taste from the bread of other women and puts it into her own bread. Some living vampires have power over rain and can prevent it from falling and nourishing crops. Besides taking power for themselves, living vampire sorcerers and witches can take power from people and give it to others who pay them. They can take beauty away from women and give it to another, and they can take love away. They can take milk away from a nursing mother. Although Native American lore does not include European-style vampires, some legends parallel European vampires and vampire sorcerers and witches. For example, in Cherokee lore there are old witches and wizards who live off the livers of the dead. When a person falls ill, the witches and wizards shape-shift into invisible forms and vampire 327 gather around the bedside, tormenting the person until he or she is dead. After the person is buried, they dig up his or her body and feast on the liver. In this manner, they gain strength and lengthen their own lives as many days as they stole from the dead person. Abenaki lore tells of witches who die and are buried in TREES and who attack the living at night to drink their blood. In the lore of rural Tlaxcala, Mexico, one of the most feared vampire witches is the tlahuelpuchi, a shape-shifting human who can assume animal form and who sucks the blood of infants, causing them to die. The tlahuelpuchi epitomizes everything that is horrible, evil, and hateful. It can be either male or female but usually is female, considered to be the more bloodthirsty and evil of the two. At least 100 legends exist about the tlahuelpuchi. Tlahuelpuchis are born into their fate; they cannot transmit or teach their powers to others. They are independent agents of evil but will do the bidding of higher evil forces, such as the devil. For example, they will act as intermediaries (in animal form) in transactions involving selling of the soul to the devil and making pacts with the devil. Tlahuelpuchis are more powerful than nahuales, a trickster type of supernatural agent. When a tlahuelpuchi is born, it cannot be distinguished from an ordinary infant. Differences do not emerge until puberty, at which point their supernatural powers such as shape-shifting suddenly manifest. For females, this often occurs with the onset of the menses. When the powers manifest, the tlahuelpuchis of both sexes begin to have a lifelong, uncontrollable urge to drink human blood, especially that of infants. This causes a great deal of unhappiness and shame to their families, who go to great lengths to cover up their secret to avoid being stigmatized and ostracized by the community. An attack by a tlalhuelpuchi must be remedied by a tezitlazc, a helpful sorcerer and healer, called in to perform Ritual cleansings of the corpse, the mother, and the space where the death took place. See also PSYCHIC VAMPIRISM.

FURTHER READING:

Guiley, Rosemary Ellen. The Encyclopedia of Vampires, Werewolves and Other Monsters. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2004.

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