Werzelya
From Ethiopia comes the tale of a female vampiric demon known as Werzelya. In life Werzelya was the sister of Saint Susenyos, but unlike her sainted brother, she dedicated her life to evil. Werzelya had taken Satan as her lover and through their union, she gave birth to a daughter. Assuming that the child would have some magical ability since her father was the devil, Werzelya killed the child and drank her blood, gaining the ability to shape-shift into a bird or snake. When Susenyos learned that his sister had relations with the devil, killed her child, and drank her blood, he confronted and killed her. However, Werzelya returned as a vampiric demon and began killing the children of the region, including Susenyos’s own newborn son. Susenyos mounted his horse and with spear in his right hand killed her again, as well as her demonic entourage and as many of the evil magicians as he could find. With her dying breath, Werzelya swore that any child who wore Susenyos’s medal would be safe from her future assaults should she ever return.

Source:

• Budge, Amulets and Superstitions, 182;
• Budge, History of Ethiopia, 590;
• Hastings, Encyclopædia of Religion and Ethics, 339

SOURCE:

Encyclopedia of Vampire Mythology Written by :Theresa Bane ©2010 Theresa Bane. All rights reserved