Vampire Lore Series: European Myths & Legends

Vampire folklore has existed as long as humans have had the ability to share folklore, passing on from generation to generation through stories told around the fire. But the most enduring of all the myths of monsters that stalk the dreams and thoughts of the living is the vampire.

Our modern view of vampires stems from the romanticised image conjured in gothic novels of the eighteenth century, and these came from Eastern European folklore, the most famous being Dracula Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

As a result, our view of vampires in popular culture is heavily European, and that is where our journey will take us in this post. Through the annals of European vampire folklore.

The Moroi

It seems pertinent to start our journey in Romania, the fictional home of Count Dracula and a rural country steeped in folklore. Romania actually has several vampire myths, the first of which is the Moroi.

The Moroi is depicted as either a vampire or a ghost in Romanian folklore and is believed to be the returned phantom of the deceased that has risen from the dead to feed upon the energy of the living.

There is a mix of characteristics around the Moroi, stemming from the fact that there are just so many sources from town to town. Some believe them to be a child of a woman and an incubus – a vampire hybrid called a Nosferat.

Others believe them to be the living offspring of two Strigoi, another type of Romanian vampire. Some also believe them to be the returned souls of unbaptised infants that have passed away.

The name ‘Moroi’ is thought to have originated from an old Slavonic word ‘Mora’, which roughly translates as ‘nightmare’.

Strigoi

The second creature of Romanian vampire folklore is the Strigoi, as mentioned above. The Strigoi are thought to be the raised troubled spirits of the deceased who leave their grave to feed on the blood of the living to return some of their own vitality.

They are said to have the ability to transform into animals or become invisible altogether. The Strigoi is thought to be the main influence for Bram Stoker’s Dracula novel.

The Strigoi is created when someone dies by one of the following methods:

They led a life of sin.
They died unmarried.
They were executed for perjury.
They committed suicide.
They suffered from a witch’s curse.

The Strigoi are bald on the top of their head, and they have a revulsion for onions, garlic, and incense. In some cases, they have an elongated spine covered in fur, resembling a tail.

Pricolici

Finally, in Romania, there is folklore of a werewolf-vampire hybrid called a Pricolici. The Pricolici are undead souls that have returned from their earthly interment to harm the living. However, the Pricolici always resembles a wolf when it is risen.

Some believe that the Pricolici are the returned souls of evil men determined to continue to cause harm; others say they are the returned souls of a milled werewolf.

There have been reports, even in recent times, of lone travellers in Romania being viciously attacked by an abnormally strong wolf, which they believe to be a Pricolici. Continuing the myth even into modern times.

Vrykolakas

Next, we cross the Aegean to the land of Greece. A culture full of wonderful mythology and legends, it’s unsurprising that they have vampire folklore of sorts. In Greece, the vampire is called a Vrykolakas, but unlike its Slavic cousins, it feeds on flesh, particularly livers, rather than blood. This makes its concept more akin to the zombie or ghoul.

Traditionally, the Greeks believed that someone could become a Vrykolakas upon death due to a sacrilegious way of living, excommunication, or burial in non-consecrated ground.

Vrykolakas possess similar characteristics to their Slavic cousins. They are undecayed, ruddy in complexion, and appear fresh and gorged upon the blood of the living. The Vrykolakas tend to return from the grave to cause mayhem, engage in poltergeist-style activity, or spread epidemics around the community.

Dhampir

The next stop on our European vampire lore tour is Albania. A small country in southeastern Europe, it is in the heart of the Balkan territory where so many of these tales originated. Here, there is folklore telling tales of a creature called the Dhampir. This creature is born from a human and a vampire. It is usually in the form of a male vampire mating with a female human, the reverse being rarer.

For the most part, Dhampirs were normal members of a community, but male vampires were said to be able to see invisible vampires and practice sorcery. In Albanian lore, they have untamed black hair and a courageous nature. In Bulgarian lore, however, they are described as being very dirty, with soft flesh and a gaunt appearance, possibly also having pronounced teeth, ears, noses, and a vestigial tail – similar to what we would expect from the undead.

Interestingly, the Dhampir eats and acts relatively normally, seeking to sustain its life from the union with a mate rather than drinking or eating the life force of others.

Striga

Another Albanian/Balkan myth is that of the vampiric witch known as a Striga. Striga are said to be hateful-looking old women, possibly with a disfigured face, that suck the blood of infants at night. They then turn into a small insect to flee the scene.

Those who have been fed upon by the Striga inevitably wain and die. It is believed that the only cure for those fed on by a Striga is for the offending Striga to spit into the mouth of the affected.

Many of the protections from the Striga can be found in modern vampire mythology. The Striga is said averse to garlic, crosses, holy water, and the recital of religious verses. Much like many witch tales, the Striga live hidden in the woods and possess supernatural powers.

Upior

Our final creature in Eastern Europe vampire folklore is the Upior. The Upior is present in Turkish mythology, through the Balkan nations and into Russia. The Upior was supposedly created in a range of manners, including those who were cursed before death, suicide victims, dead witches, the un-christened, and those killed by an Upior.

It was said that the Upior would stick out in its community and, as such, those with red hair, were left-handed, had a limp, or even were of another religious denomination were all suspects.

The Upior would return to hunt at night, having the glowing eyes of a wolf or, if they had been decapitated upon death, holding their head in their arms.

The Upior drank the blood of the living and used their inhuman strength to tear their victims to shreds. They would harass people at night, causing suffocation or sleepwalking, and, in some cases, return to their former homes to act out the chores they performed in life. They were often blamed for livestock and human plagues that befell a town.

In the Turkish legends, the Upior (or Ubir as it is also known) is not fussy about whether it feeds on the living or the dead. But they are corpses returned from the grave, bloated and ruddy in appearance.

Draugr

Heading north to Scandinavia, we come to a returning dead figure known as the Draugr. This legend stems from the Norse idea that fallen warriors would journey to the Hall of Heroes known as Valhalla. But the souls of shameful Vikings would not be admitted and were held in a living death, neither alive nor dead.

The Draugr were able to exact revenge on those who had wronged them or at least those they felt had wronged them. In doing so, some Scandinavians believed they would turn the victims themselves into Draugr.

The Draugr were easy to spot as they appeared as hulking creatures of enormous strength, possibly from feeding on their slain victims. Their skin also resembled a sickly corpse with a pale complexion.

While blood drinking is not widely accepted, the spread of the curse, much like we see in the spread of vampirism in our own mythology, has led to comparisons with a vampire. Some of the protective measures also overlap, such as the tying together of feet or toes to prevent walking or the placing of iron implements on the chest of the dead to keep them dead.

Guajona

Coming into Western Europe and the country of Spain, we find a creature called the Guajona – a legend from the Northern region. The Guajona resembles a disfigured female human and likely resembles the form witches are thought to have taken in medieval folklore.

The Guajona appears dressed head to toe in black robes to cover the gnarled, bird-like limbs she has. Her face will appear yellow in complexion and covered in warts. She has but a solitary tooth that protrudes from her mouth and is long enough to extend under her chin; this is the main tool she uses to drink the blood of the living.

The Guajona only comes at night, entering homes silently and seeking out healthy children. It’s unknown whether the Guajona sleeps during the day or hides underground, but once she has located a victim, she will sink her elongated tooth into the veins of the child and drink their blood. The child will usually not die but, devoid of much of its blood, will appear tired and pale in the morning.

Baoban Sith

Finally, we move on to the Baobhan Sith, traditionally a fairy of Celtic folklore of Scotland and Ireland. She appears as a beautiful young woman wearing a long green dress to conceal her deer-hooved feet.

The story goes that a hunting party was attacked by several Baoban Sith. While the story varies slightly, as is common with regional folk tales, in every tale, after the arrival of the Baoban Sith, one of the hunters makes good his escape, only to return the following morning to find his companions lifeless, drained of their blood. Very vampiric indeed…

Final Thoughts

We’ve been around the world in this vampire folklore series, from Asia to South America, Africa to England. While most vampire myths are bloody, gruesome stories, Europe is less so.

It’s true that most of the vampire creatures in Europe feed on the blood of children, but they are usually depicted as ghostly female humans that stalk the night. It’s easy to see why so many of the modern vampire depictions come from European tales – they’re somewhat more human for books and media.

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