Masan and Masani: Vampires of Shadow and Graves

Some other vampires of Indian lore are the masan, a male vampire, and the masani, a female vampire. Other than the similarities of their names and being vampires, they don’t really have that much in common. One haunts burial sites and graveyards, and one will stalk anyone who crosses its shadow.
The masani vampire, who is almost always female, only hunts at night, like the typical vampires most people would imagine. It is not known how the daylight would affect her, but she’s a nocturnal creature. She has a limited range for feeding grounds however; she can only attack those who pass by burial sites. Some legends claim she is bound to the area she was buried in, and others claim she simply can only hunt on a burial ground of any sort. In some myths, she emerges in a very theatric way from a funeral pyre every time she goes hunting for the night. She is black in appearance, much like many depictions of the bloodthirsty Hindu goddess Kali.
The masan is a male vampire, typically. The masan is another part of the folklore of India, and he is usually described as being the ghost of a child, or usually appears in the form of a child. This is another vampire who has a particular taste for children, and delights in tormenting and killing them. It seems that there are a lot of vampires who especially enjoy feeding on children, but perhaps for the masan it is because it is in the form of a child. At least with this vampire, it makes a bit of sense.
It is also dangerous for a child to walk in the shadow of a masan, for even just this act will result in a curse on the child. It will stalk this child and eventually kill it.
There are no specific ways of protecting against these vampires, but learning some protective Sanskrit chants might be to your benefit. Try throwing seeds about too. And avoid burial sites and creepy children with long shadows.

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