Vampires » vampire myth

A Bloodthirsty… Doll?

Moonlight — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 13:00:08 +0000

We’ve come across a lot of totally crazy and ridiculous vampire myths and stories on this site, but this has to be one of the weirdest, or at least creepiest. I bring you the jenglot, a tiny living doll in Indonesian and Malaysian folklore.

A jenglot is described as a living mummy or doll that’s about 15cm to 20cm in length, with freaky eyes, sharp fangs and long nails. The body’s flesh looks like it has been fossilized. The face either looks like a skeleton or like a corpse, and the hair on its fugly head is believed to grow over time. The doll’s feet look like they are connected, making it look a bit like a disturbing mermaid.

The jenglot are usually found in Indonesia, mostly in Java. It most cases its one of the native psychic that finds them shortly after they have performed a supernatural ceremony. It is said you can find a jenglot anywhere, from underground, on the roof of a house, and even in the trunk of a massive tree.

People that have found themselves a jenglot usually bring the creature all over Indonesia to show it of in order to gain some money off of it. There are many jenglot exhibits, on the islands of Java and Sumatra, or held in private collections of supernatural researchers and fans. But most of these so-called jenglots were actually hoaxes, made from parts of monkey and fish.

Now we get to the vampiric part of this peculiar phenomena – jenglot owners have to feed their doll with blood, either animal blood or human blood. They say the jenglot does not drink the blood directly, but instead the person simply places it near the blood. Even though it never moves towards the blood the jenglot finds its own way to feed on it.

Other than its love for blood, this vampire doll also has a love for dark magic. Jenlots have powers of their own that they can use for themselves, or they can share them with their owner. However, if it is not fed and treated properly it will turn on its owner.

- Moonlight

We’ve come across a lot of totally crazy and ridiculous vampire myths and stories on this site, but this has to be one of the weirdest, or at least creepiest. I bring you the jenglot, a tiny living doll in Indonesian and Malaysian folklore.

A jenglot is described as a living mummy that’s about 15cm to 20cm in length, with freaky eyes, sharp fangs and long nails. The body’s flesh looks like it has been fossilized. The face either looks like a skeleton or like a disgusting corpse, and the hair on its fugly head is believed to grow over time. The doll’s feet look like they are connected, making it look a bit like a disturbing mermaid.

The jenglot are usually found in Indonesia, mostly in Java. It most cases its one of the native psychic that finds them, shortly after they have performed a supernatural ceremony. It is said you can find a jenglot anywhere, from underground, on the roof of a house, and even in the trunk of a massive tree.

People that have found themselves a jenglot usually bring the creature all over Indonesia to show it of in order to gain some money off of it. There are many jenglot exhibits, on the islands of Java and Sumatra, or held in private collections of supernatural researchers and fans. But most of these so-called jenglots were actually hoaxes, made from parts of monkey and fish.

Now we get to the vampiric part of this peculiar phenomena – jenglot owners have to feed their doll with blood, either animal blood or human blood. They say the jenglot does not drink the blood directly. But instead the person simply places it near the blood, and even though it never moves towards the blood the jenglot finds its own way to feed on it.

Other thank its love for blood, this vampire doll also has a love for dark magic. It is believed to cast its own spells and also gives its owner their own supernatural powers. However, if it is not fed and treated properly it will turn on its owner.

- Moonlight

The Malaysian Maneden

kate — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:40:14 +0000

Malaysia is a country that’s fraught with vampire myth and folklore, and the Maneden is just one of those. The Maneden was a vampiric creature that lived in the pandanus plant. This plant was lush and green, with very long leaves. This plant is very popular in Malaysian culture, as it’s used for flavoring many dishes, and the leaves are sometimes woven together so that they can form a pot for cooking rice. The fact that this plant has always been so widely used in Malaysia was a problem for the people who lived there. For feeling around in the pandanus plant and pulling up its leaves can be very dangerous if you happen to disturb a maneden that’s hidden amongst them.

The maneden sits quietly in the leaves of this plant and, this vampire creature is also fairly small, so they are not easily seen. Should someone wish to pick the leaves of the pandanus plant and happen to come across a maneden, the maneden would then attach itself to the person. If it was a man, the maneden would attach itself to the man’s elbow and start drinking his blood. If the victim was a woman, it was her nipple that the maneden would suck on.

Fortunately, the maneden was rather easy to get rid of. All one had to do was find something that the bloodthirsty creature could suck on instead. This substitute didn’t even have to contain blood, but it did have to have an oily texture to it. For this reason, often nuts were used to trick the creature into attaching itself to something else. If nothing could be found however, the victim would be forced to walk around with the maneden attached to them. And hopefully, they’d find a substitute before the maneden could suck out every drop of blood they had!

- Kate

Do I Believe In Vampires?

Moonlight — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 13:00:02 +0000

Something I get asked on a regular basis, whether it’s in an interview or by a reader, is if I believe that vampires exist. After all I do love vampires and write about them everyday, so you would think the obvious answer is that yes, I do. But truth be told, it’s not that simple for me.

As some of you may have noticed, I am a huge vampire folklore/history junkie, I love that nearly every country has their own, totally unique vampire myths and legends. Overall there are hundreds of myths and dozens, upon dozens of different species of vampires. Every country and every author has their own idea of what a vampire is.

For example, in the Philippines they have a vampire known as the aswang that appears as a normal human during the day, but at night takes on the appearance of a giant bird and drinks people’s blood with its long straw-like tongue. And in Germany they have the alp, a vampire that attacks people’s dreams and then feeds on women’s blood by biting their nipples. In the Caribbean you have the soucouyant, a vamp that can turn into a fireball… and you get the point. There are loads of different species of vampires.

So, who is to say what is right and what is wrong? Which one of those myths am I supposed to believe in? In my head there are dozens of kinds of vampires, not just one, so I don’t know which to believe in.

Most people have this singular idea of what a vampire is, that traditional vampire. Whether they got the idea from Anne Rice or from Twilight, they have that image and that’s what they believe in. But I have too many kinds of vampires spinning in my mind and therefore it’s illogical to believe in one over the other.

So do I believe in that one definite traditional vampire? No, because there are too many vampires and too many legends and I have no way of knowing what it real and what isn’t. Maybe they all are?

And for the record, I am speaking of the traditional and mythical vampire, not psychic vampires or sanguinities. That’s an entirely different topic.

- Moonlight

Something I get asked on a regular basis whether it’s in an interview or by a reader is if I believe that vampires exist. After all I do love vampires and write about them everyday, so you would think the obvious answer is that yes, I do. But truth be told, it’s not that simple for me.

As some of you may have noticed, I am a huge vampire folklore/history junkie, I love that nearly every country has their own, totally unique vampire myths and legends. Overall, there are hundreds of myths and dozens, upon dozens of different species of vampires. Every country and every author has their own idea of what a vampire is.

Most people have this singular idea of what a vampire is, that traditional vampire. Whether they got the idea from Anne Rice or from Twilight, they have that image and that’s what they believe in. But I have too many kinds of vampires spinning in my mind and therefore it’s illogical to believe in one over the other.

So do I believe in that one definite traditional vampire? No, because there are too many vampires and too many legends and I have no way of knowing what it real and what isn’t. Maybe they all are?

And for the record, I am speaking of the traditional and mythical vampire, not psychic vampires or sanguinities. That’s an entirely different topic.

- Moonlight

Spreading the Bloodlust

Moonlight — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 13:00:14 +0000

The majority of vampire myths feature a fiendish undead creature that drains every drop of its victim’s blood, but not all vampires are that monstrous, some are a smidge kinder. For example, the Albanian lugat chooses to take only a small amount of blood from their prey, leaving them weakened but alive. While not ideal it’s better than being dead, right?

The lugat may not kill its victims, but it would continue to feed off a single person for a period of days to weeks. The only big problem here is that the lugat’s bite could possibly leave a spiritual, or psychological, taint on the victim that would cause the person to develop a bloodlust of their own. The bloodlust they felt was by no means a murderous or overpowering thing; it was usually an erotic feeling. It is said that these folks infected by the lugat’s bite would become sanguinarians – real people that feel that they absolutely need to feed on blood in order to survive.

The lugat also has some classic vamp powers, like the ability shapeshift into multiple forms – such as a human man, a child, a cow, a stray dog and a few others. But unlike the vampires in stereotypes, the lugat does not have fangs, instead has very normal human teeth. When feeding it simply bites like anyone else would and then sucks blood from the wound.

Even though the lugat isn’t necessarily a deadly vampire, some may still want to kill it. Unfortunately this is easier said than done. The only creature that can kill this vampire is a wolf, but trying to force a wolf into a hunt so isn’t going to go well for you. Unlike the lugat, a wolf will kill your sorry ass if you try to make it do anything it doesn’t want to do.

If any sanguinarians are reading this, what do you think about this legend? Do you think it’s possible that your bloodlust was brought on and spread by this ancient vampire?

- Moonlight

Food Offerings For The Dead

Moonlight — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 13:00:23 +0000

In ancient times, and even now, laying food offerings at shrines to gods or other various higher powers was and is a very common practice. But these contributions weren’t always laid out for unseen forces, sometimes they we to honor the dead, or used as a means of mystical protection from supernatural beings.

A common action throughout time was to place food in front of a gravesite in an effort to pacify or honor the dead. Funeral feasts were where large amounts of food were consumed at a gravesite, usually with the recently deceased laying nearby, was a common practice in old times all through Europe. Food offerings were also made at tombs from Greece to Assyria to Egypt.

It has been argued by a few vampire experts that the Egyptian ka (a person‘s soul or life-force) would be forced to leave its tomb and haunt the living if denied its traditional food and drink offerings. And in India there are shrines known as bhadara or bhutastan which are used to provide the bhuta (a ghost/spirit) with a home and constant food, this way the bhuta would have no reason to torment the living.

The offering of food to the dead spread into the world of vampires as well. It was common practice in some areas to lay food or drink at the grave of someone recently deceased in hope that if the person returned as a vampire they would choose to eat the food instead of one of the living.

While most vampires feed on blood, there are a select few that can eat actual food as well. The Bulgarian vampire, the ubour, for example will feed on blood, manure and regular normal food. The vampires Gypsy myths will also pester the living for real food. So while leaving food offerings for the undead may seem like a strange ritual, it is actually something that makes sense in some parts of the world.

- Moonlight

A True Rhode Island Vampire

Moonlight — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 13:00:25 +0000

In Rhode Island in the late 1700s lived a 19-year-old girl named Sarah Tillinghast. Sarah was a dreamy girl, spending her days wandering small graveyards where Revolutionary soldiers lay. She was known to bring a book of poetry to these places and seat herself on a grave slab and read for hours on end. One day as she returned home from one of her visits she professed herself ill and took to her bed. Soon after she had a horrible fever and within weeks she was dead.

The Tillinghast family was still grieving some weeks later when Sarah’s brother, James, came down to breakfast looking pale, shivering and complaining of a weight on his chest. He claimed that Sarah had come to him and sat on his bed. Sarah and James’ parents thought it was nothing but his grief playing tricks with his mind.

The next day James was even paler and could barely breathe. Soon after, James was also dead.

But Sarah and James were just the beginning – shortly after their deaths two more Tillinghast children died, both saying beforehand that Sarah had visited them. These claims were quite frightening for the Tillinghast parents, for it meant that Sarah was returning from the dead to draw the life from remaining family members. The rumors spread through the town, all saying one word – Vampire!

Not before too long there were more deaths, and all of the victims claimed that it was Sarah that they saw right before the sickness took hold. Then finally Honour Tillinghast, the mother of all the dead children, too became sick. Honour lay in her death bed swearing that her lost children were calling out to her.

This was when Snuffy Tillinghast, the father, finally took a stand. With the help of his farmhand, Caleb, he went out early morning to the cemetery where Sarah was buried. He took with him a long hunting knife and a container of lamp oil.

The two men reached Sarah’s grave and together dug up her casket and opened its creaking lid. Even though she had been put to rest 18 months ago Sarah looked as if she were asleep, there was no decomposition. After seeing his daughter’s face flushed as if with blood he took his knife and cut out her bleeding heart. It is said her body gushed with blood. Snuffy Tillinghast then set his daughter’s heart on fire and burned it to ashes.

After the heart was burned the deathly ill Honour Tillinghast recovered fully and there were no more strange deaths or Sarah sightings in the Rhode Island town again.

- Moonlight

The Tree of Blood

Moonlight — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 13:00:23 +0000

I have come across a wide assortment of strange and twisted vampire stories – from vampire cats to floating heads, but today’s tale is a new one even for me.

Among the many fascinatingly wicked Japanese myths, the jubokko is for sure my new favorite. According to the myth, on grounds where there has been much bloodshed, such as execution sites or battlefields, a special kind of tree grows. This tree is known as the jubokko. But what is so unique about this tree? The jubokko is a vampire tree that feeds on the blood and life-force of humans.

These demonized trees must feed off of humans in order to survive. But unfortunately the jubokko appears as a normal tree, there is no way of knowing what it really is… until it’s too late. Once a person walks too close to the tree it attacks, capturing the person with its branches and draining them of their blood.

There is one way to spot the jubokko for what it is but you have to get up close to it, which obviously means painful death for you. Either way, you can reveal a jubokko by cutting it, for it is said that a jubokko will bleed real human blood. Another problem is that is heals incredibly fast, so even if you were able to some how attack it from a distance it would simply bleed for a moment and then heal.

Oh but it doesn’t end there, this evil tree is also known to hide amongst other trees and bushes and it is able to alter the flora in the area. This makes it very easy for someone to get lost in the forest, which makes it easy for a jubokko to snatch them up. In some versions of the myth the jubokko can speak to other plants as well and are able to find its victims that way.

But it’s not all bad; in fact a jubokko can bring goodness to a lucky few. Any branch taken from a jubokko tree, with permission of course, is a powerful item that can be used to heal and purify almost anyone.
Well, I guess that’s something.

- Moonlight

The Bottled Bloodsucker’s Pet

Moonlight — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 13:00:18 +0000

A few months ago I wrote a post about the Malaysian vampire known as the polong. The polong is the magical bottle imp that was created to do wicked things to others. In my post I mentioned that the polong had itself its very own pet called a pelesit. It’s the pelesit that brings us here now – the little creature is getting its own special spotlight.

The pelesit is a mischievous vampire-like spirit from Malaysia that is usually described as a small house cricket, and as I said above, it was considered to be the polong’s pet or plaything. The owner of the pelesit will send it to attack someone; it will then invade the victim’s body with the help of the polong, causing illness and death. The victims of the polong and pelesit quickly go insane, ripping off clothing, attacking and biting friends and family and eventually dying.

The poor victims are said to rant about cats while they suffer, thus revealing the presence of the polong. If the polong and pelesit are caught they can be forced to reveal the name of the magician that owns them. They use the victim to confess what they know by speaking through the dying person’s mouth. The magician that controls them is often called the “mother” or “father” and is eventually coerced into taking the pelesit and polong back and away from the suffering victim.

Now while the pelesit and polong are usually together, you can have just the pelesit. It is said that women are the most skilled at catching a pelesit. Once she has caught one she then puts it in a bottle, feeds it saffron rice and blood drawn from the fourth finger. Burial will end the creature’s evil activities. There is also a charm one can create to keep the pelesit away and protect you from its horrible attacks.

- Moonlight

Babies, Insects and Blood

Moonlight — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 13:00:01 +0000

Oh vampire lore, how I love thee. If you’re new to the site then let me fill you in, I love vampire folklore, I especially love how nearly every country in the world has its own species of vampire. Today’s myth is another one about witch vampires, but this witch it the Albanian shtriga.

The shtriga is a witch that would feed on the life force or blood of people as they slept at night (the myth varies area to area). Once she was finished feeding on her victim she would then transform into an insect and fly into the night. But the shtriga didn’t feed on just anyone, her preferred meal was infants and children. Even now people in Albania still blame the shtriga for many infant deaths.

It is said that those feed on by a shtriga would die shortly after, unless they received the cure that is. This cure was to have the shtriga herself spit into the mouth of the victim. Disgusting, but hell, it’s better than death.

Like with most vampires out there, there are ways to ward them off and keep them from eating your babies. There are two methods one could use to keep the shtriga away.

Make a cross made of bone and place it at the entrance of a church on Easter Sunday. This will make it so any shtriga inside can’t escape. They can then be captured and killed at the threshold as they try to pass.
After drinking blood from a victim, the shtriga would usually go off into the woods and regurgitate it (that seems wasteful) and it was believed that soaking a silver coin in that blood, then wrapping it in cloth would and turning it into an amulet would offer permanent protection from any shtriga.

Added Note: If you are a fan of the show Supernatural then you may remember the shtriga from the episode “Something Wicked” where Dean and Sam battle it out with one.

- Moonlight

Mooooo!

Moonlight — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 13:00:53 +0000

Before I get to the point of this post I’d like to point out that the cow pictured on your left looks fucking-crazy. Look at its eyes! They’re pits of evil… crazy soul sucking evil. Creepy cow. *glares at cow*

Anyway! Time to get to the vampires. As I am sure you probably guessed, cows are involved (no, sorry I don‘t randomly post cow pictures just for the hell of it). Today’s post is actually about a Romanian vampire species known as the strigoaica. This strange vampire it a bit different than other vampires since it doesn’t drink blood but instead feeds on the life-force of cows by sucking out their milk, leaving the animal with none left.

There is a story straight from Romanian folklore about a poor strigoaica who had no cow of her very own, so the lonely vampire was forced to keep a wooden cow in her house. She kept this wooden cow and filled it with the stolen milk of her neighbor’s cows. Odd story, but most folk tales are.

Then there is another story about the strigoaica, this one has some moral Christian elements mixed in. It tells of the punishment waiting for thieving vamp, as she went to confession and guiltily told the priest that she had been taking powers and milk from other people’s cows. The angry priest ordered her to take some butter made from the milk and to smear it on a tree in the forest. Three days after she did this she was told to go back and see what had happened. When she returned to the tree she found that many types of creatures were in the butter, such as bugs, insects and snakes. She went back to the priest to tell him what she found; the priest then told the strigoaica that these creatures would suck her blood out in the next world, because she had stolen so much power in this one.

Lesson learned: Don’t fuck with cows.

- Moonlight

Vampires » vampire myth

A Bloodthirsty… Doll?

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The Malaysian Maneden

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Do I Believe In Vampires?

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Spreading the Bloodlust

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Food Offerings For The Dead

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A True Rhode Island Vampire

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The Tree of Blood

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The Bottled Bloodsucker’s Pet

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Babies, Insects and Blood

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Mooooo!

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