History OurVampiresAreDifferent / Mythology

* The Russian Eretica (plural ereticy) is a vampire that always takes the form of an old woman dressed in rags. They were believed to have been witches [[ScareEmStraight who became vampires after death as punishment for sin.]] They sleep in coffins of blasphemers, gather with other ereticy in ravines and can curse someone to have a slow and painful death.

* Myth/AboriginalAustralianMyths contains a creature called the yara-ma-yha-who, which can be roughly described as their equivalent of a vampire. It's a monstrous humanoid that WasOnceAMan and can [[ViralTransformation transform another human being into a creature like it]] by drinking their blood, but the similarity ends there, which isn't nearly as reassuring as it might sound. The yara-ma-yha-who is a little, frog-like red man with a large head, an even larger toothless mouth, and [[CreepyLongFingers incredibly long]] [[CombatTentacles tentacle-like fingers]], which lurks in fig trees waiting for unsuspecting travelers to pass by. When they do, it reaches down and entangles them in its tentacle-fingers, draining their blood with the LampreyMouth-like suckers that line them. Not for sustenance, but just to keep its prey nice and weak so it can [[SwallowedWhole swallow them whole]]. After that, it regurgitates them, and when it does, they come out ever-so-slightly redder an ever-so-slightly shorter, with an ever-so-slightly larger head and ever-so-slightly longer fingers. Then it lets them go, falls asleep, and waits to catch them again another day so it can [[SlowTransformation repeat the process, again and again until its hapless victim is completely transformed into a yara-ma-yha-who themselves]]. Oh, and in some versions of the tale, it specifically preys on children. Australia has a few other vamps, such as:
** Garkain, a giant bird from [[HungryJungle Arnhem Land]] that drinks people`s blood and forces their soul to wander the jungle forever

* Scotland has the baobhan sith (pronounced Baa-VAN-Shee), which is usually depicted as a stunning [[TheFairFolk fairy-like]] woman with feet resembling deer hooves, which she often conceals with a long dress. Rather than bats, they're also said to shapeshift into crows or ravens. Like other faeries, they can be warded off with ColdIron.
* The Soucouyant (a.k.a Loogaroo/Lagaroo/Asema)is a kind of witch empowered by a DealWithTheDevil from Caribbean folklore that by day appears as an old woman, and by night, removes her skin and transforms into a ball of fire to fly through the sky in search of homes to infiltrate and sleeping victims to drink the blood of. [[Main/FridgeLogic How a fireball drinks blood is unclear.]] Soucouyant victims possess blue-black marks on their arms, legs and soft parts, and if drained of enough blood, they will die and possibly become a soucouyant themselves, leaving their killer to assume their skin. Apparently they have OCD, because if rice or sand is scattered in its path it will drop whatever it's doing to count the grains, and will die if still in vampire form by dawn. The other way to kill them is to find the skin (helpfully left on a tree) and rub it with salt or pepper, which will make the soucouyant explode when it puts the skin back on.
* The {{Chupacabra}} is considered by some to be a modern take on the vampire myth, changing the monster from an undead human to either an extraterrestrial creature or a canine mutant. However, unlike most other versions of the myth, it prefers to pry on livestock rather than people.

* Of all things, [[ManEatingPlant pumpkins, squash, and melons]] can become vampires in the folklore of some Balkan countries. If they're left ripe in a storm ([[ItCameFromTheFridge or left out for ten days after Christmas]]), they fill with water, which coalesces into a LivingShadow, who endeavors to fill its gourd with blood so it can become a corporeal creature. It takes to moving its house around to collect said blood from unsuspecting travelers. Once full, it hatches into one of the vampires we know and... well, know. They can be slain by dunking in boiling water, beaten with a broom and the broom being burnt.

* The [[OurMonstersAreWeird strangest]] vampire this side of the [[FrogMen Yara-ma-yha-who]] is the German Neuntoter, whose name translates to [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast "Killer of Nine"]]. Neuntoter are covered in pus and sores and appear in times of plague. Lemons, not garlic, ward them off, and they can be killed by cutting of the head and stuffing the mouth with a lemon. For added weirdness, they are created from children born with an (apparently literal) spoon in their mouth.

* Of all things, [[ManEatingPlant pumpkins, squash, and melons]] can become vampires in the folklore of some Balkan countries. If they're left ripe in a storm, ([[ItCameFromTheFridge or left out for ten days after Christmas]]) they fill with water, which coalesces into a LivingShadow, who endeavors to fill its gourd with blood so it can become a corporeal creature. It takes to moving its house around to collect said blood from unsuspecting travelers. Once full, it hatches into one of the vampires we know and... well, know. They can be slain by dunking in boiling water, beaten with a broom and the broom being burnt.

* Judaism has the estries. Although they are all women, it is unclear if the estries are a OneGenderRace or women who have become cursed. They have VoluntaryShapeshifting and flight. The estries [[HorrorHunger need to feed on blood to survive]]. They cannot fly if their hair is bound. If someone injured them, the estries must eat the bread and salt of the person responsible or die. More recent depiction of them tend to give them more traditional vampire weaknesses including silver and wooden stakes.

* Scotland has the baobhan sith (pronounced Baa-VAN-Shee), which is usually depicted as a stunning [[TheFairFolk fairy-like]] woman with feet resembling deer hooves, which she often conceals with a long dress. Rather than bats, they're also said to shapeshift into crows or ravens.Like other faeries, they can be warded off with ColdIron.

* Judaism has the estries. Although they are all women, it is unclear if the estries are a OneGenderRace or women who have become cursed. They have VoluntaryShapeshifting and flight. The estries [[HorrorHunger need to feed on blood to survive]]. They cannot fly if their hair is bound. If someone injured them, the estries must eat the bread and salt of there person responsible or die. More recent depiction of them tend to give them more traditional vampire weaknesses including silver and wooden stakes.

* In Albanian folklore, a 13th century tale speaks of the {{Dhampyr}}. A soldier goes to war but he promises his wife to come back to give her a son, legacy and stuff. Of course, [[FatalFamilyPhoto he dies]], yet still comes back, undead. He has the son and raises him, all this time not going in the sun. When his wife tells his mother that she is living with him she tells her that the dead are dead and the living should not mess with that. They get him high on weed (not making it up) and expose him to the sun. The end. How do we get from this to ''ComicBook/{{Blade}}'', ''Blood+'' and ''LightNovel/VampireHunterD''? Who knows.

* Myth/AboriginalAustralianMyths contains a creature called the yara-ma-yha-who, which can be roughly described as their equivalent of a vampire. It's a monstrous humanoid that WasOnceAMan and can [[ViralTransformation transform another human being into a creature like it]] by drinking their blood, but the similarity ends there, which isn't nearly as reassuring as it might sound. The yara-ma-yha-who is a little red man with a large head, an even larger toothless mouth, and [[CreepyLongFingers incredibly long]] [[CombatTentacles tentacle-like fingers]], which lurks in fig trees waiting for unsuspecting travelers to pass by. When they do, it reaches down and entangles them in its tentacle-fingers, draining their blood with the LampreyMouth-like suckers that line them. Not for sustenance, but just to keep its prey nice and weak so it can [[SwallowedWhole swallow them whole]]. After that, it regurgitates them, and when it does, they come out ever-so-slightly redder an ever-so-slightly shorter, with an ever-so-slightly larger head and ever-so-slightly longer fingers. Then it lets them go, falls asleep, and waits to catch them again another day so it can [[SlowTransformation repeat the process, again and again until its hapless victim is completely transformed into a yara-ma-yha-who themselves]]. Oh, and in some versions of the tale, it specifically preys on children. Australia has a few other vamps, such as:

* To be blunt, folklorists will label '''[[CallAPegasusAHippogriff any]]''' nocturnal carnivorous or parasitic supernatural being as a "vampire"; entire books have been written on the subject.