A sasabonsam is also called an asabonsam or asanbosam, a creature from Ashanti folklore. Reports of their presence in Jamaica go back to the eighteenth century.
Some people consider this creature to be a form of vampire because of its association with bats: it is able to take the form of a huge, bat-like creature (5’ tall, 20’ wingspan) with red fur, pointed ears, iron teeth, and iron hooks on feet and wings. In this form, it steals people from above and carries them away. Even when not in this form, though, the sasasabonsam is a horrible clawed and fanged monster.
As might be suspected given their hook-feet, sasabonsams are awkward on the ground. They live in the trees, dangling their limbs from the branches to snatch unwary travelers. They don’t seem particularly interested in drinking blood, but they will gladly devour the flesh of anyone who falls into their clutches. They can also inflict people with a wasting disease simply by looking at them with their deathly glare.
They sometimes work with obayifos, who are said to have the ability to summon them. On the other hand, it is sometimes said that obayifos work at the behest of sasabonsams, so the question of who is really in control in this relationship is a matter of dispute.
It is not entirely accurate to say that there are no vampire legends among Native Americans, but the few creatures native to North America that might (perhaps generously) classify as “vampires” are quite a bit different from their European cousins.
Among the Iroquois, for example, there is a monster sometimes called a “vampire corpse,” “vampire skeleton,” or “cannibal corpse.” Obviously, the name is a product of cultural cross-pollination with European settlers. In the Seneca language, the creature is called a tcis’gä, which simply means “corpse” or “skeleton.” Its nature is in some ways comparable to a European vampire, in other ways more like the zombie of popular culture. It has an emaciated, skeletal body and variety of magical powers. They are repelled, however, by redbud branches.
A vampire corpse can be a simple dead body that something evil has overtaken. Or, it could be the body of a sorcerer so full of its own magical potency that it endures after physical death. In either case, it is a ravenous undead creature with a frightening appearance and a hunger for human flesh.
These creatures’ bestial demeanor and cadaverous appearance make it impossible for them to impersonate normal human beings. They might lie in wait in their coffins in remote huts or cabins, preying upon lost travelers who hope to spend the night under their shelter.
A similar creature, the skudakumooch or “ghost witch,” is associated with the Wabanaki cultures of the Maritime Provinces and adjacent areas.
The quintessential undead bloodsucker is associated with central and eastern Europe. It is known by numerous names: strigoi or strigoi mort in Romanian, izcacus in Hungarian, and a vampir (by various spellings) in Slavic languages.
Not to be confused with Hollywood depictions of Dracula and his ilk, the classic vampire’s main weapon is shapeshifting, of which it is a true adept. It is not necessarily stronger or faster than an ordinary human, but it is nevertheless a formidable foe. These creatures like to socialize with their own kind, though never in groups larger than twelve, but they are not generally inclined to cooperate with each other.
When vampires first rise in undeath, they are disoriented and unaware of their powers. Many of the expected weaknesses we associate with the undead operate in force for these “young” bloodsuckers. They must return to their coffins during the day and are especially prone to obsessive counting. At this stage, peasants can generally make short work of them. They are averse to holy objects (crosses, consecrated Host, etc.). They can be immobilized by a hawthorn stake through the heart. They are repelled by garlic, wild rose, hawthorn, and wolf’s bane. After about a hundred days, however, young vampires shake off their initial disorientation and become much more dangerous. They freely roam without being bound to their coffins, though if their burial shroud is ever lost or destroyed, they lose their powers.
Classic vampires eventually ranged far from their original homeland. The earliest European vampire legend, for example, involved a certain Conde Estuch, a creature of this type who originated in central Europe but operated in Catalonia.
There are several kinds of monster from surrounding regions that mostly conform to the “classic vampire” model, though with notable variations. Here are a few of them:
Blutsauger:This is a vampire
from Bavaria and other parts of southern Germany. It is in nearly every respect
identical to its Slavic counterpart.
Estrie:
First attested in the 1460s, this Jewish female vampire may be a later
development from the ancient lilit. They are not impeded by holy objects
or places, and their preferred shapeshifting forms are birds (especially screech
owls) and cats.
Mullo: This vampire of Roma
folklore dresses all in white and has long, white hair that reaches to its
ankles.
Obur: This rare Turkic
vampire is especially attested in the Caucasus region. In life, it was a
powerful wizard that gained its powers from consuming human blood. (Therefore,
some oburs would better be classified as “living vampires.”) In death, it
continues to prey on the living.
Strega: This Italian term
can mean both witch and vampire. It commonly shapeshifts into an owl.
Strigoi Mort: This Romanian
vampire, also called a moroi in rural areas, sometimes drains life
energy rather than blood. It has poltergeist-like telekinetic powers.
Upir: This vampire from
Poland and Russia has a barbed tongue instead of fangs.
Ustrel: On rare occasions, children become vampires. According to Bulgarian legend, this can happen when a child born on Saturday dies before being baptized. Ustrels (or istrals) lack the social skills to conceal their true nature. They are generally too weak to prey on humans, but will feed on livestock and other animals. These creatures are also known in parts of Poland.
Vrykolakas: Vrykolakas (both singular and plural) are native to Greece. They are similar to strigas, but most often drain life energy rather than blood.
Jianghi is the Chinese form of the name of these Asian vampire-like monsters. They are also known as cuong thi (Vietnamese), gangshi (Korean), kyonshi (Japanese) and hantu pocong (Malay and Indonesian). They are sometimes created through arcane magic, and wear a paper talisman on their forehead containing their sealing spell. (One story about their origin is that, when someone dies far from home, it is easier for a Taoist priest to conduct a ritual to animate the corpse and “march” it to its proper burial place.) More often, however, they are created through an improper burial, suicide, or spirit-possession. Though they might rest in a coffin during the day, it is also common for them to hide in dark places such as caves.
They might have the appearance of a recently-deceased corpse or be horrifying to see—with greenish-white skin, long white hair, rotting flesh, etc. Their distinguishing feature, however, is rigor mortis, when results in them having to hop about rather than walking like an ordinary mortal. Their name, in fact, translates to “stiff corpse.” In the popular imagination, jiangshi dress in the robes of Qing dynasty bureaucrat. In general, they have more in common with popular depictions of zombies than vampires. Numerous Chinese “vampire movies” feature jiangshi and those who must contend with them.
Jiangshi feed on their victim’s qi or “life energy,” killing them in the process. The most powerful among them become ba or “drought demons” with shapeshifting powers and the ability to cause draughts and plague.
Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Do not become bitter or hostile. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Never ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble. We will find a way to make a way out of no way. —John Lewis
Like the previously described tlahuelpocmimi, these creatures (plural cihuateteo) are female vampire-like creatures from Aztec folklore. Their name translates to “divine mother,” likely a euphemism meant to avert their attention. They range from very beautiful to hideous in appearance, with skeletal faces and skin as white as chalk, but almost always are seen in a flowing shroud-like garment.
Cihuateteo are created when a woman dies in childbirth, and they have an irrational desire to seek vengeance by stealing the life of women and children. They hunt either alone or in packs, demons of the night who haunt crossroads, cause madness, and induce men to adultery. The association with crossroads may be a European innovation, as crossroads have been associated with witches at least as far back as Hecate in Greek mythology.
These beings servants of Tlazolteotl, the goddess of evil, lust, and sorcery. They are considered minor deities and have their own feast days on the Aztec calendar. The male counterparts of the cihuateteo are the macuiltonaleque, men who died in battle and now wander battlefields as cadaverous figures dressed in the garb of ancient warriors.
In some accounts, they mate with human men and give birth to vampiric children. In any event, they are known to incite murder, lasciviousness, and drunkenness.
Finally, cihuateto tend to live in the jungle and always keep to dark places. During the day, they often take refuge in funeral caves.
Obayifos (called asiman by the Dahomey people) are “living vampires” created when an evil spirit takes possession of a person and causes him or her to commit evil deeds. Obayifo is an Akan word often translated “witch” or “sorcerer.” Though originating in Africa, they are also found in South America and the Caribbean, especially Jamaica.
These creatures have shifty eyes and an obsession with food, especially cacao beans. When it comes to blood, they are picky eaters: they won’t eat blood that tastes bitter, so it’s a good idea to eat a diet rich in things like garlic if you want to be unappetizing to an obayifo. They feed on fear and despair but will also steal the blood of children. Strangely enough, they also like fruits and vegetables. When deprived of blood, they’ll simply suck the juice from fruits and vegetables to hold their hunger in check until they can feed again.
Obayifos are averse to the holy in the form of West African sacred symbols and spiritual practitioners. They emit a telltale light from the armpits and anus. They often hunt by transforming into a ball of blue light, in which form they can fly through the air. In some stories, they achieve this form by sloughing off their skin and reclaiming it later.
Finally, these creatures are able to possess a mortal victim and bend it to their will.
Only a person of great holiness can discern the true identity of an obayifo.
These creatures of the Pacific Northwest are called ts’iihchuk by the Haida people. The Twilight saga notwithstanding, there are precious few “vampire” myths in North America, and no Native American vampire-like creature bares the slightest resemblance to Edward Cullen and company. In their true form, they are vaguely insect-like, with spindly limbs and huge, black eyes. They are masters of disguise, however, and easily blend in with the human population.
Mosquito folk are so-called because they suck blood and other bodily fluids out of their victims by means of a thorn-like proboscis that normally hides within their mouths. They can do this with incredible speed. A common story tells of a mosquito person insinuating itself into a gathering where adults are passing around a baby to play with and admire. The mosquito person sucks out the infant’s brain so quickly that no one notices, and when it passes the baby on to the next person, it is already dead.
These creatures serve as a reminder that vampire-like creatures don’t always easily fit into the living-or-undead paradigm. The most that can be said of mosquito folk is that they used to be human, but their evil deeds turned them into eldritch horrors. But did this transformation happen in life or only at death? Or was the transformation what killed them?
Monsters of this nature are the least like popular conceptions of “vampires.” Within their own cultural contexts, they are often called “witches” or “ogres” instead. But they are in some sense driven by an insatiable, demonic hunger, and thus by the broadest of definitions might justifiably be called “vampiric.”
A similar creature is known among the indigenous peoples of the South American rainforests, and both creatures have sometimes been compared to the Puerto Rican “vampiro de Moca,” perhaps a relative of the chupacabra.
When you write with racial and ethnic diversity, you hear a lot about what to avoid. Now, it’s not without good reason. The road to good representation is paved with harmful stereotypes and worn-out depictions of People of Color. Advice-givers, like me and the rest of the folks at WritingwithColor, put up caution signs and leave the rest of the journey up to you.
Still, there are some do’s that make for both good writing and good representation.
Writers tend to think big. Our craft demands that we keep our brains fired up with ideas.
I’m asking you to think small.
This is the kind of article I wish I’d had years ago, though I think I somehow stumbled through writing some African American secondary characters in Into the Wonder. I look forward to the next installments!
Into the Wonder 