V is for Vampire

V is for Vampire

Stories about vampires can be found in almost every culture. Here are a few such legends:

Dearg-du
There are a few legends regarding the Dearg-due, the vampire-like creature in Ireland. Some of the Irish lore can be traced back before Christianity.

Dearg-du is rarely seen but when it does, it appears as a beautiful temptress. Very dangerous and not to be trusted according to Irish lore since it’s determined to suck the blood from it’s victim. 

In one such story, the creature is described as a beautiful pale woman who strolls the graveyards at night. She uses her beauty like a weapon, luring men to her. Her kiss keeps them under her spell, while she drains them of their blood. Ireland’s most famous Dearg-du is supposedly buried beneath Strongbow’s tree in the village of Waterford.

Baobhan Sith
The White Women of the Scottish highlands. These women are ghostlike vampires who assume the shape of beautiful women and invite men to dance with them, and drink their blood.

Chiang-shi

This vampire is a white haired green-faced vampire with powers of flight and transfiguration that draws their strength from the Moon. Some appear more puppet-like, striding along in a Zombie-like trance.

 Nachzehrer
This is a German shape-shifting vampire with psychic powers. It feasts on the bodies of the dead and the blood and energy of the living.

Upyr
This Russian vampire is considered to be extremely vicious. It will first attack children and then kill the parents.  Upyr rises during the day and sleeps at night. In doing so, it has a fairly human appearance.

In Love’s Eternal Embrace, a Dearg-du terrorizes a local village. A knight, home from his travels, vows to rid the forest of the fiend, only the Dearg-due is not what he expected.

Twilight’s Eternal Embrace is my own legend of the Oiche Sith and the Lathe Sith clans, the beginning when the vampire clans lived among the humans.

I tweaked the legend of the chiang-shi, and the Autumn Moon festival to create my tale Autumn Moon.

In Soul Taker, Garran is from the Grim Sith sept, a vampire clan created by a rogue Baobhan Sith.

What are some of your favorite vampire legends, books, and movies?

Here’s the list to the other A to Z Challenge participants. Have fun hopping!!