Strigoi

Strigoi viu / Strigoi mort

Strigoi

Greaterwell-documentedRomanianSlavicRomaniaEastern Europe
Origin

A person becomes Strigoi mort if they were a witch in life, if they died without Christian burial, if a cat jumped over their coffin, or if they led an immoral life. The seventh son of a seventh son may be born a strigoi viu.

Appearance

In death, the strigoi mort's corpse remains unnaturally preserved, ruddy-cheeked, with blood around the lips. Hair and nails continue to grow. In life, the strigoi viu appears human but has red hair and blue eyes.

Abilities

Drains blood or life force from sleeping victims. Can transform into an animal (wolf, cat, bat). Spreads vampirism to family members. The strigoi viu can send its soul out of the body at night while the body sleeps.

Weaknesses & Wards

Weaknesses

  • substance
    Garlic
  • ritual
    Stake of whitethorn or aspen driven through the heart
  • substance
    Wild roses placed in the coffin

Wards

  • symbol
    Cross painted on door in tar
  • substance
    Garlic rubbed on windows and doors
Sources
  1. [1]
    The Vampire: His Kith and Kin. Summers, Montague. 1928. The Vampire: His Kith and Kin. Kegan Paul, Trench and Trubner.literary
  2. [2]
    Vampires, Burial and Death. Barber, Paul. 1988. Vampires, Burial, and Death: Folklore and Reality. Yale University Press.academic
well-documented