Folktales involving vampire-like entities can be found on almost every continent and culture. Even though the European vampires are the most famous stereotype, Africa, Asia, and the Americas also possess their own versions of creatures having attributes associated with vampire lore.

Non-European vampires are very different from the suave, aristocratic, Transylvanian Dracula’s we are used to hearing about. These creatures were often monstrously deformed beasts, feminine predators, demons, imps or ghoulish apparitions.

Here are some brief examples of vampires in non-European folklore:

Vampires in Africa

In the western region:

* The Ashanti people of Ghana had the “Asanbosam or Asasabonsam,” who lived in the trees of the forests. It was a monster (in a humanoid form) that caught passersby in its hooked feet while sitting in tree branches and preyed upon them with its iron teeth.

* The Ashanti also had the “Obayifo,” which was a combination of a witch and vampire. At night, the being was said to leave its body and turn into a glowing ball. The ball would attack people and drain them of their blood. Obayifo was especially drawn to children.

* The Ewe people have stories of the “Adze,” a creature that also hunted children while, in the form of a firefly.

On the eastern Cape:

* The “Impundulu” appeared in the shape of a large bird with sharp talons, and was said to be able to invoke thunder and lighting to assist in paralyzing its intended prey.

In Madagascar:

* The creature was known as, “Ramanga,” by the Betsileo people. The Ramanga preyed upon nobles, drinking their blood and feasting on nail clippings.

Vampires in Asia

In India:

* The “Bhuta or Pret,” is said to be a ghoul-like entity that stalks and reanimates the dead during the night. The creature was believed to be the soul of a man who died prematurely. The reanimated souls would attack the townsfolk and eat them.

* The “Brahmaparusha” is a creature from northern India that was said to drink blood from an upturned, intestine-crowned, skull.

* The “Chedipe,” was a naked woman (prostitute) who rode a tiger into a house after putting the family into a deep sleep. She would proceed to suck the big toe of the man and drain him of all of his blood.

* The “Churel,” was a woman with her feet turned backwards, who died of unnatural causes, and would dry up the blood of males who treated her badly as her revenge. She also had the power to use food to tempt younger male villagers who, if they ate it, would awake at dawn as old men.

In Japan:

* The “Nukekubi” could remove its head and fly through the night skies in search of human prey.

* The “Kappa” lived in pond waters and preyed upon a village’s livestock. The ugly, green dwarfs would drag the cow or horse into the water, suck blood from their anus, and devour it. They could leave the water to steal people’s livers or rape women.

In China:

* The “Chiang-shih” was an inferior, vicious soul that lingered in the body after death. It was the result of a horrible death or improper burial rites, and had the ability to take on other forms, like humans or wolves, and was said to have wild white hair, serrated teeth and talons.

* The “Jiang Shi” was a hopping, reanimated corpse that killed the living to obtain their life essence. They could appear as a fresh corpse or as a horrifying, rotting, creature. They were known for their long, white hair, and skin that was a furry greenish, moldy-like covering. The Jiang Shi was created when the “po,” the soul, was not able to leave the body due to suicide or unnatural death.

In the Philippines:

* The “Aswang” was a female witch who could fly, land on rooftops, and allow her elongated tongue to pierce the throat of a sleeping victim and drink their blood. She could appear as a pretty young maiden when she rubbed a special salve upon her body or, as a pregnant woman, once her hunger had been sated.

In Malaysia:

* The “Maneden” lived in and protected the pandanus plant. If a human harmed or abused the plant in any way, the Maneden would attack a man by attaching itself to his elbow, or if a woman, to her nipple, and begin sucking their blood until an acceptable substitution was offered.

* The “Polong” was a creature that did a witch’s bidding in exchange for daily blood intake from a cut on a human’s finger.

* The “Langsuyar” was a green-robed female vampire who died in childbirth and derived her blood supply by preying upon infants. She had long fingernails and a hole in her neck, used for feeding upon the infant’s blood. She had a counterpart in Java, known as, “Pontianak.”

The Americas

In the Grenada, Trinidad, the Caribbean Islands, and the state of Louisiana:

* The French and African voodoo beliefs of these populations gave rise to the “Loogaroo and Soucoyant.” This creature was a female predator who arose from the dead and sucked human blood. They appeared as old women during the daytime but their skin fell off at night and they became balls of flames, with the ability to fly.

In Columbia and Chile:

* These areas also had similar female monsters: the “Tunda,” the “Patasola,” and the “Peuchen,” which was a bloodsucking snake creature. (Instead of garlic, the South Americans believed that aloe vera, hung backwards and behind a door could ward off vampires.)

In Mexico:

* In Aztec mythology, vampire creatures were known as the “Cihuateteo.” They would paralyze and steal children, and drive the living mad by having sexual relations with them. The Cihuateteo was said to be the spirits of children who died during childbirth, and would appear as skeleton faces to complete their deeds. They will die if exposed to sunlight.

The New England States (Connecticut and Rhode Island):

* The belief in vampires peaked in this area during the 18th and 19th centuries. Widespread outbreaks of “consumption” (tuberculosis) drove many of the inhabitants to believe that individuals who had succumbed to the affliction were responsible for spreading the disease.
The dead spirits would visit family members during the night and infect them. Many families dug up the graves of their loved ones and removed their hearts, and burned the organ, believing that the action would stop the dead from infecting the living.

These are only a few examples of vampire-related folklore inhabiting the countless myths and legends of non-European countries. The common denominator among all of these tales lays in the fact that blood, or “life’s essence” from a human source, was sought after by these creatures of the night.