Book Review: Werewolves (2011), by Zachary Graves

After having pre-ordered this title in November 2010 (along with Rosemary Ellen Guiley's upcoming book The Encyclopedia of Vampires and Werewolves, Second Edition), I waited for months for this title to be released. At first, I feared it would be late coming out, but it was released (and shipped) on Friday 5/20/2011. On Monday the 23rd, at 5:30pm, the UPS drove up my street, walked up to my front door, and handed me the package. I know this because I was sitting on the living room couch, waiting for two and a half hours.

Anyways, on to the book itself. I was half-expecting it to be full of misconceptions like the previous book Zombies: The Complete Guide to the World of the Living Dead (which was still very entertaining and informative, but also stated that Romero Zombies ate brains exclusively, which they do not). From the reading that I have done thus far, this promises to be very valuable to my research, as well as a fun way to pass the time. Half of this book is about the Werewolf in folklore and legend, while the other half focuses on Werewolves in fiction and the movies (including a few entries on serial killers with wolflike characteristics). The book includes an index, but unfortunately doesn't include a bibliography. But overall, this book is a very informative and educational work. I myself learned some things that I hadn't known previously. I would recommend it to all those who share my passion for the supernatural and the unexplained.

The Dwayyo: Werewolf of the Northeast, by Rev. Robin Swope

Robin Swope, Pittsburgh Paranormal Examiner

Last year, while attending the MAP-con paranormal convention in Sharpsville PA, I was amazed by hearing stories of a group series of werewolf sightings by youths who were swimming in the Shenango Valley River in the late 1970s. For a series of months teens saw a hairy wolf like creature along the shores of the river as they tried to enjoy the recreation during their summer vacation.

I was amazed, I was unaware that there were such incidents in our neck of the Northeast. But the Northeastern United States does have its share of Lycanthrope sightings. A recent e-mail made me delve into research about one such creature sighted in nearby Maryland. A creature called the Dwayyo.

According to ‘Aubrey’, she was driving her old Subaru on Coxey Brown Road near Myersville, Maryland late in the summer of 2009 when she had an eerie feeling.  It was as if she was being watched. The road was lined with trees, she was on the outer edge of Gambrill State Park, and the forest was beginning to grow thicker. According to her, as she turned on Hawbottom Road, where her friend lived, the feeling became overwhelming. The hairs on the back of her neck rose in terror as she sensed the unseen eyes upon her. She wanted to stop the car and take her breath, she was afraid that she would veer off the road and hit a tree because she her nerves were getting so unsteady that she began to shake. But she knew that whatever was watching her, and following her was out there, and she took what little comfort she had by being safer inside her rust rotted car. Still, to prevent a wreck, she slowed down as she headed south, and that was when she saw the creature.

At first it was a blur to the right of her periphery vision. Something that was moving through the trees, a shadow that flickered as it went in and out of sight on the edge of her vision. It was a brown smear of color that popped out in contrast to the dull dark grey trees that she passed.

Whatever it was, it bobbed through the underbrush and between the trees to keep pace with her car. She thinks at the time, she was going around 25 miles per hour. She then slowed down once more to take a good look to her right, and make sure that she was not seeing things. As her car slowed to a crawl, the brown blurry smear of color seemed to bound out of the woods closer to the road. With a massive leap the hazy color became flesh as a huge dog-like animal on two legs emerged from the foliage.

The fangs, Aubrey wrote, are burned into her memory. Huge fangs from a mouth grimaced in anger and hate. She could feel the fangs as if they were ripping her skin while the creature stood there panting on the side of the road. Drool dripped from its huge mouth as she heard a loud growl, and she looked into the dark eyes. Darkness took up its entire eye, there was no white at all. It was if she was staring death and hell head on in dizzying madness.

Then it leaped, arms outstretched with claws grasping the wind. Instinctively Aubrey stepped on her gas pedal with all her might. The squeal of her tires seemed as if her car too was screaming in horror at the thing that emerged from the dark looming forest.

She did not look back. She didn’t want to know if the thing was following her. She didn’t feel the eyes upon her anymore. She was too shaken to really feel anything at all. When she made it to her friends house, she sat in the driveway shaking as she looked around to make sure the creature had not followed her there. The house was also in the woods, at the opposite side of the State Park. When she felt safe, she made a mad dash for her friend’s door, and banged on it frantically.

He did not know what to make of her story. Aubrey knew he did not believe her. He had lived in the woods all his life, and had never encountered what she had seen. He assured her that it must have just been a dog, perhaps a rabid one at that. Her mind was playing tricks on her. But the young woman knew what she had seen that late summer day. It was no dog. It was something out of a horror movie come to life before her eyes. Though she told nobody what she felt it really was, she called it a werewolf. That is until after she did some research in the local college library and came up with the name that others had called it when they too saw the forest come alive. She had encountered the Dwayyo.

The Dwayyo is a large wolflike bipedal creature that has been reported primarily in West Middletown Maryland. The creature had first come to prominence in the mind of the local population after a story ran in the local paper, the Fredrick News Post in late November of 1965. Reporter George May wrote in the article, “ Mysterious Dwayyo Loose in County ” that a young man, named anonymously as ‘John Becker’ heard a strange noise in his backyard which was situated on the outskirts of Gambrill State Park. Upon going out to investigate the noise he initially saw nothing, so he headed back in. It was then that he caught site of the creature. Something was moving toward him in the dark, Becker was quoted that “It was as big as a bear, had long black hair, a bushy tail, and growled like a wolf or dog in anger.” The thing quickly moved toward him on its hind legs and began to attack him.  He fought off the creature and drove it back into the woods, later calling police to report the incident.

According to other sources, this was not the first sighting of the legendary creature.

In the 1890s, a local farmer reported seeing a doglike creature 9 feet tall at Camp Greentop near Sabillasville, Maryland.

The first mention of the name ‘Dwayyo’ comes from a sighting in 1944 from an area in Carroll County Maryland. Witnesses heard the creature make ‘frightful screams’ and there were footprints attesting to the claims of the sighting.

But it was in late 1965 and early 1966 that the creature made headlines by being sighted across the area frequently. The first was the incident reported by Mr. Becker. The Fredrick Post reported in Early December that it had received numerous calls to report sightings of the creature, so many that the initial reporter George May was issued a hunting license for the creature by the County Treasurers office and rallied a ‘call to arms’ in the December 8, 1965 article, “ Dwayyo Hunt Tonight ”.  The hunt must have been a bust, since Mr. May wrote a follow up article the next day called, “ Dwayyo Hunt Flops ”. There were also many reports of the creature being sighted in early December at the nearby University of Maryland. Later in the summer of 1966, the creature was again sighted on the outskirts of Gambrill State Park. A man only referred to as ‘Jim A.’ encountered the Dwayyo as he was heading toward a camp site. It was described as a shaggy two legged creature the size of a deer that had a triangle shapped head with pointed ears and chin. It was dark brown in color and when approached it made a horrid scream and backed away from the man. Jim described it as having an odd walk as it retreated, it’s legs, “stuck out from the side of the trunk of the body making its movements appear almost spider-like as it backed away”.

In the late fall of 1976 another sighting of the Dwayyo took place in Fredrick County near Thurmont  between Cunningham Falls State Park and Catoctin Mountain National Park. Two men drove off route 77 and unto a private road so they could ‘spot deer’ by their headlights in order to see how thick the native population had become before deer season. To their surprise, they did not catch a deer in their lights but instead a large animal rn across the front of their car. They described the creature as, “ at least 6 ft tall but inclined forward since it was moving quickly. Its head was fairly large and similar to the profile of a wolf. The body was covered in brown or brindle colored fur but the lower half had a striped pattern of noticeable darker and lighter banding. The forelegs (or arms) were slimmer and held out in front as it moved. The back legs were very muscled and thick similar to perhaps a kangaroo. This was not a hominoid type creature; it did not have the characteristics of an ape. It was much more similar to a wolf or ferocious dog however it was definitely moving upright and appeared to be adapted for that type of mobility. I was particularly impressed by the size and strength of the back legs, the stripes on the lower half of the body and the canine-wolf-like head. ”

It was in this same vicinity where the next sighting took place but two years later, in 1978 by two park rangers near the CunninghamFallsarea where they encountered “a large hairy creature running on two legs”.

According to local authorities there are always rumors of the creature being sighted in the State Parks surrounding FredrickCounty, but few are willing to come forward to make a formal report because they are afraid of ridicule or doubts of their sanity. Aubrey was one of those. Even though the encounter was one of the most horrifying things she had ever encountered, the fear of what others will think of her because of what she saw is even greater. She vows that the creature she saw on Hawbottom Roadwill not take any thing else from her life. “The Dwayyo has taken enough”

Thanks go to Pastor Robin Swope (the Paranormal Pastor) for graciously allowing me to borrow his article.

The original article can be found at The Pittsburgh Examiner.

The Borego Phantom

The Borego Phantom is a skeletal apparition that appears to potential gold-seekers between Borego, Arizona and the foothills of the Superstition Mountains.

The Borego Phantom manifests itself as a humanoid skeleton, standing well over eight feet tall and appearing only after darkness falls. Within the Phantom’s chest is a fiery lantern that burns brightly, swinging slowly from side to side from the rib from which it hangs. Despite this, the apparition appears without warning and appears suddenly from the darkness.

In most cases, the Borego Phantom seems uninterested in mortal affairs and simply wanders past terrified onlookers. Its feet may touch the ground and kick up sand, but no footprints of any kind are ever left behind, nor can it be followed for any amount of time. But when traveling through cactus stands, over boulders, or through narrow tunnels, the Borego Phantom has exhibited incredible agility that is rare among the undead.

The Borego Phantom may be an aimless wanderer, but the irrefutable fact that it appears only to miners and prospectors indicates that the apparition may in fact have some sort of motive. The lantern in its chest and its choice of witnesses indicates that the Phantom was once a prospector who had died while searching for the legendary Lost Dutchman Gold Mine, but it is also possible that the Phantom is a “collective phantom,” created and empowered by the ghosts of the innumerable people who perished in pursuit of the Lost Dutchman.

History

The Borego Phantom is a spectral entity that is said to wander the desert wastelands between the Superstition Mountains and Seventeen Palms. A few years back, it is said that a gold prospector named Charley Arizona had decided to settle down for the night in an area about four miles southeast of Borego. In the early hours of the morning, Charley was suddenly awoken by something in the dark. He decided to investigate, thinking that someone had stumbled upon his camp. In the distance, he saw a faint, eerie glow, perhaps a torch. Now he thought that a lost traveler had found his campsite. As the eerie light drew closer, Charley could begin to make out a figure in the darkness. What he saw would haunt his memories for the rest of his life...

Charley stared silently in terror, unable to make even a single sound. A large, gaunt skeletal figure traveled noiselessly across the desert sands, and a bright light, like a lantern, dangled from the ghost's ribs. The figure was over eight feet tall, the light from it's ribcage casting a creepy glow in the stillness of the night. As quickly as it came, the apparition faded from sight behind some large rocks. Charley remained motionless with fear for the rest of the night, unable to sleep...

Two years later, two prospectors in the area reported a sighting of the mysterious entity whilst camping out for the night. One of the men claimed to have seen a dim light in the darkness, and was then approached by a gigantic skeletal figure with a lantern in it's chest. His companion was skeptical, and dismissed the sighting by saying that the other man only saw the glow of the fire reflecting off of the rocks. A year later, however, another man who was making his way through the Superstitions encountered the entity as well, describing it as a clumsy, stumbling skeleton of immense proportions, with a light emanating from it's chest. The man promptly recounted his experience at the Vallecito Station, where rumors of this terrifying apparition began to spread rapidly. Thus, the legend of the Borego Phantom was born. Thrill-seekers began to journey recklessly into the Superstition Mountains, hoping that they would somehow catch a glimpse of the dangling lantern and it's eerie glow that preceded the ghost's appearance. All that awaited them, however, was terror beyond measure...

One particular group of ghost hunters encountered the apparition at night when they had set up a night watch. When they saw the Phantom, one of the men fired his gun at the specter, only to have the bullet pass through it. They could only watch as the ghost stumbled and tripped awkwardly across the sands. They attempted to follow it, but eventually lost sight of it in a valley.

Most people believe that the Borego Phantom was once a prospector who searched for his fortune in a local mine, but died in the process. They believe that he is now cursed to be the guardian of the Lost Dutchman, and that he will lead anyone astray who comes even remotely close to the mine and the treasures within, but at the same time also seeking the mine himself. Others believe that the entity is only seen by miners and prospectors, or by those who have some sort of connection to the mine itself. Either way, this skeletal phantasm should be avoided until it's true nature and it's purpose is discovered. It has not been seen in recent years, but that doesn't mean that the Borego Phantom doesn't still walk the dunes...does it?

References

Blackman, W. Haden. The Field Guide to North American Hauntings: Everything You Need to Know About Encountering Over 100 Ghosts, Phantoms, and Spectral Entities. New York: Three Rivers Press. Copyright ©1998 by W. Haden Blackman.

Arnold, Neil. Monster! The A-Z of Zooform Phenomena. Great Britain: CFZ Press. Copyright ©2007 by CFZ Press.

Anza Borrego's Haunted Desert (DesertUSA)

Something in the Storm...

This year we in the United States have had a more aggressive winter than usual.

Depending on your geographical location you may have experienced a few feet to a few inches when you otherwise would have not experienced little or no snowfall whatsoever.

Here in Erie PA, we usually get our fair share of white out conditions and blizzards. In fact snowfall is so commonplace that many of the local residents do not even shovel their driveways until at least 6 inches fall. You get used to living and driving in many feet of accumulated snow.

But you never get used to the blizzards.

For we have Lake Effect Snow here in Erie, it is common place to have a foot or more of accumulated snow overnight multiple times during the season. But every decade or so this area gets blasted with a massive storm that shuts down the entire community. Even though equipped with fleets of government snow removal vehicles and scores of private snow plow businesses, these operators cannot keep up with the overwhelming snowfall.

This year the storms were bad, but in the mix there was no storm of a lifetime. Though snowdrifts of 7 feet or more were scattered throughout the region, there have been times that a rough wintry blast has left drifts up to 12 feet or more in many places. However what this season's storms lacked in volume, they made up with sheer force. The violent winds and driving snow brought down trees, damaged buildings and prevented anyone but the foolhardy or daring and resolved emergency workers to venture forth into the tempest's grasp. I was one of those, delivering medicine to hospice patients during the heart of the storm, and I have to say that it was one of the worst conditions I have ever experienced. The driving wind blew the light snow that had already fallen and mixed it with the flakes that were still coming down to limit visibility to only a foot in front of my vehicle. I was surreal to suddenly see a jack knifed tractor trailer emerge from the blinding snow. It had tried to take a shortcut from the closed highway and landed in a 45 degree angle across three fourths of the road. The wind had blown it across the road and the ice prevented it's brakes from stopping it from ending in the ditch. My car shuddered throughout the whole trip, being hit by barrage after barrage of gusts from the mighty storm.

In the midst of it, knowing you were experiencing an unusual storm there were times you could feel like there was some willful force behind the gail. A destructive force of chaos that mercilessly cut a path across the country. Of course one would think this is a natural response, being faced with the raw poawer of nature is an awesome experience.

However within the last month I have received two e-mails that makes one suppose that perhaps there was something in the storm that was not wholly natural, at least as to what norms of nature that we are accustomed to. From "Jacob"

"...It was on this past December 19th, just less than a month ago. It was early morning and I always check on the chicken coop first thing. The wind was whipping hard and there was a huge pile of snow on the side of the shed. The wind had pushed almost all the snow from the field up to it. The wind was making a loud wild sound, and as I came up to the barn, I was sure that I was hearin something strange in the wind. I stopped there since I thought it could be a neighbor or some other stuck outside since it sounded like a human scream. It was not right though. It seemed really wrong, like wounded animal crying at the top of it's lungs but with a man's voice. All I could think of was someone stuck out in the storm, so I walked out to the field to see where the screaming was coming from. "

Jacob then recalls how he wandered into the field, and the location of the screaming voice seemed to always be out of reach. It seemed to always dwell just outside the edge of sight in the storm, and every time he turned away to give up in his search, the voice became more frantic. So he kept on his quest only to find himself caught up and lost in a blinding blizzard. It was then as his panic set in he believes he saw the source of the screams:

"It was like a big shadow in the blowing snow, I knew it was the person i was lookin for so I ran to it. then I saw how big it was. It was like a giant, almost twice the size of a man, but with a man's shape. It was either covered in fur or wore an animal fur coat because I could see the hair moving in the wind. As I got to it, the screamin became louder and louder, and from the sight of it and the sound of it I knew that this thing was just wrong. I had to get away from it as fast as possible. I ran as fast as I could and made sure the screaming thing was behind me. After a few minutes the snow was not coming down as hard and I found myself back in the field behind the shed. It was then that the screaming voice had stopped... I don't know what it was out there, but I knew I was in danger of my life, and that thing was not of this world. I think it was pure evil..."

Jacob was not sure what he had encountered last December during thst storm, but he is resolute ass to the reality of what he saw. He was sure he was not hallucinating or observing amirage due to the blinding snow.

Something evil was in the storm.

Something that tried to lure him to his doom.

So what was it? There are a lot of possibilities.

Immediately to me it brings to mind the mythological Sirens as portrayed in the greek classics of Homer and Ovid. However what Jacob saw was not a beautiful seductress, but a hideous monster like unto Typhon. Since this encounter happened in old Seneca Indian territory perhaps we should look into Native American mythology and the destructive wind spirit Dagwanoenyent of the Iroquois.

It's appearance is similar to a Sasquatch as well. Pennsylvania certainly has its fair share of Sasquatch sightings according to the Pennsylvania Bigfoot Societies reports.

Perhaps an exact nomenclatural designation for the creature is moot; as spirits do assume a different persona depending upon the circumstances. Be it Typhon, Dagwanoenyent, Set or Thor; the names may change but their mythological archetype speaks to us in the same basic way.

There is something in the storm. Something powerful, dangerous, and malevolent.

Comments

Could this have been the legendary Wendigo? The creature seems to possess most of the characteristics common to the way the beast is portrayed in legend. But perhaps we'll never know...

My personal thanks go to Reverend Robin Swope, the Paranormal Pastor, for graciously allowing me to borrow this article from his blog, which may be found at Something in the Storm (The Paranormal Pastor).

The Popobawa

Whereabouts
Zanzibar, Africa (although it has also been reported in Tanzania).

Ethymology

The name popobawa comes from the Swahili that translates literally as “bat-wing” (from the Swahili popo, “bat,” and bawa, “wing”). It is also known as Imran, Khalid Khanzada, or zain haiders.

Vital Stats

The Popobawa is variously described as a ghost or a demon with a single eye, gigantic bat wings, and an enormous penis (said to be up to six feet in length). It is thought to be a shapeshifter, appearing as a normal man by day and changing into a batlike demon at night.

Behavior

The Popobawa is much like an incubus, but unlike that particular demon, the Popobawa attacks men in their own beds. As a result, many men take to sleeping outside of their houses in the streets or on their porches. The creature attacks the men while they sleep, overpowering them. Then, it holds their faces to the floor and forcefully sodomizes them for up to an hour (an extremely painful experience for anyone). It then threatens the victim with repeated and longer attacks if they don’t let friends and neighbors know of their experience. It then flies off into the night to search for another victim. The creature’s presence is usually detected by the sound of scraping claws on the roof and a sharp, pungent odor (although some report that there is a puff of smoke as well). It is thought by skeptics that these attacks are the result of sleep paralysis, not a homosexual bat-creature.

The Popobawa, being a spirit, is able to take possession of human bodies. It becomes very angry if its existence is denied, and dire consequences usually follow. Usually, the Popobawa attacks skeptical men.

Abilities

The Popobawa is, as mentioned earlier, a shapeshifter. It is able to take on multiple forms, but it prefers human form. The Popobawa has a supernatural degree of strength, which makes overpowering full-grown men easy, and it is also able to fly at considerable speeds for great distances. It may also be able to become intangible and glide through solid objects.

Vulnerabilities
It is thought that, by smearing oneself with pig’s oil, one can repel an attack from the Popobawa. Being an evil spirit, the Popobawa may be repulsed by salt and iron. Salt would keep it at bay, while the iron (which must be pure or cold-forged, preferably both) might actually harm the creature, and perhaps even kill it. For some reason, it is believed that the Popobawa cannot attack an individual who sleeps outdoors. Many also believe that the creature can be exorcised, kept at bay with charms, or placated with sacrifices.

History

The legend of the Popobawa is a fairly recent one. One popular story says that during the 1970s, an angry sheikh released a djinni to take vengeance on his enemies. However, he lost control of the creature and the djinni took to evil ways.

Another theory states that, because Zanzibar was once the site of Arab slave market, the Popobawa is the vengeful spirit representing the collective pain of the native people. Perhaps the creature is some sort of thought-form (but this is doubtful).

Recent Sightings
Unusually for a demon, the reports of the Popobawa’s attacks and sightings of the creature rise and fall with the election cycle in Zanzibar (although the spirit’s victims argue that the Popobawa is apolitical). The number of attacks rose dramatically in 1995 (the same year that the Chupacabra attacks began in Puerto Rico), and further attacks were reported as recently as 2007, when a series of attacks were reported in Dar es Salaam.

Relatives

The Popobawa may be related to another mysterious creature, El Chupacabra.

Sources

More research is forthcoming!

Demonic Possession

Demons, being spiritual entities, are able to take possession of human bodies, whether living or dead. Basically, demonic possession occurs when a demon or an evil spirit forcefully inhabits a human body (although some people are deranged enough to willingly comply with the possession). But the Roma people (Gypsies) believe that demons can also possess animals, the dead, plants, and even inanimate objects. The oldest known references to demonic possession come from the ancient Sumerians, who believed that all diseases, of both the mind and the body, were caused by "sickness demons" called gidim. Fortunately, these priests (known as ashipu, or sorcerers) were well-versed in being able to exorcize these spirits.

Most major religions and all cultures worldwide have some concept of demons and demonic possession, but these beliefs vary considerably, as do the beliefs regarding how to remove the possessing spirit. Symptoms of demonic possession include (but are not limited to):
•Missing memories.
•Convulsions and fits.
•Speaking in tongues (other languages).
•Unnatural strength.
•Access to and knowledge of previously unknown information.
•Drastic changes in tone of voice and facial expression, as well as in mannerisms and personality.
•Unexplained injuries (bites or scratches are common).
•Piercing eyes (sometimes said to be entirely black).
•Uncharacteristic aggression and antisocial behavior towards others.
•A blatant disregard for one's personal modesty or the modesty of others.
•An aversion to and a hatred of religious objects (i.e. crosses or a crucifix, as well as saintly medals).
•Self-mutilation (i.e. cutting or puncturing their own skin, just for the thrill of it). May be in the form of writing or specific symbols.
•Foul language (need more be said?).
•Exhibition of various supernatural abilities (i.e. precognition, telepathy, retrocognition, levitation, etc.).
•Multiple voices emanating from a single source (i.e. a person) simultaneously.
•Compulsively sinning or lying to others.
•Flinching at the spoken name of God (Deus or Christo in Latin).
•Unnatural sexual desires (necrophilia, bestiality, rape, or incest).
•Uncontrollable rage and violence.
•Mental or emotional problems (which may have attracted the demon in the first place).

Although this list is far from complete, there are innumerable physical and mental signs of possible possession. For those who understand such things, demonic possession is never a good thing or a positive experience. It is immensely harmful, both to the possessed individual (known properly as a demoniac) and their family, friends, and loved ones.

The Nelapsi

The Nelapsi is one of the undead, a once-living deceased human without a soul, doomed to kill and feed on the living for its own sustenance. This thing from beyond the grave is also one of the most dangerous vampire species known to monster hunters. Typical for vampires, the Nelapsi usually inhabits cemeteries in Czechoslovakia and the surrounding countries in Europe.

The Nelapsi is a type of vampire, feeding on the blood of both humans and animals. It is never satisfied, and will not cease hunting until dawn (although the sun’s rays cannot harm the creature).

The Nelapsi is a walking corpse, although no signs of decay are usually evident. The creature has pale skin, a lean and muscular body, and sharp talons on its hands and feet. It has a head full of long, greasy black hair, and a mouthful of needlelike fangs. The creature may be dressed in the tattered remnants of its burial shroud or what remains of the clothing it was buried in, but more often than not, the Nelapsi stalks its prey completely naked.

One would be hard-pressed to find a vampire as vicious as the Nelapsi. This revenant delights in desecrating and utterly destroying villages, glutting itself on the blood of the villagers and their livestock alike. The only things left are wreckage and bloodless bodies. The Nelapsi prefers to kill by tearing into the victim’s neck with its needle-sharp teeth, or it will smother or crush its prey in a bone-crushing embrace. Any survivors (if any at all) are killed off by the plague that the Nelapsi inevitably brings. When angered, the Nelapsi will torture its victims and, being a devious and patient predator, can make the torture last for weeks before killing and feeding on the unfortunate victim.

The Nelapsi is among the most powerful of the vampires found in folklore and legend. The Nelapsi possesses supernatural strength and speed, as well as a phenomenal degree of endurance and agility. When cornered by vampire hunters, the Nelapsi has the power to kill with a fierce glare from its burning red eyes, or it may choose to fight with its formidable claws and teeth. As mentioned earlier, the revenant carries a virulent disease wherever it goes, and the resulting plague kills any survivors.

It is said that the Nelapsi has two hearts and two souls, making the revenant extremely difficult to kill. Conventional weapons like firearms and blades do little more than annoy the Nelapsi, more often than not succeeding in arousing the creature’s anger. At best, ordinary weapons are inadvisable.

As said previously, the Nelapsi is extremely hard to kill as far as vampires go, so one of the best defenses is to prevent the creation of the creature in the first place. One way is to purposefully bump the deceased’s coffin on the threshold while carrying the dead out of the house for burial. This supposedly knocks off any lingering misfortune or evil spirits, so that demons will not become attracted to the coffin’s occupant.

Seeds from the opium poppy (papaver somniferum) should be sown inside and outside of the grave, as well as along the road leading back to the village. Millet seeds should then be used to fill the mouth and the nose of the corpse. Like many vampires, the Nelapsi is compelled to stop and count each and every single seed. Some legends say that the flower of the opium poppy should be placed inside the coffin, causing the revenant to fall into a narcotic stupor that should make the Nelapsi unwilling or unable to rise from the grave. This may not actually work because, according to folklore, if the Nelapsi has been around for some time and fed often enough, the revenant’s intelligence increases. It will recognize the trickery and will not fall for it (although it may laugh). Therefore, this may not work.

To finish the preventative ritual, iron nails are driven deeply into the arms and legs of the corpse, effectively pinning the body to the coffin. Smaller nails are used to secure the hair and the clothes as well, and the jaws are bound shut with a stout leather strap. Vampires are known to engage in manducation, or the eating of one’s own flesh, from time to time. This feeding will give the vampire enough strength to smash through its coffin and claw through six feet of lose earth to the surface, so this practice was necessary. Although the Nelapsi is not harmed by sunlight, the creature cannot be out during daylight, and this is when the creature is at its most vulnerable.

When all else fails, there is no other choice than to destroy the Nelapsi. First, one must locate the grave. A young virgin (usually a boy) was placed on the back of a snow-white horse that had never stumbled. The horse is then walked through the entire cemetery, until the horse reaches a grave, which it refuses to step over. This is the vampire’s grave, which is then dug up (sometimes taking hours at a time). When the Nelapsi is exposed, a long stake of blackthorn (a relative of hawthorn) is driven through the revenant’s heart or its skull (usually the skull). However, this doesn’t kill the creature, but only immobilizes it. A sword is then drawn and, with a single stroke, the swordsman quickly decapitates the revenant. Fresh garlic cloves are then stuffed into the mouth and scattered throughout the coffin. Garlic was believed to sever the bond between the evil spirit and the corpse. At this time, the body could be reburied. The head was then placed facedown between the legs. If any doubt remains, the creature’s body and head must be thoroughly burned, and the ashes scattered to the four winds.

As for actually engaging in a fight with the Nelapsi, it is unknown if blessed weapons, silver, holy water, or holy icons will work on the revenant. Getting close to the Nelapsi is very strongly discouraged unless the Demon Hunter is supremely confident in his abilities (or has a death wish). Even then, care must be taken. It is recommended that the aforementioned methods be tried to test their efficacy, but it is best to be entirely prepared.

To cleanse a village of the revenant’s evil, a bonfire is lit, using only new wood. Effigies of evil creatures (vampires, werewolves, witches, etc.) are thrown into the fire, along with any animals suspected of being the Nelapsi’s familiar or that came into contact with the creature. Once the fire has burned down, the villagers and their livestock quickly walk through the smoke and ashes, believing that this act purifies them of the Nelapsi’s taint. Each villager takes some of the still-glowing embers from the bonfire home with them, using them to restart their hearth-fires. The ashes from the fire are then cast over the fields and along the roads as a final precaution against evil and the Nelapsi itself.

Among the most feared of all vampires is the Nelapsi, an undead abomination hailing from the European country of Czechoslovakia. Although no evidence is known from folklore, one is inclined to believe that the Nelapsi is the corpse of a suicide, murderer, or a practitioner of the dark arts, reanimated by a demonic spirit from Hell. The result is a sadistic, gluttonous undead monstrosity with an insatiable need for blood, and the bond between the demon and the flesh is so strong that the Nelapsi is virtually unkillable by conventional methods. The thing is, the Nelapsi enjoys every minute of it. The Nelapsi is still believed to exist to this day, arising from the grave when darkness falls to hunt and kill once more…

Sources

Maberry, Jonathan. Vampire Universe. New York: Kensington Publishing Corp. Copyright ©2006 by Jonathan Maberry.

Maberry, Jonathan. The Vampire Slayer's Field Guide to the Undead. Canada: Strider Nolan Publishing, Inc. Copyright ©2003 by Jonathan Maberry.

The Craquehhe

The Craquehhe is one of the undead, a creature that was once human but now exists beyond death without a soul, doomed to kill and feed on the living for its own sustenance. It is a revenant, a restless reanimated corpse.

Habitat

The Craquehhe inhabits old graveyards in France.

Diet

The Craquehhe is purely anthropophagous, feeding on both the flesh and blood of its unfortunate victims.

Features

The Craquehhe’s appearance bears very little resemblance to what the creature may have looked like while it was still alive. This revenant is a decaying corpse, having bloodless wax-white skin, sunken red eyes, and greasy hair clotted with grave dirt and infested with maggots. Maggots and other insects infest and crawl through the rotting tears in its flesh and infest the creature’s tattered clothing. The revenant’s hands and fingers are badly torn from the efforts of slowly clawing its way out of the grave. What is more terrifying yet is that, no matter how badly the Craquehhe was injured before death, it will walk and seek out living prey all the same. The Craquehhe has been seen shambling forth on shattered legs, with missing limbs, and other massively disfiguring or debilitating injuries.

Behavior

The Craquehhe shambles along rather like a zombie, but the revenant’s clumsy gait is deceptive, belying the incredible speed it possesses when attacking. It will greedily devour any human parts, and the creature will not stop until its stomach is bloated and full, leaving only a few scraps of flesh and a skeleton behind. Like the majority of the undead, the Craquehhe rises from the grave after sunset, clawing through the dirt to the surface, and then proceeding to hunt for living prey. This creature has been known to utterly destroy nearby towns in its constant search for food.

Abilities

The Craquehhe is one of the most savage and powerful of the Undead. It possesses supernatural strength and speed, despite being a rotting corpse. It has been known to destroy entire towns, preying on the townsfolk. Because it is a decaying corpse, the Craquehhe may be capable of spreading a virulent, highly contagious disease when it attacks. This plague will kill any who may have survived the revenant’s initial attacks.

Being truly dead, the Craquehhe is completely impervious to pain and injury. Gunshots and dismemberment will slow the creature down, but cannot stop the revenant. Even if somehow cut in half at the waist, the creature still clings to unlife, attempting to hunt all the same.

Weaknesses

For all of its savage ferocity and sheer power, the Craquehhe can be destroyed and has a few weaknesses as well. The creature cannot abide by the presence of consecrated icons (like a crucifix), and such a symbol of light and purity offers great protection against the creature.

Slaying the Craquehhe

Only two things can truly destroy the Craquehhe: fire and decapitation. To accomplish this seemingly foolhardy task, one needs highly-skilled and courageous men armed with consecrated icons, swords, axes, a great deal of courage, and faith in God. Either that, or an angry mob equipped with torches and sharpened, fire-hardened wooden staves (or pitchforks, whichever works). The revenant should be pinned to the ground with the wooden staves and decapitated with a single stroke of the sword. However, even headless, this ungodly creature will stubbornly cling to unlife. It is best to be sure if the creature is really dead before the next step is taken.

Afterwards, the Craquehhe needs to be cremated completely, and the ashes should be scattered to the four winds. Failure to burn the creature will result in the Craquehhe’s resurrection, or worse yet, the revenant’s taint will spread throughout the graveyard, creating a host of these undead monsters.

History

France may be a beautiful, picturesque country, but like any other place in Europe, the French have their share of dark evils. One of the most feared of these evil beings is the Craquehhe, a horrifying revenant that rises from the grave in order to feed on the flesh and blood of the living.

How does such an undead abomination come into existence? If a person dies unbaptized, he was never accepted as one of God’s own. If one were to die without repenting of one’s sins, he is rejecting Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross, and is therefore damned to suffer eternally in Hell. In either case, the result is an aberrant revenant known as the Craquehhe. This creature is said by some to be a form of vampire, but in truth, this revenant is much closer in relation to the cinematic Zombie. This creature is extremely formidable, and fighting the revenant alone is strongly discouraged, at least for the beginning Demon Hunter.

References

Maberry, Jonathan. Vampire Universe. New York: Kensington Publishing Corp. Copyright ©2006 by Jonathan Maberry.

Maberry, Jonathan. The Vampire Slayer's Field Guide to the Undead. Canada: Strider Nolan Publishing, Inc. Copyright ©2003 by Jonathan Maberry.