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Hammer - A tool intended to drive or pound something, in the case of the undead usually a wooden stake. The hammer, seen hanging in the air and then descending upon a stake, which plunges into the heart of a vampire, is a recurring theme in film. It is certainly an image closely linked with the dedicated vampire hunter.
Hannya - Perhaps the most feared demon in the extensive pantheon of monsters and fiends of Japan. Its most common manifestation is in the feminine form, although there are male hannya. It is said that a hannya was once a truly beautiful woman who, for various reasons, became insane and ultimately possessed by a demon. She was transformed into a hideous creature, often identified with the ghoul, drinking blood and eating children. Infants were a special treat, although the No drama of Japan depicted young men as the favorite victims of a particularly vindictive female hannya. Some of Japan's most disturbing and frightening examples of monster art present the hannya in many of its hideous forms.
Hearts - One of the great seats of life, from which blood issues forth giving energy and strength to the body. It is accepted source of power for the undead, and its removal or destruction will do much to slay the vampire. The heart, therefore, is often the focal point of attack by vampire hunters, whether through staking, piercing, or being torn away merciless, righteous force. While some areas perfer decapitation as a method of slaying, most regions, in Europe particularly, adhere to the ideathat a heart must be removed or mortally damaged.
Hematomania - A psychological fixation on blood from which an individual derives satisfaction of a kind of erotic blood lust. Such forms of gratification, called also hematodipsia, are generally rare but constitute a condition for which these are numerous historical and modern examples, Elizabeth Bathory, the Marquis De Sade, and Gilles De Rais were obsessed to varying degrees with the sexual aspects of bloodshed. Today many persons wander cities and countries in search of blood donors, as research by Carol Page, author of Blood Lust (1991), a study of modern vampires, seemingly ordinary people who drink human blood. According to her figures, there are nearly fifty thousand "vampires" in the United States today. Dr. Jeanne Youngson has also interviewed these self-proclaimed vampires.
Hiadam Vampires - Also Haidam, several vampires found in a village near the Hungarian border, who in 1720 were investigated by the officials of the Holy Roman Empire. The result was one of the best-documented cases of vampirisim of the time. It began one night at dinnertime when a soldier, billeted with a farming family, watched a stranger come into the house and take a place at the table - to the total horror of the silent hosts. The following morning the farmer was found dead. Finally the family told the soldier that the stranger had been the farmer's father, dead for ten years. The trooper naturally reported this incident to his friends, and word reached the local general, Count De Cadreras, who undertook a formal investigation. Depositions were gathered, and the father was exhumed, his corpse discovered perfectly repserved. Soon others came forward to report on other vampires: another, dead sixteen years, had sucked the blood and life out of two of his sons. It was decided that each of these creatures had to be destroyed. The farmer's father was decapitated, the second had a nail driven into his skull, and the third was cremated. A full account of these events was sent to Emperor Charles VI. Shocked, he ordered another investigaion, this time by lawyers, surgeons, and theologians. The count later described the case to a member of the faculty at the University of Fribourg.
Immortality - Eternal life, the prime allure of the vampire and one of the reasons for its enduring popularity. The fact that the undead are immortal is not universally documented in folklore, but their eternal nature is well established in fiction, with such figures as Saint-Germain, Lestat, and Dracula. The idea of living forever is appealing to anyone who recognizes the transitory nature of human life. It has been an ancient quest, sought after by magicians and alchemists. Except for those cursed by God or certain semimystical personages such as the historical Saint-Germain, it has unfortunately proven elusive. The vampire, however, has cheated death, even though its continued existence comes at a dreadful price - drinking the blood or feeding off those who were once equals in the mortal struggle. While their existance is dark and grim, filled with dangers on all sides, vampires appear to gain a sort of ironic victory, especially when compared with the slow, lingering deaths awaiting other humans.
Impundulu - A voracious witch's servant found in the eastern Cape region of Africa, usually owned by a female witch, who passed it on to her daughter, a leading reason the female offspring of witches seldom married. The impundulu appeared to its mistress in the form of a handsome young man who then became her lover. Sent out to bring suffering and death, it was merciless, relentless, and insatiable. The witch really had no choice but to use it to kill, as the creature was always hungry for blood, both from humans and cattle. To fail in satisfying the impundulu could bring about terrible death for the owner. Entire families and herds were wiped out as the familiar sucked the blood of victims, bringing a wasting disease, coughing, an inability to breed, and sudden death. The quick demise was called being slain by the "bird of heaven." as a sharp, unbearable pain was felt in the chest or the head. When it was not handed down directly, the impundulu was called and ishologu, an ownerless fiend that acted on its own.
Jaracacas - One of the species of vampire found in Brazil, normally appearing in the shape of a snake feeding from the breasts of nursing mothers. Children are pushed out of the way by the creature, which keeps them quiet by shoving its tail into their mouths.
- Jigarkhwar - A type of witch or sorceress found in the Sind region of India, exhibiting vampire traits and most noted for her ability to extract a person's liver through powerful, piercing stare and incantations. Usually a woman, the creature renders a person unconscious and removes the organ, which takes the shape of a pomegranate seed, hidden for a time in the magician's calf. The liver is thrown on a fire, expands, and is eaten, at which time the victim dies. Rescue is possible by finding the jigarkhwar, ripping the seed out of the leg, and returning it to the proper person, who then swalllows it. The power of the witches can be broken by branding them on both sides of the head, filling their eyes with salt, and hanging them in an underground chamber for forty days. A former jigarkhwar can detect her own kind.
Jumping over a Corpse - The tradition that an animal or person passing over a dead body may cause it to become a vampire. A virtually universal fear, it stems from the idea that the spirit of the deceased can snatch a portion of the life of an animate creature and use it to ignite a kind of unlife in the grave. The taboo is found in most Slavic territories, and even in China, although the specifics of how a body may be transformed into a vampire vary. Generally, any animals, usually dogs or cats, are capable of corpse jumping, but people, bats, birds, and insects should be restrained as well. In China, the tiger was said to possess what was known as the soul-recalling hair, while the Romanians were particularly fearful of the black hen. The two most methods of restoring life are a candle and wind. The latter, coming off the Russian Steppes, was dreaded by Russian villagers. The ways to prevent corpse jumping are obvious, but they are not always easy to accomplish. For example, the Slavs hold that the windows and doors of the house must be kept open as long as a corpse is present to ensure that the spirit has the opportunity to depart, thus allowing access to insects and other creatures, with the potentially terrible or unforeseen consequences.
Karens - A tribe found in Burma noted for the power of its wizards, who possessed the skill of resuscitating corpses by grabbing the souls of sleeping persons and placing them in the dead bodies. As the sleeperrs died, the dead returned. This process could be interrupted , however, by another sorcerer, who snared the soul of a second sleeper, putting it into the body of the original one, the second victim dying as the first one awoke. What made this series of rituals so peculiar was the fact that it could go on endlessly, as feuding wizards moved souls from body to body in a kind of eternal game. A good nights rest was reported as rare among the uninitiated Karens.
Kasha - Evil Japanese ghouls that are feared for their voracious appetites for corpses. Because of the Japanese custom of cremation, the kasha must steal a corpse before it can be burned, larceny that often requires the theft of the coffin as well. To prevent this, a guard is placed over the dead and noises are made during the night to discurage the ghoul from racing away with a loved one.
Kephn - A demon found among the Karen tribes of Burma, linked to sorcery and wizards, appearing in the shape of floating wizard's head and stomache. Its preferred meal is the human soul. The description of the kephn is very similar to the penanggalan of Malaysia.
Kuang-shi - The feared vampire of China, also called the chiang-shi or kiang-si. This nasty creature, the result of demonic inhabitation of a corpse, is tall, with white or greenish hair all over its body. Long and sharp claws, terrible eyes, and fangs makes its appearance terrifying. Older specimens also have the abiliity to fly.The kuang-shi can be trapped in its grave by sprinkling rice, iron, and red peas on the ground above it. A common means of destroying it is lightning, a method of annihiliation left in the hands of nature or the gods. Numerous stories concerning the demon exist in Chinese folklore.
Kukudhi - An Albanian name for the final stage in the development or transformation of the vampire. According to custom in some regions of Albania, an undead takes time to grow fully into the shape and powers of a vampire, becoming stronger the longer it survives. The last period is called kukudhi in Albania, and upon reaching this state the vampire is able to live at home during the day, no longer required to return to its grave, and is even able to travel to other lands, suposedly as a merchant.
Leanhaum-shee - The irish name for the fairy mistress, a deadly seductress, described in folklore not as a vampire but engaging in vampiric activities. She used her incredible beauty to lure men to her side, where her irresistible charms placed them uner her spell. From then on the victim was drained slowly of life, wasting away as his essence was consumed by his demonic lover. The only means of breaking her powerful grip was to find a substitute, someone who could unwittingly become her next prey. The original victim could then escape.
Leger, Antoine - A French mass murderer (d.1824) who specialized in both vampirism and cannibalism. He would lie in wait in the woods for victims, choosing young women who wandered by. After raping and killing them, he customarily ripped out their hearts, which he then proceeded to eat. A blood drinkiner as well, he was finally caught and brought to trial. When asked why he drank human blood, Leger replied simply that he was thirsty. He was guillotined.
Lilitu - A Babylonian demon, often considered an evil spirit of the night. Lilitu probably had an influence in the formation of the Hebrew legend of Lilith.
Lugosi, Bela - Legendary horror star (1882-1956) who is still considered the most recognizable portrayer of Count Dracula, although fans of Christopher Lee would be to differ. Lugosi was an excellent actor, but his career was stereotyped by his performance as the count. Born Bela Blasko in the now Romanian town of Lugos, he was the fourth child of a baker and farmer. He studied at the Academy of Theatre Atrs in Budapest, making his stage debut in a 1904 production of Romeo and Juliet. After tourching with a large company in his native province, he appeared in several unknown films in Hungary and Germany, becoming unhappy with his prospects and moving to America in 1921 to work on the stage. In 1927, after several film rolse, Lugosi returned to the stage, winning the role of Dracula in the New York production of Hamilton Deane and John Balderston's play. He then returned to Hollywood and appeared in several films, including the Thirteenth Chair (1929), direct by Tod Browning. When Lon Chaney, Browning's first choice for Count Dracula, died in 1930, the director picked Lugosi to play the part. He was paid $500 a week. Lugosi worked steadily over the next years, but having established the Hollywood prototype of the vampire, he found it increasingly difficult to escape the typecast of monster or mad scientist. Some of his films were quite memorable, particularly the Black Cat (1934) and Mark of the Vampire (1935); many were terrible, including The Ape Man (1943) and Scared to Death (1948). Sadly, his only success in later years came with the revivals of the play Dracula, in 1943, 1947, and 1951. For treatment of sciatica, Lugosi took and became addicted to morphine. In 1955 he publicly admitted his addiction that died while filming Plan Nine from Outer Space (on August 16,1956), generally accepted as the worst movie ever made. At his request, Lugosi was buried in the long black cape from Dracula. Interestingly, the ring he wore as the count was later worn by Christopher Lee in his film outings as the renowned bloodsucker.
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