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Asrapa
Asrapa is a vampiric witch from India. Her name translates to “blood drinker.” Some believe she’s the child of the Sage Daksha and his wife Muni. Others believe she simply came into being when the deity Brahma became angry. She is a shapeshifter typically depicted as a naked woman, that can raise the dead. She can be found wandering in cemeteries, and she eats human flesh from both the dead and the living. Citations: Bane, Theresa. Encyclopedia of Vampire Mythology. United States, McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers, 2017.
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Asin
The Asin is a bogeyman figure from the Pacific Northwest Alsea people. It has some relation to the Apotamkin. It is either a demon in the form of a human woman, or the female form of a species of woodland monster. It looks like a woman covered in hair with taloned fingers and wolf teeth. She preys upon children who stray too far from their villages. It rushes in, snatches up the child, and rushes back to the woods at an incredible speed. Asin enchanted some huckleberries on a particular bush and because of this, the Alsea banned all huckleberry bushes. Her laugh echoes and signifies someone’s impending death. If…
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Asiman
The Asiman is from the Dahomey people. They are creatures who are shapeshifting witches created by someone casting some specific spell and losing their humanity. They can remove their skin and turn into a glowing light. They fly through the air to find prey and after feeding, they turn into an animal to leave. They can only be killed when in animal form. Citations: Bane, Theresa. Encyclopedia of Vampire Mythology. United States, McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers, 2017. Maberry, Jonathan. Vampire Universe: The Dark World of Supernatural Beings That Haunt Us, Hunt Us, and Hunger for Us. United States, Kensington Publishing Corporation, 2006.
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Asemann
The Asemann is from Suriname. They can shapeshift into animals at night. They hunts for humans in animal form and drains them of their blood. Their name is based on the word “azen” meaning “carrion” or “cadaver.” Placing a broom across a door prevents an Asemann from entering a house uninvited. Throwing a quantity of small objects like seeds or pebbles can stop an Asemann until they count them all. They return to human form at sunrise and can be killed by anything that would kill the average human. Citations: Bane, Theresa. Encyclopedia of Vampire Mythology. United States, McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers, 2017.
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Asema
The Asema is from a vampiric creature from Suriname. They look like old people with red eyes and downward pointing toes. They remove their skin at night and fold it up to hide it away, and then take the form of a blue ball of light. They fly around and enter houses through the smallest openings. They avoid feeding from those who have bitter blood. When they find a victim, they return to feed on them night after night until the victim dies. Large blue and red spots under the bite indicate an Asema attack. Eating garlic makes the blood taste bitter to the Asema. Putting a bag of rice…
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Asanbonsam
The Asanbonsam is a vampiric creature from Ghana, Togo, and along the Ivory Coast. They resemble a human with iron hooks for their hands and feet. They wait in trees until humans approach. When someone passes underneath, they hook them and drains their blood. When food is scarce, they go into villages and drain the blood from sleeping people’s thumbs. It is thought that they can be appeased by sacrificing a goat and spilling its blood. Citations: Bane, Theresa. Encyclopedia of Vampire Mythology. United States, McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers, 2017.
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Asag
Asag is a demonic dragon of Sumerian myth. He was thought to embody plague and sickness, and his name even means “demon that causes sickness.” He was also believed to embody the cold of winter and could cause drought, head fever, and migraines. He lives in the underworld, Kur, and holds back the primordial waters to keep them from flooding the earth. He is the son of the gods An and Ki, and was fought by Ninurta with the conclusion of that conflict being unknown. He is thought to be so hideous, that his presence causes water to boil. He is father to an army of rock demons born from…
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Aripa Satanai/Samca
The Aripa Satanai is from Romanian Folklore. Her name translates to “Satan’s Wing.” She’s incredibly bloodthirsty, and thought to be half bear and half old woman. She is often called “Queen of the Forest” because she controls everything in the woods. Citations: Bane, Theresa. Encyclopedia of Vampire Mythology. United States, McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers, 2017.
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Arica Monster
The Arica Monster is a creature sighted multiple times in Chile. In one instance, it was sighted in Pampa Acha, Iquique Province, Chile. July 29, 2004 at 9:40 p.m. The witness was an army recruiter named Dario Riquelme along with a man named Hernan Cuevas and his wife, son, and daughter. They were approaching an area called Presencias Tutelares when Riquelme stopped after seeing a humanoid creature crossing the street, and another close behind it. He described them as humanoids resembling bipedal dinosaurs with muscular thighs. They were grey and had no hair, estimated the be two meters in height. The second was smaller and obscured. They crossed the road…
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Argopelter/Agropelter
The Argopelter is a creature from Lumberjack Folklore. They live in hollow trees and attack by throwing branches at anyone passing below. They are never actually seen, so there is no physical description. Citations: Bane, Theresa. Encyclopedia of Beasts and Monsters in Myth, Legend and Folklore. United States, McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers, 2016.
