Witches
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Machi
Machi are shamans from Mapuche myth. Machi are differentiated from Kalku by their benevolent nature and roles in society. The Machi and Kalku balance each other representing good and evil respectively. Machi are most commonly women, though this refers to gender and its presentations rather than biological sex. Gender is relatively fluid among Machi and is judged on different standards, being anatomy, positioning in sexual contexts, and ritual presentation. Machi are often stigmatized as witches or sexual deviants in modern society and are frequently subject to bigoted beliefs. They are known to use familiars and will become possessed by these familiars to navigate the spirit world. Their job is to…
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Kalku
The Kalku are evil magic users from Mapuche myth. They’re often compared to witches and sorcerers and send out spirits called Wekufe to do evil. Kalku and Machi are sometimes considered the same thing, with the Machi simply being good rather than evil. They are believe to dwell in a Reñu, meaning a Witch’s Cave. They may gather young girls in the cave and teach them magic, called Kalkutun, and swear them to secrecy. They may draw power from their ancestors or any others that they gather into their circle. They can cause illness or take over the will and actions of their victims. They can attack people by linking something…
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Isithfuntela
The Isithfuntela is from West Africa. They are created when witches enter the bodies of those who have committed suicide. The witch will cut out the corpse’s tongue and drive a wooden peg into its skull to bind it. They can also control them separately to themselves. They lack physical strength and cannot fight a healthy person one on one, but can shapeshift, often turning into bats and rats, and can hypnotize people. They can also raise the dead which turn to dust once the sun rises. They must feed on human blood to survive. They hypnotize their victims and drive wooden pegs into their brains to kill them, then…
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Imfene
The Imfene are monstrous creatures from the myths of South Africa. They are described as a unique breed of large, vicious, and powerful baboons. They are unnaturally smart and vicious and are known to kill humans both for food and for sport. Some believe they are witches taking the form of apes, while other stories suggest witches ride on top of Imfene as mounts. They can be killed by normal weapons but have been known to set traps in case humans attempt to hunt them. Citations: Maberry, Jonathan. Vampire Universe: The Dark World of Supernatural Beings That Haunt Us, Hunt Us, and Hunger for Us. United States, Kensington Publishing Corporation,…
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Eretiku/Eretnik/Elatoamsk/Eretitsa/Eretnitsa
The Eretiku is a creature from Russian mythology. This creature is seen as the female version of Erestun. They are thought to be deliberate blasphemers who practice black magic or women who sold their souls to the devil and return from the grave. They take the form of old women and seek out others of their kind to form covens. It can induce a sickness that causes the life force and sanity to begin wasting away, simply by staring into someone’s eyes. If they’re not strong enough to physically manifest, they take the form of a ghost that can manipulate physical objects. In this form, they rise from the graves…
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Uber
The Uber is from Turkish legend. They are related to witches and vampires. They are formed when someone rises from the dead that died a violent death or when a foreigner died in Turkey but was not Muslim. These creatures are related to Vlad of Wallachia (Vlad the Impaler, the inspiration for Dracula) and used as a bogeyman figure. The Uber legend is closely tied to the intimidating nature of Vlad the Impaler. Citations: 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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Obayifo
The Obayifo is a form of witch-like living vampire from the Ashanti people. They are thought to remove their skin at night and fly through the sky in the form of a ball of fire. Rather than being created through some form of curse or other transformation, Obayifo are simply born. They are seen as malicious creatures that feed on blood, as well as the suffering of their victims who they spread disease to through their bite. They largely target children and leave small imperceivable bites and take small amounts of blood after entering through open windows. If they are without prey, they can feed on fruits and vegetables. The…
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Chonchon
The Chonchon are mythical creatures from the Mapuche people of Chile. They’re a vampiric form of witches with vulture-like heads and some believe it is an undead creature. Sometimes they take the form of birds with the head of a Kalku and they can shapeshift to appear as people with large ears. They’re a form of Wekufe, summoned by a Kalku and hunted by the Machi. They swoop down and knock people to the ground, ripping out their throats to feed on their blood. They can be driven away by warriors using weapons enchanted by a Machi, but can only be killed by Familiars of the Machi turned into snakes…
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Cauchemar
The Cauchemar is a vampiric demon or witch from French myth whose name translates to “nightmare.” Sometimes they act as a succubus or incubus and enter the beds of evil people. Someone sleeping with a Cauchemar is enslaved to its will and drained of their life energy. Signs of an attack from a Cauchemar are waking up having drooled, having no energy, and having leg cramps. Attacks can be prevented by putting salt, stones, or beans under the pillow. A broom propped in the corner deters the Cauchemar as does having screens on the windows. Sleeping on one’s stomach can keep a Cauchemar away, and they cannot enter a house…
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Cailleac Bhuer/Black Annis/Blue Hag/Stone Woman
Cailleac Bhuer is a monster from Scottish folklore. She appears as a monstrous old woman with blue skin and a single eye, and when seen on the road, she often presents herself as a struggling old woman. She is believed to haunt moors and rocky passes. She is viciously hungry and targets lone travelers, beating her victims over the head to knock them out, and dragging them away to be consumed. She sits on a pile of human bones and when human prey is unavailable she kills livestock. She often has a crow on her shoulder that acts as a familiar. Citations: Maberry, Jonathan. Vampire Universe: The Dark World of…
