Witches
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Banshee/Bean Sídhe
The Banshee is a creature from Irish mythology. Once a singular ancestral spirit. Her wail announced the coming death among one of the five main families these being the O’Briens, the O’Connors, the O’Gradys, the O’Niells, and the Kavanaghs. Newer interpretations of the Banshee see them as Psychopomps that foretell death with their calls. Hearing the cry of the Banshee means that someone you know will die the following night. Some believe that groups of Banshee gather together and cry out together at the death of a great or holy person. They are rarely seen but often resemble naked women with long hanging boobs washing shrouds by the river. When…
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Baba Roga/Babaroga
Baba Roga is a Slavic creature from Serbia. She resembles a hunched, ugly, toothless, old woman with a horn in the middle of her head. She hides in dark places and only comes out at night. She scares bad children and takes them back to her lair. She functions as a bogeyman figure. Her name roughly translates to “horned grandma.” Citations: Zlatic, Vladimir. Slavic Mythology: Demons in Serbian Folklore. N.P., Amazon Digital Services LLC – KDP Print US, 2021.
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Baba
Baba is a mythical figure from Slavic myth. The name Baba generally translates to “old woman” or “grandmother.” She was sometimes revered as a goddess of death and regeneration, with Baba sometimes relating to the concept of the mother goddess. Over time she was viewed more as a witch, and her status as a deity was removed likely due to Christianization. As her witch-like features were emphasized, she became a more monstrous figure. She gradually went from a general Fae-like being to those synonymous with hags. Sometimes she would be used as a bogeyman figure. She was depicted either as a beautiful maiden or an ugly hag. The hag aspect…
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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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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.
