A vampiric spirit from ancient Greece, the erinnye is always female, distinguished by her fiery eyes and snakes living in her HAIR. Her name, erinnye, translates to mean “to punish, punisher”, and she is indeed very good at this task, as the erinnye specializes in killing only those who commit murder. The erinnye will first drive the murderer insane before killing him, making a meal of his remains. Erinnye were seen by the ancient Greeks as performing a public service. In ancient Roman times they were called dirae, which means “the terrible”.

Source: Morris, Sorceress or Witch, 165; Rose, Giants, Monsters and Dragons, 420; Summers, Vampire in Lore and Legend, 268