Dating as far back as 4000 B.C., a type of vampiric spirit called an ekimmou was first written of in ancient Assyria, making it one of the first and oldest myths known to mankind. The lore of the ekimmou spread and survived over the years, as the ancient Babylonians, Egyptians, and Inuit all developed this same type of vampire myth in parallel evolution (see ANCIENT BABYLONIAN AND ASSYRIAN VAMPIRES).
The ekimmou is bitter and angry, doomed to stalk the earth, unable to find peace, desperately wanting to live again. Ghostlike in appearance, it attacks humans relentlessly until they are dead. Then the ekimmou possesses the body and does with it as it will. It has been known to stalk a person for years, leaving them alone for long periods of time and then returning suddenly, taunting with its telekinetic ability.
One is created when burial procedures are not followed, such as when a person is not buried properly, when the family of the deceased does not make the proper funeral offerings, when funeral offerings are not plentiful enough, or simply when the body is not being buried at all. An ekimmou can also be created if a woman dies while pregnant or giving birth, if love is never realized, or if a person dies of starvation, heat exhaustion, or leaves behind no surviving family.
Source: Mew, Traditional Aspects of Hell, 12; Muss-Arnolt, Concise Dictionary of the Assyrian Language, 20, 36, 489; Perrot, A History of Art in Chaldæa and Assyria, 345; Thompson, Semitic Magic, 9, 39
Earl of Desmond (ERL of DEZ-min)
Variations: Gearoid Larla Fitzgerald
In Limerick County, Ireland, there once stood a castle overlooking Lough Gur (or Loch Gair in Irish). It was the home of a count who professed to be a scholar and a user of magic. He always conducted his magical ceremonies behind closed doors and never permitted anyone entry while he was at work practicing his art. His wife begged him to let her watch, and eventually, he allowed it with the conditional provision that she did not make a sound, no matter what she may see. Only after securing her vow to obey did he begin to conduct a ritual. The earl began to assume various shapes and forms, and eventually he assumed a form so horrific and ghastly that his wife let loose with a scream. As she did so, the entire castle began to quake and sink into the nearby lake. No one escaped the disaster. However, the Earl now a vampiric REVENANT occasionally leaves his watery home to travel about the surrounding countryside and capture whatever young adults he can find to bring back to his castle. He uses them, draining away their lifeenergy through sexual intercourse (see ENERGY VAMPIRE and INCUBUS). The Earl is forced to live this existence until such a time comes that he may return and “restore all to as it was”.
Source: Ellis, Dictionary of Irish Mythology, 135; Mc-Cormack, Earldom of Desmond, 20, 32, 39, 40, 46, 54; Spence, Encyclopædia of Occultism, 299; Summers, Geography of Witchcraft, 92
The concept of the dybbuk first entered into Judaism by means of the mysticism that was practiced in the eighth century. Jews were forbidden to practice the art of mysticism for fear that it could weaken one’s faith. However, by the twelfth century mysticism was an accepted part of the Kabbalah, and by the sixteenth century, mysticism was completely embraced.
The dybbuk (“cleaving”), an evil and restless vampiric spirit, was said by some sources to be one of the children born of LILITH; others say that it is created through an act of sorcery. Earliest beliefs in the dybbuk claimed that it was a demon, but later that origin was changed to be the soul of a person attempting to escape final justice. Its description remained the same, that of a hairy, unclean, goatlike demon (see HAIR).
For the dybbuk to survive, it must gain entry into a human body. It may allow itself to be breathed in through incense or it may embed itself in a piece of food about to be eaten, but typforce if necessary through the nostril, although any orifice will suffice. Once it has gained access, the dybbuk will possess the person and begin to feed off the person’s life- force, taking up residence in one of the pinky fingers or one of the toes (see ENERGY VAMPIRE).
Dún Dreach-Fhoula (DO-in DROC-OLA)
Variations: Dune Droc-Ola (“Castle of the Blood Visage”)
In a place called Magillycuddy Reeks in Kerry County, Ireland, stands a castle named Du’n Dreach-Fhoula (“the place of tainted blood”). Originally it was intended to be a fortress to stand guard over a mountain pass, but the area was seldom used for travel as it was rumored to be inhabited by blood- drinking fay.
It is argued by some that this castle’s name was the inspiration for the name of BRAM STOKER’S DRACULA rather than the Wallachian prince, Vlad Dracul III. Despite the fact that Stoker’s own journals say otherwise, the debate continues. The basis for this argument is that Stoker had never traveled to Eastern Europe and relied entirely on the secondhand descriptions of travelers who had been to those areas for descriptions he would need for his novel. Coincidentally, during the time that Stoker would have been writing Dracula, Geoffrey Keating’s History of Ireland was on display in the National Museum in Dublin. It was filled with tales and descriptions of the undead (see UNDEATH). Additionally, it is possible that Stoker could have also read a then-popular novel about an ancient Irish chieftain named ABHARTACH that was written by Patric W. Joyce in 1880. It has been theorized that Stoker may have taken the name of Du’n Dreach- Fhoula, the historical blood-drinking chieftain ABHARTACH, and the tales of the undead gathered from Keating’s book, melded them all together, and created the character of Dracula we all know today.
Source: Briggs, Encyclopedia of Fairies; MacKillop, Dictionary of Celtic Mythology, 180; Rose, Giants, Monsters and Dragons, 86
Dullahan (DAH-hool)
Variations: Dullaghan, Far Dorocha, Gan Ceann, Headless Horseman
The Headless Horseman was popularized in 1820 by Washington Irving’s American retelling of the German folklore short story “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”.
No such being existed in Irish lore or folktales until after the potato famine started in 1845. Suddenly, people started to say that on occasion the BANSHEE was being accompanied by a headless man riding upon a horse, particularly at midnight on Feast Days. The man was carrying his head, which was smiling ear to ear and was the color and texture of moldy cheese. The head was sometimes in hand or tied to the saddle. Even the horse was said to be headless by some. There were also claims that the headless man drove a coach made of human thigh bones and was pulled by six black horses with skull heads, their eyes lit by candles in their sockets (This version is akin to the DEATH COACH). Whether by coach or on horseback, the dullahan races down roads, spreading disease as it travels and causing entire households to suddenly fall ill. The horseman uses a bullwhip to lash out the eyes of anyone on the roadside who sees him, as he is cursed with poor eyesight himself. The lucky victims only get covered with a bucket of blood he throws at them as he charges by. The dullahan is exceedingly greedy and any momentary offering thrown to it will be accepted.
Source: Curran, Vampires, 57; Indian Antiquary, 300; Leatherdale, Dracula: The Novel and the Legend, 79
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