Atypical Vampire
RARITY: ★★★★☆ | THREAT: ★★★☆☆ SIZE: Human-sized, sometimes larger.
HABITAT:
Many try to blend in with humanity in populated areas. Some have subterranean dens or stay in the mines or crypts.
OVERVIEW:
Vampires come in an array of shapes, sizes, degrees of sentience, and other permutations. While the more common types of vampire come to mind for most people, there are other intelligent vampires that are seen more rarely.These vampires are united by their human-like intelligence and appearance, though some may take on a disturbing form when feeding or once night falls. In most cases, they’re created through more unusual methods or may even have been fated to become a monster after death or before birth; some may be unable to turn humans entirely but still pose a significant threat. Most atypical vampires have the standard abilities and weaknesses of more common vampires, though some have slight differences such as the type of wood they must be staked with. Only slayers can reliably tell the various kinds of vampire apart by appearance and behavior, having been trained on the matter, even when most vampires might look the same at a glance.
VARIANTS
ALUKAH:
These vampires appear, at first, as long-haired humans with luminous eyes and a large leech or lamprey mouth. With every failed attempt to kill them, they grow stronger and appear less human, taking on monstrous and disturbing features and losing their human ones. Unlike many vampires which are created by bite, alukah are cursed individuals whose thirst for blood can never be satisfied. They voraciously drain both people and animals, but the pain of desperate thirst will torment alukah no matter how much blood they ingest. Beheading or staking an alukah isn’t the end. If a dead alukah’s mouth isn’t quickly stuffed full of dirt, they’ll rise back up, even hungrier, more dangerous, and more monstrous than before.
ASWANG:
Originally discovered in the Philippines, aswang are vampires that take the form of a woman by day – sometimes young and beautiful, and sometimes elderly – while shapeshifting into a monstrous vampire by night. Their method of creation is unknown, but slayers speculate it’s the result of a curse. Their true form has large, bat-like wings, spindly fingers, and a maw full of sharp teeth. They have a long tongue they use to suck the blood from the navels of their victims and are also known to feast on entrails. They tend to scout victims out during the daytime and are unharmed by the sun. Once they’ve found prey, they return at night and may continue to visit nightly until they finally feed. They make a “tik-tik” sound, but if the noise sounds close by, it’s far away, and if it sounds distant, the aswang is about to descend upon you. According to myth, if an aswang licks your shadow, you die. Slayers aren’t sure if this is true, but don’t take any chances. Aswangs are especially vulnerable to religious iconography, and copper spikes may be driven into the ground around their intended target to protect them.
BARABARLAKOS:
One of the more dangerous vampires originating in Greece, the barabarlakos leaves its grave each night, knocking and ringing doorbells. If no one answers the door, they’ll simply leave and not come back. But should someone invite them in, the barabarlakos will crush the breath from their lungs with immense strength until the person dies, then drain every drop of blood from the corpse. Despite the fact that their strength nearly matches that of an elder vampire, these vampires are highly conversational, rarely getting riled up into a feral state. While not known to feed on the living, they will sometimes bite them to create more of their kind. They have most typical weaknesses, but simply staking them won’t do the job – they need to be staked through the heart while resting in their grave.
CATACANO:
This Greek vampire has earned the moniker “the happy vampire” for the constant, creepy smile on its face. Even if it wanted to stop smiling, it couldn’t. People who look upon the catacano’s smile are mesmerized as trust is instilled in them, coming closer and closer until they’re either killed or turned. Those they feed from but don’t kill can’t stop smiling for days afterward. Catacano spit regurgitated blood at those they wish to turn. The blood seeps into the victim’s skin, infecting them with the curse of becoming a catacano upon their death. Catacano are difficult to kill. They cannot be staked, so decapitation is typically used, and it requires a strange methodology. The catacano must be decapitated as it’s feeding from someone, then you must place the body in salt water. The head should simultaneously either be boiled in vinegar in a cast iron pot, or the fingernails should be burned off starting with the left hand. If this is not done successfully and to the letter, the people involved in the slaying of the catacano will die by sunrise. While many slayers haven’t encountered a catacano, this information was likely drilled into them from a young age.
ERETICH:
Meaning “heretic” in Russian, it’s no surprise that eretichy were all horrible people in life, committing murders, thefts, and other unpardonable acts. One doesn’t become an eretich through a bite; when a person who committed horrible acts dies without any justice being brought to them, they’ll often come back to life an eretich. They’re known for intentionally triggering a starving, feral state within themselves for mass bloodshed. These vampires can be particularly cruel and inventive in their torture. Eretichy aren’t as strong as most other vampires, but they’re the only kind able to detect the presence of nearby slayers. They share typical vampire weaknesses, but if staked, the stake must be made of aspen and the blow must come from behind.
PENANGGAL:
This vampire first described in Southeast Asia won’t be confused with any other kind of vampire when seen at night. Penanggalan seem like normal individuals during the day, immune from the sunlight, and when night falls they are forced to detach their heads – with their organs attached to it. Some describe the exposed organs as twinkling like fireflies. The detached head floats around, feeding from victims and even squeezing into homes. Penanggalan are fast and agile when their head is detached, and anyone who touches its blood or entrails develops painful sores on their skin which can be difficult to heal. The body of a penanggal is vulnerable when its head is detached, but they can’t be staked or decapitated in this state (their heart is with the head). However, setting the body on fire will kill the vampire. The heart can be staked if combating the head. The head can be easy to track as it leaves a trail of blood behind. Someone may become a penanggal when they die in a way that severs their head from their body, or if their neck is snapped.
PLATNIK:
This Bulgarian vampire has two “phases,” which makes it unique. Turned in a typical manner, the platnik remains in its grave for 9 days after death; this site can be recognized by the caved-in appearance of the ground around the grave. The platnik emerges as a spirit, visible to humans and capable of causing harm, while hard to harm themselves. They hunt down those they were close to in life, and will become corporeal if they kill them within 40 days; otherwise, they simply vanish. Once corporeal, platniks are similar to most vampires, but lack bones (instead consisting of cartilage) and are especially prone to skin injuries. Platniks in either state may be kept away by decorating one’s home with objects the platnik was afraid of when they were alive, but are not harmed by religious iconography. A platnik’s blood is called “pixtija” and is thick, dark, and jelly-like. It’s considered highly valuable and is a required ingredient in some harder-to-make potions.
TLAHUELPUCHI:
Tlahuelpuchi are the result of a curse which kills its victim and resurrects them as a hard-to-detect variant of vampires. They tend to live near or among their human families, and while they have a faint, glowing “halo” above their heads, they appear otherwise human. Tlahuelpuchi need to eat only about once a month in order to survive, and prefer the blood of children or young people. Unlike some of their vampiric cousins, tlahuelpuchi can enter a home uninvited… but only by performing a ritual in which they fly over a house in the form of a cross from both north to south and east to west before entry. Signs that someone has been killed by a tlahuelpuchi are bruises on the victim’s neck that match bruises on the tlahuelpuchi’s neck. If a member of the tlahuelpuchi’s human family kills them, the curse is passed on to that person. Outside of this, however, tlahuelpuchi have no ability to create others like them.
WAMPIR:
Of Russian origin, the wampir is a day-walking vampire most active from noon to midnight. Rather than fangs, they have a scorpion-like stinger under their tongue which they use to immobilize their human prey before drinking their blood from the wound. They create others of their kind with an exchange of blood close to death. Wampirs may draw people in closer using compulsion and are unbothered by sunlight. These vampires may be difficult to kill because, when up against a threat, they will burst into hundreds of maggots or rats. A single escapee will allow the wampir to reform later. Burning the maggots or rats, catching the wampir unaware with a stake, or beheading them will kill them.
