These Guys Suck... Trivia Quiz

Answer: Romania

The strigoi could be either alive or dead. The living ones were usually witches with two hearts who could allow their souls to fly out at night and suck on the blood of cows. The stories also indicate that these witches could sometimes have two souls. Now you don't want to be a family member of a dead strigoi because when they reanimate they come looking for their former family and suck their blood.

Incestuous little suckers.

Answer: Ancient Greece

Empusa was a shapeshifter who supposedly had one leg and it was made of copper. Her modus operandi was seduce young men, put them to sleep, drink their blood and then make them into a meal. Heaven help you if you decide to fall asleep on the side of the road, you became fair game.

Modern Greek folklore describes the Empusa as a slender woman who has a lot of feet; "one of bronze, one a donkey's foot, one an ox's, one a goat's, and one human". (From "Volksleben der Neugriechen" by Bernhard Schmidt (1871) and identified in "Tragica III by M.L. West (1979)).

Answer: Albania

Albanian folklore describes the shtriga as a witch with a hateful stare, a disfigured face who wears a cape. She preys on babies while they're sleeping, sucks their blood and then makes her getaway by turning into a flying insect. Some stories indicated that, after drinking the blood, she would fly into the woods and bring it all up. If a human were to take a silver coin, soak it in that blood and then encase the coin in cloth they could wear it as an amulet and be protected.

Answer: Serbia

Poor Peter Blagojevich passed away 1725 in the village of Kisilova. Following his burial there were a spate of bizarre deaths. Nine people died in eight days with many, on the death beds, claiming it was Blagojevich, risen from the grave, who'd drunk their blood and throttled them. Angered the villagers dug up his body, checked for clues of vampirism - just the usual stuff; growing hair and nails while dead and, most of all, not rotting away. Surprisingly, they found all of this stuff on Peter, so they staked him through the heart and then set him alight.

Answer: Iceland

These are the undead in Icelandic folklore who are brought to life by drinking the blood of a witch. Geez, being a witch has got warts on it! These tilberdraugur were then sent out to harass the population and drive them mad, kill them and turn them into more blood-drinkers.

Answer: Ancient Greece

In Greek myth Lamia saw her children destroyed by the goddess Hera and was then cursed with sleeplessness so that she could not forget the tragedy. This was Lamia's own fault for having an affair with Hera's husband Zeus and then letting Hera find out. So, Lamia, in much the same way as the Empusa, took it out on young men. She would seduce them, drink their blood and then eat them.

Answer: Hungary

During a twelfth century trial in the city of Sarospatak, a pagan shaman was interrogated by the Inquisition and revealed that a blood sucker called the Izcacus did exist. Little more is known apart from the fact that the creature could not be tamed but could be summonsed by the pagans to attack and destroy their enemies.

Answer: Ancient India

Sanskrit folklore describes Vetalas as ghoul like creatures who make their homes in the bodies of dead people (ugh). They have bat like tendencies and, much like modern day folktales, hang (there's a pun there, I'm sure of it) around cemeteries and crematoriums.

The Vetalas are also elusive and a prominent legend exists about King Vikramaditya who spent many nights trying to capture one without success.

Answer: Jewish Tradition

Lilith is seen as a dangerous demon who steals babies in the dead of night and is portrayed as a sexual wanton. She is mentioned in the Bible in the Book of Isaiah 34:14, among a list of animals and night monsters. However, the best clue to her vampirism is in the fifth century Vulgate where her name is translated as Lamia, which has links to the Ancient Greek blood-drinker. "And demons shall meet with monsters, and one hairy one shall cry out to another; there the lamia has lain down and found rest for herself".

Answer: Scottish Highlands

Oh! What another waste. Here's another blood sucking demon who comes in the guise of a beautiful woman. This one comes wearing a long green dress, but that's only so that it can cover up the fact that she has hooves for feet. She also enjoys seducing her victims and then drinking their blood before disappearing with the rising sun.