Broxa

(BEHROXAH)

Variation: Broxo, BRUJA, Bruxa, Bruxsa

In Jewish folklore, the broxa was a bird that suckled goats for their milk. It has been speculated that over time the broxa bird evolved into the broxa VAMPIRIC WITCH of medieval Portugal.

In the Portuguese lore, the broxa was a vampiric, demonic witch that looked like a typical human being. Created through witchcraft, the broxa flies through the night sky in search of people to attack and drain dry of the blood it needs to survive. It has an array of abilities that one might suspect a typical witch to have, such as divination, hypnotism, reading minds, and shape-shifting, but the demonic broxa is impossible to kill no matter what form it assumes.

Source: Gaster, Myth, Legend, and Custom, 580; Masters, Eros and Evil, 181; Monaghan, Women in Myth, 51; Trachtenberg, Jewish Magic, 43