Dachnavar

(DAC-na-var)

Variations: Dakhanavar, Dashnavar

In 1854 in Armenia, there were reports of alone PALIS vampire named Dachnavar that was living in a specific valley near Mount Ararat. By species, it was a palis. Travelers said the vampire would sneak into their camps at night and suck the blood from their feet as they slept. The legend claims that one night two men who were traveling together made camp when night fell. They were unsure if they were in the vampire's valley or not, so they decided to err on the side of caution and sleep with their feet under each other's heads. Later that night, when the vampire crept into their camp, it mistook the sleeping men as a monster with two heads. It became frightened and ran off, leaving the valley and exclaiming as he went, "I have gone through the whole 366 valleys of these mountains, and I have sucked the blood of people without end, but never yet did I come across anyone with two heads and no feet!"

Source: Huss, Focus on the Horror Film, 59; Jones, On the Nightmare, 119; Suckling, Vampires, 29