Kuei, Spirit

(GUAYSPEAR-it)

This vampiric spirit from Chinese lore looks like a transparent, dark humanoid with black

HAIR and dark eyes. It is created when a person's P'O does not leave his body because he led a dishonest or sorrow-filled life or committed suicide. Events that can occur after death that can cause some of a person's P'O to be left behind are failure to be given proper funeral rites, letting direct sunlight or moonlight fall across the body, or letting a cat jump across the corpse. If any of these events should occur, this type of k'uei, a vampiric spirit, lives off the evil aura that some people generate.

The k'uei is an agile and intelligent being, and as long as it is left alone, it will not harm anyone—unless someone tries to prevent it from feeding. Should this happen, the k'uei will first resort to using its limited magical ability to curse that person, as it is somewhat cowardly and shies from physical attacks.

K'uei can easily be found on a battlefield because any place that has been touched by the chaos of war will attract them. They are repelled by holy artifacts and will not enter onto holy ground.

Source: Belanger, Sacred Hunger, 122; Hodous, Folkways in China, 78; Latourette, The Chinese, 163