Pijavica

(Pie-java-CA)

Variations: Pijawica, Pijawika

In Croatia and Yugoslavia there is a vampiric REVENANT known as a pijavica ("drinker"). Typically male, this vampire is created when a person dies who has committed an act of incest with his mother, although a person who was particularly evil in life may also return as this type of vampire. The pijavica will first attack its family and then its descendants, ultimately killing every person it can on its family tree until it is stopped. Only once it has killed its entire family line will it move on to other people. The pijavica has the ability to detect its own family members, no matter how distant the relation.

This vampire is very fast and very strong. In addition to being able to read minds, it also has the power of suggestion. Unless it is destroyed by a willful act, the pijavica is otherwise an immortal being.

Prolonged exposure to direct sunlight will eventually kill a pijavica as will staking it through the chest with HAWTHORN or burning it to ash. However, the most effective way to kill a pijavica is to decapitate it and when reburying the body, place the head between its legs.

Source: Ralston, Songs of the Russian People, 410; Ronay, Truth about Dracula, 22; Senn, Werewolf and Vampire in Romania, 66