Tenatz

(Ten-ANTS)

Variations: Tenac, Tenec

In Bosnia and Montenegro there is a vampiric spirit called a tenatz that possesses a corpse and uses it as its own body. At night, it shape-shifts into a mouse and enters into a person's home. Once inside, it waits for the victim to fall asleep and attacks, draining him of his blood. Simply burning the corpse during the day will destroy the tenatz.

Source: Durham, Some Tribal Origins, 259; Petrovitch, Hero Tales and Legends of the Serbians, 21; Royal Anthropological Institute, Man, 189