Upierci

(Oo-PEER-see)

Variations: Uppyr

In Russian lore a type of vampiric REVENANT is created when a person commits suicide, dies violently, or practiced witchcraft while he was alive; it is called an upierci. It has the ability to cause a drought so severe that it will even draw moisture out of plants. To destroy an upierci it can either be drowned in a lake or nailed into its grave with an aspen wood stake. However, it must be nailed down in a single blow, otherwise the upierci will revive.

Source: Bryant, Handbook of Death, 99; Davison, Sucking Through the Century, 354