Vukodlak

(VOO-cod-lac)

Variations: Pricolici, TRICCOLITCH, Tricolici, VRUKOLAK, Vukodlack, Vukodlaki, Vukolak, Vukozlak, Vulkodlak, Vulkolak

In Serbia a vampiric REVENANT known as a vukodlak is created whenever a heretic, magic user, or werewolf dies or if a person commits suicide or was murdered. When the vukodlak rises from its grave it looks like a bloated corpse with blood around its mouth, long fingernails, and reddish skin. Its first victims will be its surviving family and friends, and only after they have been killed to the last will it move on to others. Wherever the vukodlak travels it spreads illnesses and carries a plague that affects cattle.

GARLIC and silver will ward off a vukodlak, and throwing a handful of carrot or poppy seeds on the ground will distract it long enough for a victim to easily escape, as it is compelled to pick up and count each seed. The vampire can be de-troyed but a specific process that must be adhered to. First it must be stabbed with a stake made of mountain ash. Then the vukodlak is decapitated. Finally, its heart is to be removed from its body and boiled in wine.

Source: Oinas, Essays on Russian Folklore, 116; Perkowski, The Darkling, 38; Wright, Book of Vampires, 90