When you think about vampires, probably the first thing that comes to your mind is that human looking person with pointy teeth waiting for the nearest chance to jump on your neck, or that hot "scary" chick with her seductive look.
But what you might not know is that basically every culture in the world has its own vampiric legends, and here's some:
Shtriga
Is a vampiric witch in traditional Albanian folklore that sucks the blood of infants at night while they sleep, and then turns into a flying insect (traditionally a moth, fly or bee).
According to legend, only the shtriga herself could cure those she had drained (often by spitting in their mouths), and those who were not cured inevitably sickened and died.
Usually, shtriga were described as old or middle-aged women with grey, pale green, or pale blue eyes (called white eyes or pale eyes) (sybardha) and a crooked nose. Their stare would make people uncomfortable, and people were supposed to avoid looking them directly in the eyes because they have the evil eye (syliga).
Penanggalan
Is a nocturnal vampiric entity of Malay ghost myths. Its name comes from the word tanggal meaning to remove or take off, because its form is that of a floating disembodied woman's head with its trailing organs still attached. From afar, it twinkles like a ball of flame, providing an explanation for the will-o'-the-wisp phenomenon.
Penanggal are mortal women who practice black magic. To become a penanggal, a woman must meditate during a ritual bath in vinegar, with her whole body submerged except for the head. Only active in penanggal form at night, the creature regularly soaks its organs in vinegar to shrink them for easy entry back into her body. The penanggal thus carries an odor of vinegar wherever she flies, and returns to her body during the daytime, passing as an ordinary woman. However, a penanggal can always be told from an ordinary woman by the smell of vinegar.
Manananggal
A vampire-like mythical creature native to the Philippines, a malevolent, human-eating and blood-sucking monster or witch.
The manananggal is described as scary, often hideous, usually depicted as female, and always capable of severing its upper torso and sprouting huge bat-like wings to fly into the night in search of its victims, usually sleeping, pregnant women, using an elongated proboscis-like tongue to suck the hearts of fetuses, or the blood of someone who is sleeping. It also haunts newlyweds or couples in love.
The severed lower torso is left standing, and is the more vulnerable of the two halves. Sprinkling salt, smearing crushed garlic or ash on top of the standing torso is fatal to the creature. The upper torso then would not be able to rejoin itself and would perish by sunrise
Loogaroo
In Caribbean folklore, is a shapeshifting hag who appears as a reclusive old woman by day. By night, she strips off her wrinkled skin and puts it in a mortar. In her true form, as a fireball she flies across the dark sky in search of a victim. The loogaroo can enter the home of her victim through any sized hole like cracks, crevices and keyholes.
Loogaroo suck people's blood from their arms, legs and soft parts while they sleep leaving blue-black marks on the body in the morning. If the loogaroo draws too much blood, it is believed that the victim will either die and become a loogaroo or perish entirely, leaving her killer to assume her skin. The loogaroo practices black magic. loogaroos trade their victims' blood for evil powers with Bazil, the demon who resides in the silk cotton tree.
To expose a loogaroo, one should heap rice around the house or at the village cross roads as the creature will be obligated to gather every grain, grain by grain (a herculean task to do before dawn) so that she can be caught in the act.
To destroy her, coarse salt must be placed in the mortar containing her skin so she perishes, unable to put the skin back on.
Peuchen
A creature from the Mapuche mythology and Chilote mythology pertaining to southern Chile, is a shape-shifter which could instantly change into anything.
Is a gigantic flying snake that produced strange whistling sounds, while its gaze could paralyze an intended victim and permit it to suck its blood. It has often been reported as sucking blood from sheep.
The creature can be eliminated by a machi (Mapuche Medicine Woman).
Asanbosam
Is a vampire-like folkloric being from the Akan people of southern Ghana, as well as Côte d'Ivoire, Togo[2] and 18th century Jamaica from enslaved Akan. It has iron teeth, pink skin, long red hair and iron hooks for feet and lives in trees, attacking from above, dropping down in front of the passing victim, holding onto the tree with its hooked feet.
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