Vampires in Jewish Lore
Ever hear of a Striga? Few have
nowadays. The Striga [old French: Estrie] (שטריאה) is a European supernatural creature that
is essentially a woman that has been cursed into a vampire-like monster. Similar
to the vampire, the Striga drinks blood to live. Armed with magical powers, the
Striga has the ability to shapes-shift into a cat. Additionally, shaking her hair out loose will give her the ability
to fly, and keeping it bound up will stop that ability. Once a Striga has
attacked someone, it is necessary to eat from her bread and salt. Likewise, the
Striga must eat bread and salt of her victim to thrive. One source reports that
if a Striga is found in the grave with an open mouth, it is necessary to stuff
it with rocks. In fact, archeologists report this practice in “deviant” graves,
i.e. people suspected of being vampires or the like. (For an example, see: http://news.discovery.com/history/archaeology/zombie-skeletons-ireland-grave-110916.htm
) The first three sources are culled from Sefer Hasidim, a late 12th
cent. text of Jewish ethics, laws and stories attributed to Rabbi Judah the Pious
(Hasid). In some of the sources presented, the Striga is grouped with mares and
werewolves who have similar characteristics.(Apparently, the werewolf mentioned
is a male version of the Striga.)
Sefer Hasidim # 1465
There are women who are called Strigas (שטרייאס), mares (מרש) and werewolves (ורוולש) . They were created at twilight. They
could perform a certain act and thereby change form. There was once a woman who
was an Striga, and she was very
sick. Two women were with her at night; one was sleeping and one was awake. And
the sick woman stood up beside [the sleeping woman] and shook out her hair and
tried to fly and tried to suck the blood of the sleeping woman. And the woman
who was awake screamed and woke her friend and they grabbed the sick Striga,
and after this she slept. And if she had been able to attack and kill the other
woman, then the Striga would have lived. But since she
was not able to attack the other woman, the Striga died,
because one that issues from blood needs to drink the blood of living flesh.
The same is true of the werewolf. And since the mare and
the Striga need
to shake out their hair before they fly, one must cause her to swear to come
with her hair shaken out, so that she cannot go anywhere without his
permission. And if one strikes an Striga or
if one sees her, she cannot live, unless she eats of the bread and salt of the
one who struck her. Similarly, if she attacks someone, he must eat from her
bread and salt. Then the soul will return to the way it was before.
Sefer Hasidim # 1466
There was a woman who was suspected of being an Striga,
and she would attack people. She appeared to a Jew as a cat and he hit her. The
next day she asked him to give her some of his bread and salt, and he wanted to
give it to her. An old man said to him “Be not overly righteous” (Ecc. 7:16). Where one has an obligation
to others, one must not show excessive piety, for if she lives, she will harm
people. Thus the Holy One, blessed be He, created her for you [as a test], just
as he created Amalek for Saul and punished him for letting him live.
Sefer Hasidim # 1467
There was once a woman who was a Striga, but she
allowed her victim to take from her bread and salt. In such case, one should
have mercy on her.
Manuscript Oxford 1567, 41b
Know too that there was a witch, a Striga, who once was
caught by a man. He said to her, Do not [try to] escape from my grasp, as you
have caused numerous deaths in the world. What can I do to you so that after
your death you will not consume [people’s flesh]? She said to him, If you find
[a Striga] in the grave with her mouth open, there is no remedy, for her spirit
will attack the living. And there is no remedy unless a spike is hammered into
her mouth and into the earth. Then she will attack no more. And for this
reason, one should fill her mouth with stones.
Sefer Ziyyoni (New 2005 Barzani pub. Edition,
p.31-32) ספר ציוני
Rabbi Judah the Pious writes that from Japeth (יפת) issues the Mares –not those created at
twilight, and the souls of the Strigas (שטיירש) …
