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An artist's depiction of a Strigoi
Strigois, Strzyga, Striga, Strzygoń or Štrigun are spirits similar to vampires or warlocks who have led troubled lives from Romania, and Slavic countries, such as Poland or Croatia among others.
The creature is a iconic part of Slavic mythology, and is considered one of the ancestors of the modern vampire myth, and the author Bram Stoker in his novel Dracula.
Appearance[]
A Strigoi from the TV show Lost Tapes
Most Strigois have crimson red hair, indigo eyes and two hearts. However, they can also take the form of other creatures, especially owls. They survive by sucking blood and can transform into animals. It is said that Strigois haunt villages during the night, when they get out of their graves to feed themselves with animals' blood. In Romanian culture, when an animal was sick it was said that it might have been the victim of a Strigoi.
In Croatian culture the word Štrigon has been associated with witches and vampires, the most well known examples being Jure Grando and Baba Yaga/Baba Roga.
A Strigoi in the Witcher series
One can become a Strigoi by leading a troubled or unfinished life, being born out of wedlock, dying before being baptized, dying unnaturally, or having birth defects. According to old legends a person could be born with two souls, and as a result, only one soul was baptized, so after death, the unbaptized soul couldn't leave the body, resulting in them becoming a Strigoi.
One can prevent the corpse becoming a Strigoi by burying a bottle of whisky with the corpse, or destroying the corpse before it's buried.
A Strigoi can be killed by exhuming the body, then destroying it. It can also be killed via a spike or stake being driven through the heart.
Gallery[]
Popular Culture[]
- The Strigoi became well-known outside the Slavic countries after appearing in the Witcher video game series, much like Leshy.
- There exists a race of vampires named Strigoi in the Warhammer fantasy universe, they are very bestial and animalistic compared to other vampires, which are far more sophisticated and human-like, based on common fantasy portrayal of vampires.
- A Strigoi appears as an antagonist in the book series Vampire Academy. The protagonist Dimitri Belikov gets turned into a Strigoi in the book series. In the Vampire Academy universe, there are two ways to become a Strigoi. The first way is that a Strigoi drinks the blood of their victim, then forces the victim to drink Strigoi blood. The other way is for someone to willingly drink and drain the blood of any vampire to become one. In Vampire Academy, a Strigoi can be taken out through a stake which is imbued with all of the different elements: earth, air, fire and water. it can also be taken out with a stake that is infused with spirit, which is an element that is only wielded by certain protagonists and antagonists in the book series, one example being Vassilisa Dragomir.