Strzyga

Strzyga, rarely in male form strzyg or strzygoń, is a demon from Slavic beliefs.

Origin

According to Aleksander Brückner, the word is derived from Strix. Compare with Strigoi a female demon with bird's claws who feeds on human blood. Unclear how strzyga was adapted by Slavic people probably through Balkan peoples though it particularly took a form of a ghost.

Beliefs

A strzyga (Polish pronunciation: [ˈstʂɨɡa]) is a female demon a bit similar to vampire in Slavic (and especially Polish) folklore. People who were born with two hearts and two souls and two sets of teeth (second one barely visible) were believed to be strzygas. Furthermore a newborn child with already developed teeth was also believed to surely become one. When strzyga was recognized it was chased away from human habitat. Strzygas usually were dying at young age, but only one soul gets passed on, and the other soul caused the deceased strzyga to come alive and prey upon other living beings. Those undead creatures fly at night in a form of an owl and attack night-time travelers and people who simply wander off into the woods at night, sucking out their blood and eating out their insides. Strzyga could also be satisfied with animal blood, for a short period of time. When person recognized as strzyga dies Decapitating the corpse and burying the head separate from the rest of the body is said to prevent strzyga from rising back from the dead; burying the body face down with a sickle around its head is said to work as well.

According to the other sources strzygas don't do any other harm to people than heralding the certain death of one of family members(or one of inmates). At this point they are bit similar to Banshee.

In the times of epidemic sick people were buried alive. Some of them made their way out of grave with bare hands. Wandering around forests, weak and with bloody hands and torn-off fingernails. Those people were believed to be strzygas as well.

See also

• Polish mythology