Black cats were commonly thought to be familiars of witches.
©BloodyLexicon.com
Familiars are animal spirits that come from the devil and are given to witches or sorcerers as a gift. Familiars are universally known, described in several different cultures around the world. It helps the witch by assisting with the casting spells, performing magical quests, or causing a human sickness and death. It only obeys the one witch or sorcerer and will not listen to anybody else. The witch will feed the familiars with blood through her fingers, thumb, or breast. The markings on the body made by the sucking familiars were known as “witches marks.” These animals were commonly cats, dogs, mice, birds, or toads.
The Bruxsa often takes the form of a bird during the night.
©BloodyLexicon.com
The Bruxsa is from Portuguese lore and is a female vampire witch. She is described as being a beautiful woman in the day and leaves in the form of a bird at night looking for lost travelers or babies. She is able to have marry and have children and will eat them. She will attack and suck the blood from infants sleeping in their cribs and is hard to kill. Unlike many other witches, her choice to be evil is hers, rather than the cause of an accident or a birth defect. The Bruxsa is said to be immortal and has immense sorcerous powers. She is able to cause miscarriages, storms, droughts and disease. Garlic is a good repellent for the Bruxsa, and she cannot be killed by mortal means.
The gandillon werewolf of France.
©BloodyLexicon.com
The strange case of the Gandillon werewolf took place in France in 1598. The events started when a young girl named Pernette from the Gandillon family walked around on her hands and knees believing that she was a wolf. She roamed around the woods one day acting like a wolf and came across a boy and girl, both brother and sister, picking berries. Pernette went crazy for blood and started to attack the girl. The girl’s little brother, aged four years old, grabbed a knife and tried to protect his sister while getting a huge gash on his neck but both made it out of the woods alive. They told the townspeople what happened and a mob of peasants went after Pernette and destroyed her.
Not very long afer the incident, Pernette’s brother Pierre, kidnapped children and took them to witch sabbats. He was said to have an ointment that he received from the devil that made him transform into a wolf. When he was a wolf he would run around killing people and animals, and to turn back into a human he would roll in the wet grass. He wasn’t the only one that used the ointment, his son also claimed that he used it and killed two goats. Once the spirit becomes the animal, the body lies in bed in a trance. They were both accused of witchcraft, and both had scratches all over their bodies and bite marks. The two men were taken into prison where they didn’t turn into wolves, but they did run about on all fours howling uncontrollably. It was believed they couldn’t take the shape of a wolf because they didn’t have access to the ointment.Pierre’s daughter also confessed that she sold her soul to the devil who took the form of a black cat.
The Brujas often take the form of a bat.
©BloodyLexicon.com
The Brujas (Brujos for male) are vampiric witches from Mexico, Mesoamerica, and other Hispanic areas of North America. The Bruja are thought to be more prevalent than the male Brujo, and are also considered to be more powerful. They can take the form of a bat and enjoy sucking blood from helpless victims. They are known for having many remedies against physical illness, and can help with emotional, romantic, and social problems with the help of spells and charms. In rural areas, the witch is considered more evil than good and is often blamed for wounding vampire bats. They will try to enter houses through cracks or keyholes. One can protect their home by spilling a lot of rice or wheat by the door, the witch will be forced to stop and count all of the grains which will take until the sun comes up.
The Adze, in the form of a firefly.
© BloodyLexicon.com
The Adze is a type of vampire that takes the form of a firefly. This little vampire is believed in African lore, and is said to dwell near tribal sorcerers, especially those of the Ewe in Ghana and southern Togo. This firefly’s favorite is blood from little children. The adze can also possess people, and anyone under the influence of an adze is considered a witch. If a person captures the lightning bug, the bug will take human form. The adze can also drink coconut water and palm oil if no blood is available.
