The Varacolaci, a vampire revenant in Romania, is said to be created when an unbaptized baby died or if a person committed suicide. But there are also some instances that being a varacolaci becomes inherited or passed down from generation to generation.
If a varacolaci was created after his death, the person who turned into a varacolaci would look exactly the same, though would tend to look pale and with dried out skin. The varacolaci hunts its prey all year round but it is particularly active during St. Andrew’s Day and St. George’s Day. This creature is also said to be one of the most dangerous types of vampire since it was considered as the strongest type of vampire in the folklore of Romania.
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A varacolaci like any vampire drains the blood of its victim, but it does not leave any bite marks. It can shape shift into any animals, but it usually takes the form of a flea, cat, spider, frog and dog. It is also said to be responsible for causing lunar eclipse and solar eclipse by putting itself into a trance.
The varacolaci also has the ability of “midnight spinning”, a sort of astral projection that allows them to travel safely at night anywhere they wish to go. While they were on astral projection, the creature seems to look like a dragon or a creature with several mouths. However if one manages to find a varacolaci in this state, the creature would be unable to return to its body causing it to sleep forever and leaving its soul to wander around eternally.
Traditionally, those corpses that are suspected of becoming a varacolaci, can be prevented on rising from its grave by planting a thorny plant on its grave. If in an instance that a person dies by committing suicide the only way to prevent him from being a varacolaci is to throw his body into a river immediately.
An intricate ritual needs to be performed in order to completely vanquish the vampire being, first the vampire must rise from its grave and must be captured. In the case of a male varacolaci, their heart must be ripped off and cut in half. A nail must be punctured into its forehead and whole cloves of garlic must be placed inside its mouth. The corpse is then filled with a pig fat that comes from a pig that was slaughtered on St. Ignatius Day. A burial shroud is then dipped into a holy water and wrapped on the corpse. The body was then reburied into an isolated area far from the community. In the case of a female varacolaci an iron fork must be driven into its eyes and heart and the body was buried into a very deep grave.
