Black Sunday Sketchy Vampire Selection

To celebrate the myriad variety of different types of vampire, succubi, incubuses, strigoi and other undead bloodsuckers of folklore, myth and pop culture, here are some rough sketches for a Black Sunday...

Karakasa-Obake

What you really need to contemplate when the weather is grim and dreary is a possessed parasol. A Karakasa-Obake (or Kasa Obake or Kasa Kozo) is a Japanese umbrella of such a character and is one of my favourite types of Tsukumogami (objects that become animate whenthey reach the age of 100).

They usually have one eye and a long, leery tongue and tend to be one-legged with their handle-foot slipped into a solitary geta sandle. My own personal terrifying experience with a collection of flying karakasa came at the very beginning of the excellent SNES videogame The Legend of the Mystical Ninja where the ghastly parasols plague the ghost-invaded Temple of Horo. I've written about, sketched up and eulogised in haiku my affection for this eccentric kind of yōkai before. When the clouds start to gather, remember the parasol spirits of Japanese folklore and watch out for their malign flight...

Day XCVI - Harionago

She of Shikoku,

Itching to unleash barbed braids,

Hook-hair horror.

Another scary, hairy female figure from Japanese folklore, Harionago literally translates as "barbed woman" and terrifies the island of Shikoku. Legend has it that the beautiful lady (also known as Harionna) wanders the roads of the Ehime prefecture region actively looking for victims, preferably younger men. The Harionago's outstanding attribute is her sharp barbed hook hair which she lets down and unleashes on the victims she encounters. The ghoulish terror allegedly laughs at those she comes across and should they laugh back, she sets her sentient hair on them and ensnares them for their audacity. She's an excellent and imaginative Japanese folklore entity, and so I'd say we should salute the Harionago, her striking looks and lethal locks.

Day LXV - Moko Jumbie

Long-legged dancer,

Migrated from Africa,

Towering spirit.

Jumbies are ghosts or spirits of old West African mythology that - having been exported to the Caribbean - enjoy infamy in the West Indies. Just like the generic term 'ghost', 'jumbie' or 'jumbee' covers a whole range of different supernatural forms across disparate cultures, overall all being dead and generally malevolent. The subject of many superstitions and stories, Jumbies are believed to possess people at ceremonies with much dancing, drum-banging and tributary offerings of rum. The Moko Jumbie is a particularly popular type of phantom in Caribbean culture that inspires carnival parades and keeps the African roots alive to the present day. Legend tells of the gigantic African deity Moko who was able to foresee danger and scares away evil spirits from the village it guards. To represent the massive Moko's migration across the Atlantic Ocean, carnival revellers walk on stilts and bring some high-rise colour and spectacle to celebrations. Jumbies are fun and the dancing stilted spectres with West African mythological roots are outstanding as cool figures in the Caribbean phantom pantheon. All dance along with the jumbies and look up and pay tribute to watchful Moko Jumbie towering above.

Day LXII - Toyol

Infantile spirit,

Ghastly foetus steals stuff,

Black magic baby.

A really upsetting and unnerving entity of Malay mythology, a Toyol is a child spirit invoked by a bomoh (witchdoctor shaman figure) for people to use to steal the valuables of others. If it wasn't bad enough that the babies are sold by the bomoh to irresponsible people with evil intentions, the fact that the Toyol is actually a dead foetus makes this supernatural scenario ten times more disturbing. Commonly characterised as having a big head, little hands and legs and grey skin, the little ghosts are allegedly stored in jars or urns in dark places until they are required. The price of profiteering from owning a pet thief is the consequent need to care for the creature as you would a toddler, with the additional requirement of feeding it a few drops of blood every day. Once you invoke a Toyol you're stuck with it for life and, consequently, your descendants are doomed to inherit it and deal with the negative aspects of its infantile nature. Aside from the problems of toddler temperament, their childlike simplicity can act as an obstacle to effective thieving; being easily distracted by small objects like marbles, the Toyol may end playing instead of pinching things. They can also be warded off by well-placed strands of garlic, mirrors and needles (seeing as they're afraid of sharp things and their reflections) so by hiding money behind said objects, you're less likely to end up a victim of creepy dead baby crime. I urge sympathy for this sad little figure from Southeast Asian folklore. There's something tragic and touching about the idea of an unborn baby being brought to life by black magic for the sole purpose of doing evil for selfish humans. For shame, spare a thought for that child.

Day XLVIII - Gashadokuro

Japanese bones stir,

Ringing warns of giant's rise,

Skeletal spectre.

Shaking its bones and sending chills down the spine of all who encounter its enormous form, the Gashadokuro is a giant skeleton of Japanese mythology. Gathered together from the bones of those who've starved to death, the morbid manifestation is said to be fifteen times taller than a regular human and intends to bite the head off all those in its path. Such a fate can be avoided if you quickly flee upon hearing the ringing in your ears that precedes the appearance of a Gashadokuru. Despite its fearsome nature, the skeletal spirit is a popular mythical figure, showing up across pop culture - most prominently in video games - and providing the subject matter for a particularly awesome ukiyo-e print by Utagawa Kuniyoshi. A true titan of Japanese folklore, the Gashadokuru stands up as glorious ghastly entity. It's a 90-foot skeleton: enough said.

Day XXI - Banshee

Ominous wailing,

Female spirit foretells doom,
Irih mourning call.

A sign of death in Irish mythology and folklore, the Banshee is a female spirit that wails or cries to warn of tragedy to come. Celtic tradition has the weeping ghostly woman - either beautiful or an ugly hag depending on the tale - giving ill omens and portents to noble families through the form of melancholy singing or sad low-howling. Should a human see the spirit of misfortune or hear her caterwauling outside their house, they know that the end is nigh. The mortality forecaster for noble Celtic families is said to live in fairy-mounds and may also be able to take on animal-form and appear as a weasel or crow. Regardless, the sorrowful sound of the Banshee is bad news.

Day XIII - Churel

Poor impure woman,

Scary hair and backwards feet,

Ghost stuck in squalor.

Unlucky is the impoverished Indian woman who dies during a period of 'ritual impurity'. Hindu mythology has it that low-caste females unfortunate enough to pass away whilst giving birth or going through 'that time of the month' become Churel: saggy-breasted, bedraggled ghosts with backwards feet and no mouth. Doomed to hang around graveyards or squalid places until a successful exorcism is performed, Churel are also said to seek to capture young men, possibly to suck their blood. They've been condemned to a really crummy afterlife because of poor time-keeping, poverty and the simple fact that they are women. Surely death should not be so discriminatory.

Day VIII - Bakechochin

Lighting the lantern,

Haunting horrors come to life,

There's a ghost inside.

A pretty, traditional Japanese lantern ends up possessed by the ghost of someone who died with hate in their heart. Thus, we have the bakechochin which translates as 'haunted lantern' and attacks anyone who attempts to light it up. They're said to have scary wild eyes and long tongues and I love the idea of ghosts hiding in the ornate, attractive lanterns of the Far East. Hokusai's The Ghost of Oiwa is one representation of the ethereal light fixtures making their presence felt in art; I personally would be thrilled to have a possessed chōchin by my bedside...