Vrykolakas

Many people usually think that vamps and werewolves are two completely different things, however its actually believed that the vampire myth grew out of the werewolf one. One thing's for sure, there definately has been a mixture of the two myths. In fact in Greece when American films are played in theaters the same word for werewolves is used for vampire. This word is Vrykolakas which is of Slavic origin. Many eastern countries and cultures have a variant of the word. The Greeks believed that a person could become a vrykolakas after death due to a sacrilegious way of life, excommunication, a burial in unconsecrated ground, or eating the meat of a sheep which had been wounded by a wolf or a werewolf. Some believed that a werewolf itself could become a powerful vampire after being killed, and would retain the wolf-like fangs, hairy palms, and the glowing eyes it formerly possessed.To the Balkans they were synonymous with vampires. They were always portrayed as harmful and in some cases brought about epidemics. One myth states that it "knocks on the doors of houses and call out the name of the residents. If it gets no reply the first time, it will pass without causing any harm. If someone does answer the door, he or she will die a few days later and become one. For this reason, there is a superstition present in certain Greek villages that one should not answer a door until the second knock." Another legend claims they sit on and suffocate a person as with a incubi. It could also only be destroyed on a Saturday(the only day the creatures would return to their coffins) and it could be done by exorcising it, impaling it, beheading it, cutting it into pieces, and especially cremating the suspected corpse. The last two statements also apply to a Bulgarian vampire.