Bajang
A demon vampire found in Malaysia, said to be a male (as compared with the feamel, "langsuir") 
appearing as a mewing pole cat and normally threatening children. The bajang, like the langsuir, 
can be enslaved and turned into a kind of familiar, or demonic servant, and is often handed down 
from one generation to the new, becoming a family heriloom. It is kept in a tabong, or vess made 
of bamboo, close by a stopper made of certain leaves, and protected by charms. WHile imprisoned, 
the bajang is fed eggs and milk and will turn on its owner if not provided with enough 
sustenance. The master of the bajang can send it out to inflict harm on his enemies, the victims 
soon suffering from a mysterious and fatal ailment. Wizards are usually owners of the creatures.
(See "Vamp Encyclopedia" for more info.)

Baobhan-sith
A scottish bloodsucking fiend that normally disguised itself and lured unsuspecting me to their 
deaths. Consdiered part of the fairy lore of the Bristish Isles, the baodhan-sith supposedly 
appeared in the shape of a lovely maiden dressed in green. One story told in "The Anatomy of 
Puck" by K. M. Briggs, was about four hunters who took shelter for the night at a deserted 
shielding. To keep warm they began to dance, one of them providing mouth music. THey were soon 
joined by four beautiful, golden-haired maidens in green, three of them dancing while the fourth
joined the singer. THis last man was horrified to see blood dripping from his friends, and he ran
for his life, hding with the horeses until dawn. Returning to camp, he found his comrades dead, 
completely drained of blood.

Bataks
Known as a battas, a kind of witch docter found in Sumatra, especially helpful in fighting the 
local species of vampire. THey worked to reclaim the souls of those who had fallen under attack. 
As the soul departed a body threatened by a vampire, the person fell ill and wasted away. To 
return the soul of its rightful place, the batak used garlic, a soul-compelling herb, in certain 
prescribed supernatural rituals.

Elizabeth Bathory
Hungarian noblewomen (1560-1614) and member of the powerful Bathory family who became known as 
the "Bloody COuntess" for her multiple murders and obsession with blood. Married to the warrior 
count Ferenz Nadasdy, Bathory spent many nights alone while her husband was fighting the Turks. 
She developed obsessive interest in her own beauty, in pleasure, in the occult, and in the most 
depraved kinds of sadism, which were normally manifests towards her serving girls, with whom she 
engaged in orgers before murdering them with the help of her lieutenants. Bathory became 
convinced that blood was a useful cosmetic and restorative when she hit a victim so hard that 
her blood splashed onto the countess's face and arms, when she washed off the blood she believed 
that her skin felt smoother and younger. Henceforth she drank, bathed, and showered in the blood 
of maidens, murdering hundreds of young girl who were brought into her service. (See "vamp 
encyclopedia")

Bebarlangs
A tribe found in the Philippines that supposedly had members who practiced a kind of psychic 
vampirism. THey had capacity to send out their astral bodies to prey on fellow tribe members or 
on others. They fed not on blood, but on vitality or life forces of individuals.

Sergeant Bertrand
An infamous criminal who was finally caught in 1849 in Paris after terrorizing the cemeteries in 
and around the city and earning the nickname "the Vampire." A military engineer of the 74th 
Regiment, Bertrand began breaking into cemeteries, desecrating tombs, exhuming bodies, and 
inflicting horrible mutilations upon them. GUards and caretarkers spready hysteria by claiming 
to see shadows darting among the tombstones and declaring that the walls and iron gates should 
have been strong enough to keep out any mortal prowlers. Of significance, however, was the fact 
that when security and watches were intensified around a cemetery suffering attack, the "Vampire"
moved to a new one. Bertrand was finally captured after being shot and leaving behind pieces of 
his uniform in haste to escape. Traced to a military hospital, he was arrested, tried, and 
imprisoned for one year. His case was examined by Dr. Alexis Epaulard in his 1901 treatise on 
vampires.

Berkwick Vampire
A case of wandering undead reported by the twelfth-century English historian WIlliam of Newburgh 
and taking place in the town of Berwick in the far northern area of England. A wealthy but 
supposedly evil man died and was buried, emergin soon after to roam the streets of the town. He 
apparently did not attack anyone, but his increasing state of decomposition caused a wave of 
panic that a plague would spread. Townsmen exhumed the corpse, which slept during the day, and 
cut it to pieces.

Bhandara
Small shrines found in parts of India for the worship of a number of vampire species, 
particularly the bhuta, which are revered as virtual gods. The bhandara are intended to be places
where the vampires can dwell and where sacrifices or oblations can be made to keep them placated.
While varying markedly in shape, the shrines are designed to allow the creatures to rest without
touching the ground, which they are forbidden to do because the earth is sacred. Flowers are 
placed at the shrine once a month. Some have cradles, perhaps hanging from ropes or chains, many 
with bell, knife, and a bowl of water placed within them.

Bhuta
Also known as bhut or buts, a name that can designate in a broad sense all of the Indian vampires
or malevolent spirits or signify a specific vampire species. The vampire type of bhuta is 
normally someone who suffered a violent death or died by accident, execution, or suicide. It 
could also represent a person who was not provided with proper funeral rites. The bhuta are 
found in cemeteries or in dark, desolated places, eating excreta or intestines. An attack by a 
bhuta can result in severe sickness or in death, although some of these creatures, such as the 
bhuta of Awadh, described as tall, white, and shining, prefer to play jokes or to impede the 
progress of travelers. To placate the bhuta, shrines called bhandara or bhutastan are buil 
throughout India. SOme sources considered the dangerous rakshasa to be a type of bhuta.

Bibi
A Gypsy being, long associated with cholera and eath, honored one day a year by Gypsy tribes, 
particularly in the Balkans. According to the tales of her, Bibi appears as a tall, barefoot, 
thin women in a red dress and is accompanied by two small girls and two white lambs. When 
welcomed into a home she promises good fortune, but she cursed those who reject her. Bibi 
strangles children, though their deaths appear to have been caused by cholera. SHe is one of 
several vampirelike women who act as vengeful spirits or are threats to children and their 
mothers.

Brahmaparush
A particularly cruel vampires species found in parts of northern India that enjoys consuming 
human beings. The creature drinks blood from the skull of the victim, eats the flesh from the 
skull, and dance with the body's intestines wrapped like a turban around his head.

Bruxsa
A feared female vampire species found in Portugal. The bruxsa exhibits many characteristics of 
the aswang of Philippines. Normally transformed into a vampiric form through witchcraft, she 
leaves her home at night and flies in the shape of a large bird. Tormenting travelers is one of 
her frequent activities, and much of her nourishment is taken from her own offspring, whose 
blood she drinks. THere are no known ways to destroy the creature, the customary methods proving 
unsuccessful.