Ka The ancient Egyptian name for an astral being that was considered the guiding force for all human life. The ba, the soul of an individual, remained close to the ka in the grave. The term for death in ancient Egypt was "going to one's ka." Mortuary practices were said to focus on guinding the ba safely to the ka, as the former could be lead astray by evil influences. (For more info, see The Vampire Encyclopedia.) Kali A formidable goddess of INdia (the evil aspect of the supreme goddess Devi), who is the destructive yet nurturing black earth mother, presiding over violent death, plagues, and all forms of annihilation. Kali is depicted most often as a blood-drenched creature with dark hair, protruding tongue, and four hands, each hold either a sword, shield, servered hand, stranling noose, servered head, or nothing. Her arms are upraised to give reassurance to her followers, and except for a garland of skulls and girdle of hands, she is naked. The goddess is closely associated with blood, resulting from her battle with the demon Raktavija. In fighting him, she faced one thousand new versions of the demon every time a drop of his blood struck the ground. To defeat Raktavija, she gored him with a spread and drank his blood. Thus some of her statues show her holding a demon's head. The followers of Kali sacrifice goats to her temple particularly in the famed temple of Kalighant in Calcutta. Others, more extreme, were the Thugs or Thugees, who murdered as many as thirty thousand people. They garroted and strangled their victims as ritual sacrifices, breaking their bones for easier burial. While purged in the nineteenth century by the British, the Thugees made death and blood a lasting aspect of Kali worship. Kasha Evil Japanese ghouls that are feared for voracious appentities for corpses. Because of the Japanese custom of crmation, the kasha must steal corpses before it can be burned, larceny that often requires the theft of the coffin as well. To prevent this, a guard is placed of the dead and noises are made during the night to discourage the ghoul from racing away with a loved one. Kephn A demon found among the Karen tribes of Burma, linked to sorcery and wizards, appearing in the shape of a floating wizard's head and stomach. Its perferred meal is the human soul, the description of the kephn is similiar to the penanggalan of Malaysia. Kresnik Also krsnik, a kind of vampire fighter found in Istria in Solvenia, the bitter enemy of the kudlak, the local vampire. The root of the word is krat, meaning a cross, implying that the kresnik was aided by the forces of light, and was a local representative of good. Similar to the dhampir, the kresnik was the result of the folkloric development of the shaman, someone who fulfilled the role of protector of the inhabitants and their homes. Every town or community had a kresnik, just as it had its own kudlak. The two were always embrioled in titantic struggles in which the combatants changed into animal shapes, pigs, oxen, and horses. Good was recognizable by its white color, although the fighters could transform into a dramtic wheel of fire. Invariable the kresnick defeated the kudlak, as the foes of GOd could never hope to overcome the true agent of light. Variations on these warriors were found in Slavic lands. In Hungary, the kresnik was called talbos, with the main purpose of defending vital crops. Kuang-shi The feared vampire demon of CHina, also called the chiang-shi or kiang-si. This nasty creature, the result of demonic inhabitation of a corpse, is tall, with white or greenish white hair all over its body. Long and sharp claws, terrible eyes, and fangs make its appearance terrifying. Older specimens also have the ability to fly. The kuang-shi can be trapped in its grave by sprinkling rice, iron, and red peas on the ground above it. A common means of destroying it is lightning, a method of annihilation left in the hands of nature or the gods. Numerous stories concerning the demon exist in Chines folklore. Kudlak An Istrian (Dalamtion) or Slovenian name for the vukodlak, a kind of vampire, the exact opposite and most bitter of the kresnik. Where the kresnik was the representative of goodness and light, the kudlak symbolized evil and darkness. Every village had both these figures, with the kudlak variously described as an evil wizard (strigon), shaman, or vampire, representing tradition threats to the living, such as pesitence, misfortune, or the loss of crops. Generally the kudlak was most dangerous after death, and steps were taken to prevent the return of such an individual, either by impaling the corpse on a hawthorn stake or by slashing the tendon below the kness before burial. Attacking the innocent or the defneseless, the kudlak was always opposed by the kresnik. The two entered into terrible struggles, both assuming animal shpes, such as the horse, pige, or ox. Invariably the kudlak lost to God's presentative. The creature was always indentified by its color, black.