Primarily a Slavic legend of a blood-sucking creature, supposedly the restless soul of a heretic, criminal, or suicide. Folklore claims that the vampire leaves its burial place or coffin (sometimes in the form of a bat to fly by night) seeking to drink blood from the living and then returns to its dark grave before first light. Its victims become vampires at death. In Rumanian folklore as opposed to Slavic, the draining power of vampires is directed toward their victim’s psychic energy rather than their blood.
Slavic folklore describes vampires as being dressed in shrouds. Their whole appearance is uncorrupted by death, although the hair on their head and face is longer than at death. Throughout European history, vampires have been described as having a ruddy lifelike complexion, longish hair that has grown after death, and plump bodies bloated with the blood of their victims. When a stake has been driven into a vampire’s chest, the corpse utters a deep moan and blood is seen to come from its mouth.