BECOMING A VAMPIRE

Methods by which a person can become an undead, as documented from traditions

and customs of folklore:

Predispositions:

Birth:
    Born at certain times of the year (new moon, holy days)
    Born with red caul, with teeth, or with an extra nipple
    Born with excess hair, with a red birthmark, or with two hearts.

Actions In Life Leading To Vampiric Transformation:
    Committing suicide
    Practicing sorcery or witchcraft
    Eating sheep killed by a wolf
    Leading an immoral life, i.e., prostitutes, murderers, and treacherous

     barmaids
    Saying a mass while in a state of mortal sin (priests)
    Being a werewolf

Death or After-Death Causes
    Death at the hands of a vampire
    Wind from the Russian Steppe blowing on the corpse
    Having a cat or other animal jump over the corpse
    Having a shadow fall on the corpse
    No burial or improper burial rites
    Death by violence or murder
    Murder that is unrevenged
    Having a candle passed over the corpse
    Having one's brother sleepwalk
    Death by drowning
    Stealing the ropes used to bury a corpse
    Being buried face up in the grave (in parts of Romania)

-From "The Vampire Encyclopedia" Matthew Brunson, 1993
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    China is rich in legends, superstitions, and customs, that are often
connected with Buddhist and Taoist lore.  The name KUANG-SHI (or CHIANG-SHI)
was used to describe the most feared vampire type in China, a demon
distinguished by its glaring red eyes and sharp fangs and talons.  White or
greenish white hair covered its body.  This vampire sometimes had the ability
to fly, to appear as a mist or vapor, and even to become invisible.  Such
species of undead could be created through a number of means, all of which
were to avoided strenously.  If the skeleton or skull of a corpse remained
undecayed, the "p'o" (or lower soul) could become a vampire.  Animals could
not be allowed to jump over a corpse, and direct sunlight or moonlight were to
be kept away from a dead body because the rays were considered capable of
infusing the corpse with a supply of "yang" (a positive force), thereby
fortifying the lower soul, which then required human blood to keep the body
incorrupt.  Garlic, incense, and strong, pungent odors were used to protect
individuals from attack, another similiarity to European traditions.

     Numerous tales abound concerning the Chinese vampires and ghosts.  One of
the best is of a temple haunting that supposedly took place in 1741.  A
shepherd, looking for somewhere to stay after tending his sheep, asked
permission to sleep in an old temple dedicated to three heroes.  Although told
by the local inhabitants that it was the abode of ghosts, he moved in anyway,
gathering his sheep onto the veranda.  Around midnight he heard a rustling
under the pedestal of the three statues, and out of the ground arose a horrible
creature, with eyes like lightning and a body covered in green fur.  Attacking
the creature with his whip, he discovered his weapon was useless.  The shepherd
barely escaped the monster's clutches, climbing a nearby tree and hanging on
until dawn, when the fiend, seemingly unable to leave the temple, returned to
the earth.  The local magistrates, summoned by the shepherd, uncovered a large
twisted body with green hair, which they burned, despite a putrid black vapor,
the cracking of its bones, and the blood, which gushed from forth from the
remains.  Two key sources on this and other legends from China are G.
Willoughby-Meades 'Chinese Ghouls and Goblins' (1928) and J. J. M. de Groot's
'The Religious System of China' (1910).

     The 'Kuang-shi' or 'Chiang-shi' is a female vampire demon, described
above.  It 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.
     
     "K'uei" is a broad Chinese term denoting the undead, believed to have been
persons who had not lived with sufficient goodness to earn an entry into the
bliss of the afterworld.  Deprived of a happy afterlife, they are said to be
both angry and vicious, taking out their aggressions on sinners, for it is with
them that they feel a close kinship.  The "k'uei" have been described as
skeletal beings with hideous demonic faces.  They must always move in a
perfectly straight line.  Screens, placed just inside a doorway, are said to be
the most effective barrier against, as they cannot maneuver around the corner
and, thus frustrated, move on to another location.  The "k'uei" is quite
different from the "kuang-shi" and is also ranked as a general evil spirit.

     And finally, 'Hsi-hsue-kuei' is the Chinese name for a vampire.  It is
translated as "suck-blood-demon."

     -Extracted from The Vampire Encyclopedia, Matthew Bunson, 1993