We all know about vampires and werewolves, or at least we think we do. The legends and myths that inspired these monsters are sometimes surprisingly different, but no less chilling. In this series of posts, Monster Monday, we’ll investigate the monsters that have informed our modern notions, as well as some lesser known monsters. Today, we talk about the Lugat.

A lugat is a vampire from Albanian folklore. It becomes stronger over time until it reaches full maturity at thirty years. Once it reaches the age of thirty, it cannot be harmed and also does not have to return to its grave at the beginning of each day, able to live in a house like a normal human.

A lugat does not kill its victims right away. It only drinks a little blood at a time over a period of weeks or even months. This feeding, however, does weaken the victim and can also lead to spiritual damage, increasing the chances of the person becoming a lugat themselves. A lugat does not have fangs, but rather just bites the victim and drinks the blood through the wound.

A lugat that has not yet matured can be killed by a wooden stake or cremation. In some stories only a wolf can kill a lugat. In other stories, the lugat is invisible, and only a dhampir, the child of a lugat and a human, can see it and kill it.