It’s been a while since I’ve talked about a demon in my Slavic Saturday posts, but it’s time to fix that! So on this week’s post, we’ll be talking about one of the creatures that may have been one of the origins of vampires: the Polish strzyga.
(June 2021 Updated) Note: If you enjoy Slavic mythology, check out A Dagger in the Winds, the first book in my Slavic fantasy series called The Frostmarked Chronicles. You can also join my monthly newsletter for updates and free novellas (such as the prequel, The Rider in the Night) set in the world of the series.
The strzyga is a horrifying demon and one of the most famous ones in Slavic mythology, especially due to its connection to vampires and its prevalence in the popular Witcher series (which has roots in both Polish and Celtic myths). Pictured as a person (usually female, sorry ladies) born with two sets of teeth, two hearts, and two souls, they are often driven out of villages for being evil spirits at a young age. And when they die in the wilds, one of their souls passes to the next life, but the other remains as fully demonic.
At first, even the fully strzyga person may appear normal with perhaps slightly more blue-ish skin. Soon, though, they begin to develop owl-like features such as feathered wings, long and pointed ears, and vicious claws. In addition to their two jagged sets of teeth, these characteristics make them vicious predators—predators that hunt humans.
Since the strzyga is fully a demon now, they must rely on the life force of others to survive. They sleep in graves during the day and emerge at night, and though they can initially survive on animal blood for some time, they will soon develop the need to ravage humans. It was well known that they would especially target those who had wronged them in their “first” life, sucking their blood before eating their insides as well.
Among the strzyga’s tactics were to disguise themselves as a barn owl (because basically everything in Slavic mythology is a shape-shifter) before retaking their true form and attacking. This is probably one of the major reasons that owls aren’t revered in Poland as much as other areas. Recommendations for avoiding strzyga at night include walking in the middle of roads, avoiding heavy brush, and never going near cemeteries.
There are thought to be a variety of ways to prevent a strzyga from coming back after dying the first time. Burning the body and decapitating the corpse were usually the most popular options, but this is Slavic folklore, so there’s wilder ones: leaving small objects in the grave for the strzyga to count, slapping the corpse with your left hand, or burying the corpse head down and cutting the tendons in their legs (fun).
So, if your friend has two sets of teeth and two hearts, then it’s probably best to treat them well so they don’t come after you in their next life. Or you can decapitate them and burn their body, but let’s just stick with treating our friends well.
That’s all for this week’s Slavic Saturday. Be sure to keep a lookout for more posts next week, and if you haven’t seen the full series of posts, be sure to check them out.
*As always just a quick disclaimer. Slavic mythology is broad and not written in many if any primary sources, so there’s a variety of interpretations. The interpretations I’m using here are from the sources I’ve found to be reliable and as well as some creative freedom for my book series.