Ghoul

The belief in ghouls was most widespread in the territory of Southern Russia (modern Ukraine). A ghoul roughly corresponds to a vampire in Western European mythology and has much in common with a ghoul in the East Slavic tradition, but even in the XIX century these characters were clearly distinguished.

This is a pawned dead man (continues his posthumous existence on the border of two worlds), rising at night from the grave. He harms people and livestock, drinks their blood, damages the economy, it was also believed that he could cause famine, pestilence and drought.

Outwardly, he differs from an ordinary person with an unusually red face and eyes (redness persists even after death from drinking blood).

It was believed that ghouls were people who were werewolves, sorcerers during their lifetime, or those who were excommunicated and anathematized (heretic, apostate, some criminals), unbaptized children, as well as those who died a violent death, committed suicide, were attacked by a ghoul and one whose body was defiled by an animal.

Grave grave According to legend, ghouls get up from their graves at night and walk on the ground, thanks to their humanoid appearance, they easily enter houses and suck the blood of sleeping people, then, before the third roosters crow, they return to their graves.

According to legend, it was possible to kill a ghoul by piercing his corpse with an aspen stake. If this did not help, then the corpse was usually burned.