A shtriga is a

vampiric A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mi ...

witch Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have us ...

in Albanian mythology and folklore that sucks the blood of infants at night while they sleep, and then turns into a flying

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three ...

(traditionally a

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

, fly or bee). Only the shtriga herself could cure those she had drained. The shtriga is often pictured as a woman with a hateful stare (sometimes wearing a cape) and a horribly disfigured face. They usually live in hidden places in the forest and have supernatural powers. The term ''shtriga'' is used also with the common meaning of "

", referring to a bad and ugly old woman who casts evil spells upon people. The male noun for ''shtriga'' is ''shtrigu'' or ''shtrigan''.

Etymology

The Albanian word ''shtrigë'', definite: ''shtriga'' derives from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

'' strīga'', "evil spirit, witch", related to it, strega, ro, strigă and pl, strzyga.

Legend

According to legend, only the shtriga herself could cure those she had drained (often by spitting in their mouths), and those who were not cured inevitably sickened and died. The name can be used to express that a person is evil. According to Northern Albanian folklore, a woman is not born a witch; she becomes one, often because she is childless or made evil by envy. A strong belief in God could make people immune to a witch as He would protect them. Usually, shtriga were described as old or middle-aged women with grey, pale green, or pale blue eyes (called white eyes or pale eyes) ( sq, sybardha) and a crooked nose. Their stare would make people uncomfortable, and people were supposed to avoid looking them directly in the eyes because they have the

evil eye The Evil Eye ( grc, ὀφθαλμὸς βάσκανος; grc-koi, ὀφθαλμὸς πονηρός; el, (κακό) μάτι; he, עַיִן הָרָע, ; Romanian: ''Deochi''; it, malocchio; es, mal de ojo; pt, mau-olhado, olho gordo; ar ...

( sq, syliga, links=no). To ward off a witch, people could take a pinch of salt in their fingers and touch their (closed) eyes, mouth, heart and the opposite part of the heart and the pit of the stomach and then throw the salt in direct flames saying "" or just whisper 3–6 times "" or "." In some regions of Albania, people have used garlic ( sq, hudhër, links=no); to send away the evil eye or they have placed a puppet in a house being built to catch the evil. Newborns, children or beautiful girls have been said to catch the evil eye more easily, so in some Albanian regions when meeting such a person, especially a newborn, for the first time, people might say " ''masha'allah''" and touch the child's nose to show their benevolence and so that the evil eye would not catch the child.

Edith Durham Edith Durham, (8 December 1863 – 15 November 1944) was a British artist, anthropologist and writer who is best known for her anthropological accounts of life in Albania in the early 20th century. Her advocacy on behalf of the Albanian cause a ...

recorded several methods traditionally considered effective for defending oneself from shtriga. A cross made of pig bone could be placed at the entrance of a church on Easter Sunday, rendering any shtriga inside unable to leave. They could then be captured and killed at the threshold as they vainly attempted to pass. She further recorded the story that after draining blood from a victim, the shtriga would generally go off into the woods and regurgitate it. If a silver coin were to be soaked in that blood and wrapped in cloth, it would become an amulet offering permanent protection from any shtriga. In Catholic legend, it is said that shtriga can be destroyed using holy water with a cross in it, and in Islamic myth it is said that shtriga can be sent away or killed by reciting verses from the Qur'an, specifically Ayatul Kursi 255 sura Al-Baqara, and spitting water on the shtriga.

In popular culture

In an Albanian tale published by

Post Wheeler George Post Wheeler (August 6, 1869 – December 23, 1956) was an American journalist, writer and career diplomat. Biography He was born on August 6, 1869, in Owego, New York. His parents were Rev. Henry Wheeler and Mary Sparkes Wheeler. Whee ...

with the title ''The Girl who took a Snake for a Husband'', the Shtriga appears as "the grandmother of all witches" that lives in the Underworld, a place of a red sun, a green sky and black trees.Wheeler, G. Post (1936).
Albanian Wonder Tales
'. New York: The Junior Literary Guild and Doubleday, Doran and Company, Inc. pp. 172–183, 282. A shtriga was featured in the '' Supernatural'' episode, " Something Wicked", wherein it attacked children, causing them to become comatose; it then disguised itself as a doctor so it could continue to feed upon them. A shtriga was featured in the ''

Lost Girl ''Lost Girl'' is a Canadian supernatural drama television series that premiered on Showcase on September 12, 2010, and ran for five seasons. It follows the life of a bisexual succubus named Bo, played by Anna Silk, as she learns to control ...

'' episode " Follow the Yellow Trick Road." Bo's friends search for the creature after figuring out that the shtriga had bitten Bo in its moth form, leaving her comatose and dying as it feeds on her fears. The Shtriga appears in the ''

Legends of Tomorrow ''DC's Legends of Tomorrow'', or simply ''Legends of Tomorrow'', is an American time travel superhero television series developed by Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, Andrew Kreisberg, and Phil Klemmer, who are also executive producers a ...

'' episode "Wet Hot American Bummer." This version attacks the children at a summer camp and poses as a camp counselor.

Sources

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