Shtriga

A shtriga is a vampiric witch in Albanian mythology and folklore that sucks the
blood of infants at night while they sleep, and then turns into a flying insect
(traditionally a moth, 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.[1] The term shtriga is
used also with the common meaning of "witch", referring to a bad and ugly old woman
who casts evil spells to people. The male noun for shtriga is shtrigu or shtrigan.

The Albanian word shtrige, definite: shtriga derives from the Latin striga, "evil
spirit, witch",[2] related to Italian: strega, Romanian: striga and Polish:
strzyga.

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.[3] 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) (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 (syliga). 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 "syt i dalcin syt i placin"
or just whisper 3�6 times "syt i dalcin syt i placin" or "plast syri keq."

In some regions of Albania, people have used garlic (hudher); 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 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.[4]

In Catholic legend, it is said that shtriga can be destroyed using holy water with
a cross in it,[5] 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 225 sura Al-
Baqara, and spitting water on the shtriga.[6]

A shtriga was featured in the Supernatural episode, "Something Wicked" by hiding

itself as a male doctor in a children's ward at a hospital where children have
suddenly fallen comatose and where it can continue to feed.
A shtriga was featured in the Lost Girl 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.

Geralt of Rivia fought a shtriga in the novel The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski,
part of The Witcher series. The scene also takes place in the 2007 video game The
Witcher. In the 2019 Netflix series The Witcher, a shtriga is featured in episode
3.

The Shtriga appears in the Legends of Tomorrow episode "Wet Hot American Bummer."
This version attacks the children at a summer camp and poses as a camp counselor.