Vampires from the Caribbean

Growing up in the islands of the Caribbean, we are treated to stories of creatures that the western world would call Vampires.

As a child, I remember the having to walk past the house one of these creatures. This Old Higue was really a very haggish looking old woman. She was said to be ageless, but she looked about 80. My grandmother use to provide her with food since she was also very poor and from what I gather it was done as a means to protect us from her. Now as a child I had great fear of the Old Higue, but that fear increase when suddenly children in the neighborhood began to mysteriously die. People began to suspect the Old Higue as being the culprit but they were too scared to confront her or act upon it. Several months later the Old Higue abandoned her house and moved away, never to be seen in that area again. Now most people would just brush this story off, but I personally witnessed a "fireball" leaving this woman's house one night and returning just before dawn.

Here are some other writings of the Caribbean Vampire:

The story is that the Old Higue, the Caribbean form of a human vampire, capable of discarding her skin takes the form of an old woman living in a community. At night she transforms herself into a ball of fire, flies from her own house up into the sky and then lands on the roof of another house where there is a baby in a cradle underneath a sheet whose blood she will suck dry and then go home. The suspicions of the community are soon aroused and the school children cry "ole higue" at her; they make chalk marks, on the bridge to her house, the door, the window. But the legend goes that she crosses these marks bravely.

Then the community sets a trap. When the ole higue flies abroad another night she finds that the baby in the cradle is clothed in a blue night gown. There is a heap of rice grains near to the cot and the smell of asfoetida. These cast a spell on the ole higue who has to count the grains of rice, and if she loses her way, she has to start counting again. The light of morning comes and the ole higue still has not finished counting the grains of rice. People burst into the room pick up cabbage broom and begin to belabour the ole higue. They beat her to death, with great emotion.
"The Old Higue waits until the early hours of the morning and when everyone is asleep; then the Old Higue sheds its human skin; then the Old Higue travels in a ball of fire searching for victims; then the Old Higue slips through the keyhole of the house of its chosen victim; then the Old Higue sucks the blood of a child dry, dry, dry! Oh, the deep fear of it is enough to cause a child to remain awake all night, every night."
Excerpt from Caribbean Stories, by Andrew A. Munroe


In Trinidad, this is vampire is called a Soucouyant. She is generally an old woman who travels by night in a ball of fire, leaving her skin behind her, to suck the blood of her sleeping victims. You can tell you've been bitten by a soucouyant if you see two little bite marks side by side, anywhere on your body in the morning. Of course it could just have been two mosquitoes biting you in tandem. And doing so again the next night. Believe what you wish. I am not sure how one becomes a soucouyant, but I do remember tales of a midnight ritual around a silk cotton tree that scared the living daylights out of me when I was little.

Ways to kill a Soucouyant:
Traditionally, you must throw a handful of salt or rice or other small grains by your door or window. That way she won't be able to leave until she has counted every last grain. Hopefully, you can keep there until the sun comes up and she's caught without her skin.
Or you can beat her with a big stick when you encounter the ball of fire. The next day the bruised and battered old lady down the road is revealed as the local soucouyant.
Of course if you already know who she is, the task is simpler. After she leaves her house on her nightly outings, you take her skin and rub the inside liberally with salt and pepper. Then when she returns and dons her skin, she'll die writhing in agony.


Now my question, has anyone ever heard stories of a similar creature??????

those are excellent stories. i haven't heard anything like that before, however, i do know how zombies are creating in the voodoo tradition.

a) Is this first hand-experience?
b) Why does the Old Higue have to stop and count the grains of rice? Absurd.

Very interesting indeed, is it just chance that the chupa appeared in the same area in the beginning?

well the first part (1st paragraph) is of my first hand experiences, however I only saw a ball of fire leaving her house. The elders around me stated connection between the ball of fire and the Old Higue.

The rice now is an interesting part, some say she because she a demon type creature, she is very dumb and counterspells like leaving the scent of asfoetida (an indian spice) she gets hypnotized by the aroma, for some reason if the rice is left out, she will start picking them up grain by grain counting them, allowing her to get caught.

putting chalk marks on the door or entrance of the house is also supposed to help keep her away, however other say you have mark all the entrances, windows and vents included.

I don't believe the chupacabra is related to the Old Higue stories, because the Old Higue operates more like a vampire and didn't go after animals.

I know this wierd and crazy stuff, but there are many many people in different countries in the caribbean that will acknowledge the story and the olders one usually have first hand knowledge of it.

I've concluded that these (sightings/incidents) occurred more frequently in the 1800's when the caribbean area was being settled, they were still fairly common in the 1920-1950's eventually retreating in the 1970's and 80's.

Originally posted by browha
b) Why does the Old Higue have to stop and count the grains of rice? Absurd.

alot of vampire stories involve them counting things, or unwinding balls of wool

Does Higue mean Hag?
You knew this lady personally?
How many people died around your neighborhood?

Its amazing how many vampire type legends there are around the world.

Yep Higue mean Hag.....I can only assume it's the broken english spoken in the islands that led to this word being used. I don't know how the Trinidadians came up with Soucouyant, but again I assume it's from the word succubus.

I saw the Old Higue, once or twice on the streets and whomever the elder person was accompanying me would make cross the street or walk really fast past her and tell me not to look at her. To me she was just a wrinkly ugly old lady. I remember her house more than I remember her. The house was eventually burnt down by vandals.

I just checked with my grandmother who actually knew this woman and she said there was 6 children that died in a 3 month period, these deaths were attributed to the Old Higue. The children supposedly had nothing medically wrong with them and they just fell ill over night, dying within days. She said it was the Old Higue because of the marks on their body. It's hickey like marks that can appear anywhere on the body but was common on the necks.

I do recall this woman coming to our house begging for food and my grandmother would give it to her, but not before sending all of us kids to our room, with strict orders not to leave the room until she told us to.

I brought up this topic because I have heard similar stories in Trinidad and Jamaica and wonder how these stories managed to travel thru the Caribbean without much change except for the name of the creature. I have also heard of similar vampire type creatures in Africa and India, I think the Indian version is called a CHURAIL, don't know what they are called in Africa. Personally I was not aware of the Western version of the vampires until I celebrated my first Halloween in the USA and saw an old black and white movie of the Bram Stoker type creature.

I would love to hear about the other types of vampires (not the bram stoker type) around the world, perhaps there are connections.

I don't know when it comes to vampires....I believe in EL Chupacabra but Humans able to transform into fireballs or bats, it just seems to much like folklore to me. The child deaths do not surprise me it is very possible that they were killed by some yet unknown infant disease. The story of the old woman sounds a little too similar to witch stories told up here in the States. As for the fireballs I have no explanation for that, and if you did wittiness them first hand I am inclined to believe that they did in fact happen. I do not think that this woman transformed into fireballs, I believe there is a much simpler explanation however as of now I do not have one. A very interesting story worldwatcher, thank you fro posting it.

We have alot of old hags running around this town. Give her a Jackson and she'll give

I personally witnessed a "fireball" leaving this woman's house one night and returning just before dawn.

Originally posted by worldwatcher
however I only saw a ball of fire leaving her house.

This sounds like a load of #.