Australia - Garkain, Mrart, Talamaur, Yara-ma-yha-who
Garkain: Of Australia's, Northern Territories. He was described as big as a man, with bat-like wings and a foul stench. If any stray hunter or lost child entered his mangrove forest, he would swoop from the trees, wrapping his wings around the unwary. The unfortunate victim would first choke on the stench, and then slowly suffocate. The Garkain would then consume their blood and then the flesh. The victim's spirit was then condemned to wander the region, unable to find his way home to the final resting place of his tribe.
Mrart: A vampire-like creature (often referred to as a ghost) that was specifically powerful in the dark, often trying to drag victims away from a campsite. Aborigines also believed a second soul existed that could sometimes inhabit another person's body or could live in the bush and torment its living relatives. Dead bodies were weighted down in aboriginal burial rites, or their legs were broken. The possessions of the dead were destroyed and its campsite abandoned.
Talamaur: A living vampire found in Australia, as well as other parts of Polynesia. This creature could communicate with the spirit world, making one of these spirits its servant that it could then send among the living. One version of the Talamaur (also known as Tarunga) could send out its soul to drain the remaining life essence from a fresh corpse.
Yara-Ma-Yha-Who: This vampire like creature is found in Aboriginal culture. The Yara-Ma-Yha-Who has the appearance of a four-foot tall red man (although on rare occasions it is said to be green) with an exceptionally large head and mouth. Having no teeth, this creature swallows it food whole and uses suckers on the ends of its toes and fingers to drain its victim of blood. This vampire, like the Asasabonsam {see Africa}, hides in fig trees and attacks people as they walk underneath. According to legend if you were unlucky enough to be attacked more than once by these creatures you might gradually become shorter and eventually become a Yara-Ma-Yha-Who. Localized Koori legend tells of a short creature with a huge head and mouth, whose feet and hands have suckers like an octopus. It drops on people from its fig tree and drains them of blood, later returning to swallow them whole and regurgitate them. The whole process is non-fatal though you will eventually turn into a furry bush creature. Also known by Yara-Ma.
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