Babylonia - Ekimmu, Lilitu, Utukku
Ekimmu: People who suffered a premature or violent death, were unfulfilled in love or simply had an improper burial were destined to become one of the most feared vampires in Assyria and Babylon. This ancient spirit was the result of the soul of the recently departed being trapped in limbo unable to find peace. It would therefore wander the earth and attack those unfortunate enough to cross its path. The oldest of all the myths seems to be the Babylonian Ekimmu, in which the ghost of an unburied person, and in some cases a spirit who does not receive enough offerings, dwells underground and emerges at night to feed off the living. While the Ekimmu seems to have influenced several neighboring cultures, other regions on Earth seem to have developed similar legends in parallel evolution.
Lilitu: This vampire, found in Jewish/Babylonian myth, drank the blood of babies and young children. Also known as Lilith.
Utukku: This vampire spirit is another instance of a 'trapped soul', in that the Utukku was thought to be the spirit of someone who had recently died but had returned from the grave unable to find rest. There are, however, some instances in which this vampire is described as a demon.
Africa | Albania | Armenia | Assyria | Australia | Austria | Babylonia | Bengal | Benin | Bohemia | Bosnia-Herzegovina | Brazil | Bulgaria | Burma | Byelorussia | Chile | China | Crete | Croatia | Czech Republic | Denmark | Dominican Republic | Estonia | France | Germany | Ghana | Greece | Guinea | Gypsy folklore | Haiti | Hungary | Iceland | India | Indonesia | Iran | Iraq | Ireland | Israel | Italy | Japan | Lithuania | Macedonia | Madagascar | Malaysia | Mexico | Montenegro | Namibia | Norway | Peru | Philippines | Poland | Polynesia | Portugal | Puerto Rico | Prussia | Romania | Russia | Saudi Arabia | Scotland | Serbia | Siberia | Silesia | Slavic | Slovakia | Slovenia | South America | Spain | Thailand | Tibet | Trinidad | Turkey | Ukrainian | United States of America | West Indies | Yugoslavia