Shtriga
Albania's most feared nocturnal predator—a vampiric witch who drains the 'spiritus vitae' (breath of life) from sleeping infants. By night, she transforms into a flying insect—traditionally a moth, fly, or bee—slipping through keyholes or open windows to hover over her victims. She sucks blood and life force while they sleep, leaving them pale, weakened, and near death. The shtriga lives secretly within the community by day, appearing as an ordinary—though unsettling—elderly woman. Only she can cure those she has drained, and she does so by spitting into the victim's mouth. This paradox is cen