Ol Higue

Ol Higue can be found in the Caribbean legends.  They can be male or female.  The male vampire victimized the old people while the female vampire feed on the blood of the children.  They also take the identity of an old woman or man during the day.  It attacks during the night while someone is sleeping.  If one day you wake up with blue or dark marks on your skin, an Ol’ Higue is believed to have visited you.  In order to drive away these demons one must leave a sack of rice on their door ways before going to sleep.

At night the Ol Higue would shed her skin and placed it in a mortar.  It flies on the darkness of the night and search for an unfortunate victim.  To kill an Ol’ Higue one must search for her skin which she usually leaves at their home and in a mortar.  You would then have to mix salt with her skin, making it impossible for her to wear it again.  You just need to wait for the breaking of dawn which would burn her vulnerable skin.

Poem of Wordsworth Mc, Andrew mentioning Ol Higue

The Silver Torch

Ol’ woman wid de wrinkled skin,
Leh de ol’ higue wuk begin.
Put on you fiery disguise,
Ol’ woman wid de weary eyes
Shed you swizzly skin.

Ball o’ fire, raise up high
Raise up till you touch de sky.
Land ‘pon top somebody roof
Tr’ipse in through de keyhole – poof!
Open you ol’ higue eye.

Find de baby where ‘e lie
Change back faster than de eye. 
Find de baby, lif de sheet,
Mek de puncture wid you teet’,
Suck de baby dry.

Before ‘e wake an’ start to cry
Change back fast, an’ out you fly.
Find de goobie wid you skin
Mek de semidodge, then – in!
Grin you ol’ higue grin.

In you dutty powder gown
Next day schoolchildren flock you round.
“Ol’ higue, ol’ higue!” dey hollerin’ out
Tek it easy, hold you mout’
Doan leh dem find you out.

Dey gwine mark up wid a chalk
Everywhere wheh you got to walk
You bridge, you door, you jealousie
But cross de marks an’ leh dem see
Else dey might spread de talk.

Fly across dis window sill,
Why dis baby lyin’ so still?
Lif’ de sheet like how you does do,
Oh God! Dis baby nightgown blue!
Run fo’ de window sill!

Woman you gwine run or not?
Doan mind de rice near to de cot.
De smell o’ asafoetida
Like um tek effect ‘pon you.
You wan’ get kyetch or what?

But now is too late for advice,
‘Cause you done start to count de rice
An’ if you only drop one grain
You must begin it all again.
But you gwine count in vain.

Whuh ah tell you?

Day done, light an’ rice still mountin’
Till dey wake an’ kyetch you countin’
An’ pick up de big fat cabbage broom
An’ beat you all around de room.
Is now you should start countin’

Whaxen! Whaxen! Whaxen! Plai!
You gwine pay fo’ you sins befo’ you die.
Lash she all across she head
You suck me baby till um dead?
Whaxen! Whaxen! Plai!

You feel de manicole ‘cross you hip?
Beat she till blood start to drip.
“Ow me God! You bruk me hip!
Done now, nuh? Allyou done!”

Is whuh you sayin’ deh, you witch?
Done? Look, all you beat de bitch.
Whaxen! Whaxen! Pladai! Plai!
Die, you witch you. Die.
Whaxen! Whaxen! Plai!

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