Bruxsa, a Mix of Vampire and Witch.

A bruxsa is a different species of vampire; the creature is usually a woman who turned into a vampire due to witchcraft. The story about bruxsa originated in Portugal.  They prefer to attack the helpless infant and suck their blood while they are sleeping.

The bruxsa love to feed on the blood of children, when in times that she cannot find a child to victimized, she attacks travelers while they are resting at night.  The bruxsa has a huge similarity with the aswang of the Philippines, they can shape shift into a large bird and leaves at night to hunt their pray.  What differentiate her from aswang is that she can also take the form of other animals like the wolf, rat or even an ant. The bruxsa are often thought to be a part of the lobishmen (Portuguese wolf men) due to their ability to take the form of a wolf.

The bruxsa’s power is limited only for a short period of time, according to the legends they are most powerful during midnight up to 2 am.  Legends said that the bruxsa made a pact with Satan, just like the other undead, they will worship Satan on Tuesdays and also on Fridays to receive more power from the demon.

The bruxsas were believed to be indestructible, there are no ways to destroy them but there are measures one can take in order to protect their children from the bruxsa’s attack.  Like most vampire, they believe that the weakness of the bruxsas are steel and iron, an amulet made of iron would negate the force of the bruxsa.  People also stitch garlic unto their kids’ clothing some also think that placing a scissor or a knife made of steel or iron would ward off the bruxsa.

Some local villagers also perform chants and incantations believed to drive away the manifestation of the bruxsa.  During the Spanish era, when the mother thought that her child was killed by the said creature, she will not be able to kill it, but there are ways to inflict damage on her.  Based on the story, one has to gather all the clothing of the dead child and boil it; she then has to take a sharp object made of steel and stab the boiled clothing continuously.  They believe that the bruxsa would feel every stab that the mother would make to her kid’s clothing.  This method is also done for the witches in South East Asia.