Vjesci

A Vjesci is a type of vampire in the Polish lore.  Based on the old stories, a person can determine if he is destined to become a vjesci during the time of his birth.  A newborn baby who was said to have a cowl in his head will become a vjesci.  In order to prevent a child from turning into a vampire, the cowl is removed.  They set it aside for some time and let it dry, after a few days it is grinded down and fed to the owner on his 7th birthday.  A vjesci unlike any vampire appears to be normal and can easily associate himself within the community.

The person who will become a vjesci is believed to refuse to take the sacrament before his death.  There are also some accounts that said that the creature didn’t really die but just rise up from his grave as a vampire.

Also stated on the legends is the method to stop the attack of this creature.   The story reminds the people that they should receive the Eucharist of the church before they die.  Relatives must also ensure that soil is dispersed inside the coffin especially underneath the corpse to prevent him from coming back to life.  Some will place a crucifix (sometimes a coin) inside the mouth of the suspected vjesci.  There are also accounts that a net would be placed inside the coffin as a cover to the suspected vampire.  They believe that it take a year before a vampire could untie a knot and doing it in a net would take him a lifetime.  Some of them also buried the alleged vjesci face down position in hopes that if the vjeci would be back to life it would just continue to dig farther to the ground.

The wupji which is also a type of a vampire has a striking similarity with vjesci.  But instead of a cowl in his head, the suspected people that will turn into a wupji said to possess two teeth upon his birth.  And unlike vjesci there are no known ways to counteract the undead manifestation of the wupji.