Upyr: Vampire of Russia

Upyr is one of the most famous vampire species in Russia, particularly in the region of Ukraine.  They are vampires that like to target first the children and then their parents.  They said that they kill their victims by draining their blood.  However,  it is believed that this creature has been gifted with sharp teeth as tough as steel, which enables them to chew on everything.   They said this feature is beneficial during the Russian winter when their hands are trapped on the ice.

 

How to Kill an Upyr

 

Like most the type of vampires in Russia, the upyr is not vulnerable to sunlight.  They can walk during the daylight and search for their prey.  Nonetheless, they usually attack during nighttime.

 

To kill an Upyr, a thread must be tied on one of its buttons. It gives you’re the chance to track it down when it returns to its graveyard.  When you manage to discover the greave of the suspected upyr, you must sprinkle them with holy water and drive a stake through its chest.  However, you should never forget to stab the heart of the Upyr only once.  They believe that staking the Upyr twice would bring it back to life. It will be stronger and more dangerous than ever once it returns to life.  If a hunter accidentally stakes their chest twice, it is believed that the hunter would vanish instantly.

 

Other Tales about Upyr

 

In other regions in Russia, an upyr is said to devour the heart of the victims.  They can be killed by decapitating their heads and burning their remains to ashes. Ukraine and Czechoslovakia also have a variation of vampire similar to Upyr but with a different spelling.  They call them Upir.  These Upir are a lot alike with the Russian vampire but have the behavior of devouring a large amount of fish.  The reason for this kind of behavior was vaguely explained.