strigoi

Strigoi in Romanian mythology are troubled spirits that are said to have risen from the grave. They are attributed with the abilities to transform into a beast, become invisible, and to gain vitality from the blood of their victims. Bram Stoker's Dracula may be a modern interpretation of the Strigoi through their historic links with vampirism.

==Etymology== Strigòi is a Romanian word that originated from a root related to the Latin terms strix or striga with the addition of the augmentative suffix -oi (feminine -oaică). Otila Hedeşan notes that the same augmentative suffix appears in the related terms moroi and bosorcoi (borrowed from Hungarian boszorka) and considers this parallel derivation to indicate membership in the same "mythological micro-system." The -oi suffix notably converts feminine terms to the masculine gender as well as often investing it with a complex mixture of augmentation and pejoration. The root has been related particularly to owls. Cognates are found throughout the Romance languages, such as the Italian words strega or the Venetian word strìga which mean "witch". The Italian stregone even has the parallel cognate augmentative suffix and means "sorcerer." In French, stryge means a bird-woman who sucks the blood of children. Jules Verne used the term "stryges" in Chapter II of his novel The Carpathian Castle, published in 1892. The Greek word strix, Polish strzyga, Hungarian sztriga, and the Albanian word shtriga are also cognate.