will endure the pain of cauterization—the wound being burned with a hot poker to seal it against that threat. The dead have no defense, and strigoi and strigoica follow wormholes into a corpse.
Strigoi and strigoica demons often work in pairs. One animates a living host, guarding and protecting the other during daylight hours. Many live in grand, isolated dwellings and have accumulated wealth acquired from the living hosts they have possessed.
Once clothed in human form, living or dead, they exist on a diet of human blood, but sometimes eat raw flesh, hearts and livers being considered particular delicacies.
It is the practice of Romanian spooks to dig up bodies one year after they have been interred. If decomposition is under way, the corpse is considered to be free of possession. However, if it has changed little— and especially if the face is pink or red and the lips swollen—it is deemed to be possessed by vampiric demons and the head is cut off and burned.
A Strigoi
There are many ways to deal with strigoi and strigoica, both the living and the dead: They can be decapitated; a stake may be driven through the left eye; or they can be burned. They also can be kept at bay using garlic, roses, and the same method employed against water witches—a salt-filled water moat. Only a demon possessing a dead body can be destroyed by sunlight.
Minotaurs
Minotaurs once roamed the southern islands of Greece, particularly Crete. They were carnivorous, terrorizing isolated villages into making human sacrifices to appease them. Each had the body of a very strong and muscular man but the head and horns of a bull. They would let out a tremendous roar, which transfixed their victims to the spot with fear.
There is a tale of a king who constructed a complex labyrinth and placed a savage minotaur at its center, sending those who displeased him in to meet their death. It is said that a Greek hero called Theseus slayed the terrible demon. He solved the problem of the labyrinth by using a ball of thread, one end of which he tied to a post at the entrance, unraveling the ball as he proceeded. Once he had slain the minotaur, all he had to do was follow the thread back to the entrance.
As no reports of sightings have been made for at least two centuries, minotaurs are now presumed to be extinct.
Cyclops
These demons take the shape of one-eyed carnivorous giants who feed upon sheep and other livestock, considering mountain goats a great delicacy. They are found in the accounts of the early Greek historians and storytellers. It is possible that they are now extinct in that land, but there is some evidence that they have migrated north—there are records of sightings in southern Romania. In my opinion all accounts of “giants” are greatly exaggerated. No doubt there are humans and other creatures in this world that exceed normal dimensions, but the capacity of the human mind to embellish and exaggerate what already is a wonder in itself never ceases to amaze me.
A Cyclops
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1The main exception to this rule is the demons that pass to and fro from the dark to our world through the fiery portal used by the Ordeen. It is the power of that goddess that makes such a thing possible. —John Gregory
2Seconded to Bill Arkwright, I helped hunt down a selkie far to the north of the County. Bill’s poor dog followed it into the water and was seized and drowned. After killing the dog, the selkie escaped. —apprentice Graham Cain
Working with Bill Arkwright, I was also witness to the hunting of a selkie. The creature was living happily with a fisherman in the shape of a woman, and it seemed cruel and unjust that she should be driven into the sea, leaving him alone. The poor man was distraught. There are some jobs a spook shouldn’t have to do. —Tom Ward
A Skelt
Water Beasts
Water beasts are to be found all over the known world in seas, lakes, rivers, marshes, ponds, and canals. In the County they cause the biggest problems north of Caster. It is my hope that one day I will train an apprentice who will specialize in dealing with such creatures.1
Scylla
Scylla are a type of fierce water beast to be found only in freshwater rivers and lakes in Greece. The creatures vary in size, but each of them has seven heads, two tails, and five limbs. Covered in green scales, they often hide in underwater foliage,