Perkowski: Vampire Lore - "Vampires, Dwarves, and Witches..."

The Ontario Kashubs hold on to their old religious ways in the face of the new religious and cultural forces that would sweep them away. They do so because they are traditional and very old and demand respect. They are thought to work when the new ways do not and are called on in times of stress especially and even can be used to cure or hex if evil is called for 4. They believe in Daemonology - "Supernatural beings of Greek mythology intermediate between gods and men 5." The members of this community draw on the dynamism of the belief as it is their own and part of their cultural heritage. It is different from either the literary versions of such beliefs that take away its dynamism or the understanding of Satanists that pervert the belief or pick and choose such beliefs from multiple sources to suit their interests 5. The primary daemons of the Canadian Kashubs are (neither fully human or fully supernatural) the vampire and witch - basically human - and the dwarf and succuba - basically supernatural. There are others, but they appear mostly infrequently - representing mostly ghosts and devils or various sorts 15. The Kashubian for vampire is either "opji" or "vjesci" 16. **Description of vampires in Kashubian cultural from Dr. Lorentz 17-18. Descriptions from informants to P on how they are born, killed and precautions against vampires. How vampires kill including bloodsucking 18-22. There is little change in vampire belief from its source in Europe except for the poplar crosses instead of rosary 22. The means by which Kashubians can tell a vampire in birth and death is lessening as is the dynamism of the belief in the culture because of the more frequent use of hospitals in birth and mortuaries in death so that access to the process is lost. People's ailments are attributed to other factors instead of to vampires 22. Discourse on witches in Kashubian society. They are different from those in Europe in that they don't have a pact with the devil, but implant their own devil in a person. When a witch dies they pass it on by a blow on the shoulder - which makes the devil pass from one person to another. The antidote is to repeat the blow back so the devil returns to their original possessor - this is often done in the church before a service - the community center - and makes for a violent spectacle from otherwise docile old woman 23. Of witches and black magicians that can take away the spells of witches often through food implantation 24-25. Evil eye: horses and jealousy 25. Stangers and evil eye 26. Black magicians cure more than do spells 26-29. Dwarves and braiding hair or switching children at birth 30-31. Dwarves dancing in crop circles 31-32. Dwarves and money 33. Dwarves and milk 34. Succuba - girls unbaptised that choke during sleep or attack horses 34-37. Conclusions and summaries of the reasons for the various supernatural elements in their lives. Explanations of the unknown and the conquering of fear 37-38.