Balkan The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

folklore, a dhampir () is a

mythical creature A legendary creature is a type of extraordinary or supernatural being that is described in folklore (including myths and legends), and may be featured in historical accounts before modernity, but has not been scientifically shown to exist. In t ...

that is the result of a union between a

vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead humanoid creatures that often visited loved ones and c ...

and a

human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') or modern humans are the most common and widespread species of primate, and the last surviving species of the genus ''Homo''. They are Hominidae, great apes characterized by their Prehistory of nakedness and clothing ...

. This union was usually between male vampires and female humans, with stories of female vampires mating with male humans being rare.

Name

Etymology

The word is an

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

word which in turn is borrowed from Serbo-Croat ''vampír'' or its Bulgarian equivalent. The shift ''v > dh'' is a feature of

Gheg Albanian Gheg or Geg (Gheg Albanian: ''gegnisht'', Standard ) is one of the two major varieties of Albanian, the other being Tosk. The geographic dividing line between the two varieties is the Shkumbin River, which winds its way through central Alba ...

, but it could also have been encouraged by a folk etymology, connecting it with the Albanian words 'tooth' and 'to drink'.

Variants

Mythical creatures like dhampirs are widely associated with Balkan folklore. In the rest of the region, terms such as

Serbian Serbian may refer to: * Pertaining to Serbia in Southeast Europe; in particular **Serbs, a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans ** Serbian language ** Serbian culture **Demographics of Serbia, includes other ethnic groups within the co ...

''vampirović'', ''vampijerović'', ''vampirić'' (thus, Bosnian ''lampijerović'', etc.) literally meaning "vampire's son", are used.Levkievskaja, E.E. La mythologie slave : problèmes de répartition dialectale (une étude de cas : le vampire). Cahiers slaves n°1 (septembre 1997)
Online (French).
Петровић, Сретен. 2000. Основи демонологије. In: Систем српске митологије. Просвета, Ниш 2000

In other regions, the child is named "Vampir" if a boy and "Vampirica" if a girl, or "Dhampir" if a boy and "Dhampirica" if a girl. In Bulgarian folklore, numerous terms such as ''glog'' (lit. " hawthorn"), ''vampirdzhiya'' ("vampire" + ''

nomen agentis In linguistics, an agent noun (in Latin, ) is a word that is derived from another word denoting an action, and that identifies an entity that does that action. For example, ''driver'' is an agent noun formed from the verb ''drive''. Usually, '' ...

suffix In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns and adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs. Suffixes can ca ...

), ''vampirar'' ("vampire" + ''nomen agentis'' suffix), ''dzhadadzhiya'' and ''svetocher'' are used to refer to vampire children and descendants, as well as to other specialized

vampire hunter A vampire hunter or vampire slayer is a fictional occupation in folklore and fiction which specializes in finding vampires, and sometimes other supernatural creatures. A vampire hunter is usually described as having extensive knowledge of vampir ...

s.Димитрова, Иваничка. 1983. Българска народна митология. reproducing text from Ivanichka Dimitrova. Bulgarian folk mythology. С.1983.стр. 153- 159 Dhampiraj is also an Albanian surname.

Origin

In the Balkans, it was believed that male vampires have a great desire for human women, so a vampire will return to have intercourse with his wife or with a woman to whom he was attracted in life. In one case, a Serbian widow tried to blame her pregnancy on her late husband, who had supposedly become a vampire, and there were cases of Serbian men pretending to be vampires in order to reach the women they desired. In Bulgarian folklore, vampires were sometimes said to

deflower Virginity is a social construct that denotes the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. As it is not an objective term with an operational definition, social definitions of what constitutes virginity, or the lack thereof ...

virgins as well. The sexual activity of the vampire seems to be a peculiarity of

South Slav South Slavs are Slavic people who speak South Slavic languages and inhabit a contiguous region of Southeast Europe comprising the eastern Alps and the Balkan Peninsula. Geographically separated from the West Slavs and East Slavs by Austria, Hu ...

ic vampire belief as opposed to other Slavs, although a similar motif also occurs in

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

ian legends.

Features

Legends state that dhampirs were, for the most part, normal members of the community. But dhampirs, especially male, of paternal vampire descent could see invisible vampires and practice sorcery, often starting careers as vampire hunters, which would be practiced for generations from father to son. Some traditions specify signs by which the children of a vampire can be recognized.

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

n legends state they have untamed dark or black hair and are very cunning or courageous in nature. They are not attracted to blood and can eat normally like other human beings, though the option to bite other living beings in order to extend one's life is always an open choice. In

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

n folklore, possible indications include being "very dirty", having a soft body, no nails or bones (the latter physical peculiarity is also ascribed to the vampire itself), and "a deep mark on the back, like a tail." In contrast, a pronounced nose was often a sign, as were larger than normal ears, teeth or eyes. According to J. Gordon Melton, from his book, ''The Vampire Book: The Encyclopedia of the Undead'', in some areas, a true dhampir possessed a "slippery, jelly-like body and lived only a short life—a belief... that vampires have no bones."

In modern culture

Examples of modern dhampir characters include

Blade A blade is the Sharpness (cutting), sharp, cutting portion of a tool, weapon, or machine, specifically designed to puncture, chop, slice, or scrape surfaces or materials. Blades are typically made from materials that are harder than those they a ...

, a vampire-slaying hero in the

Marvel Marvel may refer to: Business * Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company ** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment ** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe ** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics ...

comics and films;

Alucard Alucard (the anadrome of "Dracula") may refer to: Characters * Alucard (''Castlevania''), a character in the vídeo game series ''Castlevania'' * Alucard (''Hellsing''), the main character of the manga series ''Hellsing'' * Count Alucard (char ...

from the ''

Castlevania ''Castlevania'' (), known in Japan as is a gothic horror action-adventure video game series and media franchise created by Konami. The series is largely set in the castle of Count Dracula, the arch-enemy of the Belmont clan of vampire hunters. ...

'' video games and TV series; Rayne, the red-headed anti-heroine protagonist of the ''

BloodRayne ''BloodRayne'' is a media franchise that originated with an action-adventure video game series originally developed by Terminal Reality and published by Majesco Entertainment which began with the game of the same name in 2002. The franchise ...

'' franchise; D from the ''

Vampire Hunter D is a series of novels written by Japanese author Hideyuki Kikuchi and illustrated by Yoshitaka Amano since 1983. As of January 2025, 56 novels have been published in the main series, with some novels comprising as many as four volumes. They h ...

'' novels and their adaptations; and Kagura from '' OneChanbara Z: Kagura''. Other mentions include Renesmee Cullen & Dennis Dracula-Loughran. Dhampirs also appear in the works of Scott Baker,

Nancy A. Collins Nancy A. Collins (born September 10, 1959) is an American horror fiction writer best known for her series of vampire novels featuring her character Sonja Blue. Collins has also written for comic books, including the ''Swamp Thing'' (vol. 2) ser ...

, Millie Devon,

Barb Barb or the BARBs or ''variation'' may refer to: People * Barb (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname * Barb, a term used by fans of Nicki Minaj to refer to themselves * The Barbs, a band Places * Barb, ...

and J. C. Hendee,

Rebecca York Rebecca () appears in the Hebrew Bible as the wife of Isaac and the mother of Jacob and Esau. According to biblical tradition, Rebecca's father was Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram, also called Aram-Naharaim. Rebecca's brother was Laban th ...

, Richelle Mead, and

Stephenie Meyer Stephenie Meyer (; Morgan; born December 24, 1973) is an American novelist and film producer. She is best known for writing the vampire literature, vampire romance series ''Twilight (novel series), Twilight'', which has sold over 160 million ...

References

{{Albanian mythology Albanian legendary creatures Bulgarian folklore Corporeal undead Mythological human hybrids Fictional vampire hunters Fictional species and races Fictional vampires Serbian mythology Slavic legendary creatures Vampires Fictional Serbian people Slavic folklore characters Romanian legendary creatures North Macedonia folklore Romani folklore