Adze- The Firefly Vampire from West Africa

Africa is a country of stark contrast, the beautiful modern cities shares its space with tribal societies that still practice rituals and believe in legends thousands of years old, and vampire creatures are one of the darker legends. The adze is said to be a vampiric being from the folklore of the Ewe people, who are concentrated in the coastal areas of West Africa, especially Togo and Ghana. A Sub-Bloodline of the Sasabonsam, the Adze are similar in many ways, albeit considered to be rather more feral.

In the wild, the adze takes the form of a firefly, though it will transform into quasi-human shape upon capture– that of a human-like figure with a hunchback, sharp talons and jet-black skin. It was in this form that it was most dangerous, for it could then kill its victim, drink their blood and eat their heart and liver. It is said that children are the adze’s favorite food.

While Adze do need blood, and can destroy whole villages if left alone, they can also be sated with coconut milk or palm oil, though they require more of these than they would of blood. Nonetheless, this fact makes Adze Vampires the only truly vegetarian vampires, when they care to try.

When in human form, the adze has the power to possess humans. People, male or female, possessed by an adze are viewed as witches (“abasom” in the Ewe language). The adze’s influence would negatively affect the people who lived around their host.

A person is suspected of being possessed in a variety of situations, including: women with brothers (especially if their brother’s children fared better than their own), old people (if the young suddenly started dying and the old stayed alive) and the poor (if they envied the rich). The adze’s effects are generally felt by the possessed victim’s family or those of whom the victim is jealous.

In firefly form, the adze would pass through closed doors at night and suck blood from people as they slept. The victim would fall sick and die. Tales of the creature and its effects were probably an attempt to describe the potentially deadly effects of mosquitoes and malaria. There is no defense against an adze but on the plus side, there is no suggestion that the adze is undead or risen from the grave.

“In Africa there are any number of folkloric or legendary creatures that subsist on the blood of the living, but these are not truly the undead.”

John L. Vellutini, Editor of the Journal of Vampirology, Interview 2016

Danger Level: Dangerous