The
shtriga is a vampirelike
witch found in
Albania, and can be compared to the
strigon, a witch found in Slovenia; the
strigoi, found in
Romania; and the
vjeshtitza of
Montenegro. The word
shtriga is derived from the
Latin word
strix, meaning 'screech owl', and refers to the
flying demons, whom are said to attack only at night.
The Albanian
shtriga was typically seen as a woman who lived in secret within the community. It was generally hard to identify her, however, a telltale sign was a young girl's
hair turning white. To catch said witches, nailing a
cross of pig bone to the door of a church on a day when the community gathered there was rumored to lock any
shtriga inside the church when this happened, as they would be unable to leave past the cross; and following the suspected
shtriga at night to see if she would vomit the
blood she had sucked out of her victims. Typically, if one could gather this vomited blood, it was said to be a highly effective safeguard against further attacks.