Month of Spooks #3 - South Slavic Vampires

Just like other Slavic people the South Slavs had elaborate beliefs about the vampiric undead. These beliefs were also shared among the Balkan Romani people.

Anyone, even 'quite just persons and creatures of God' could turn into a vampire after death if the shadow of a four-legged animals was cast upon their body.
Originally it was believed that a human has two souls, a permanent one and a transitory one, which would leave the body at night during sleep.
If both souls left a body the person would die, but if they didn't leave it at the same time the person would return as an undead vampire. The devil would take possession of their body.

The spirit of the dead person would return from the grave in the form of a small animal, like a mouse or a moth and then form a new spiritual vampire body.
The body itself would stay in the grave and consequently vampires were believed to be just spirits or to have no bones.

The Muslim Romani of Prizrenski Podgor believed that a vampire was like a living shadow, breathing fire instead of air because the soul had been sent by the devil from hell.

According to other Romani in the Kosovo a vampire is watery and jelly-like, a boneless sack of skin filled with blood and of a filmy appearance. It's long hair reaches the ground and on the outside it looks like mist, while on the inside it is clear like a picture 'just as you paint it'.
Such a vampire was very strong a few days after burial but could easily burst open when pricked by a magician or bitten by a dog, spilling it's contents.

On the Dalmatian peninsula of Pelješac such a being was known as a 'Kosac', it haunted ruined chapels and looked like a human skin filled with blood, it's hand and feet covered in thorns.
If one met a Kosac on the road at night it was advised to beat it up immediately or to hit it on the left side, where it's weakspot was. The Kosac would burst open and release a storm wind.

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source:
-Vukanović, T.P., (1958) The Vampire; Journal of the Gypsy Lore Society vol. 37, pp.21-26
-Hovorka von Zderas, O.(1897) Aus dem Volksglauben von Sabbioncello; Zeitschrift für österreichische Volkskunde vol.3:1, Wien pp.84-86