Vampires in Australia

While there are not many vampires in Australian folklore, some vampiric beings are still present. Melton, J. G. (1999). The Vampire Book. 2 ed. p.25
== Yara-ma-yha-who ==
The yara-ma-yha-who is a vampiric being who appears in the myths of a number of aboriginal cultures. 
Physically, the yara-ma-yha-who is four feet tall, has red skin, an unusually large head, no teeth, and octopus-like suckers at the tips of its fingers and toes. Instead of biting its victims, it would swallow them whole. 
It lives in the top of wild fig trees, and instead of hunting its prey, it waits for them to seek shelter under the tree, dropping down on them from above. It was used as a warning to stop children from wandering from the tribe, and to scare naughty children with the threat of it coming to take them away. 
When a person camps under its tree, it places its hands and feet on their body, draining the blood from their body to weaken them to the point that they can't move. While it can kill by draining the blood of a creature, it very rarely does so. It then goes away, returning later at its leisure to swallow them, before going off to drink some water and then having a nap. When it then wakes up, it vomits up what's left of its victim, who could potentially still be alive, particularly if they didn't struggle when it came to swallow them. 
Whenever a person survives this, they physically transform to be more like the yara-ma-yha-who, first growing a little shorter each time. If they become the same height as the yara-ma-yha-who, their skin skin first smoothens, and then long hair grows from all over their body. This eventually causes them to become one of the little hairy creatures who legend says live in Australia's forests. This requires the same person to be swallowed a number of times. 
== Further Reading ==
* Myths and Legends of the Australian Aboriginals, Smith, W.
== References ==
Category:The Vampire Book
Category:Vampires