Yara-ma-yha-hu is a vampire from Australian Aboriginal myths. It has a disproportionately large head and a huge mouth, but it has no teeth, so it swallows a person whole. It has suction cups at the ends of its fingers and toes, like the tentacles of an octopus. He holds the victim with them, does not allow him to move and sucks the blood with them. This vampire's suction cup-toed legs are not designed for long distance running; he runs, waddling from side to side, like a duck.
This terrible creature lives in a fig tree and waits until a traveler stops in the shade of the tree. Then yara-ma-yha-hu jumps on the person, pins him to the ground and sucks the blood out of him. Yara-ma-yha-hu leaves the weakened victim alive, and he himself goes to work up an appetite. Returning, he swallows the prey whole, like a snake. Then the monster gets up and starts dancing so that the food falls into the stomach.
If Yara-ma-yha-hu swallowed a person, this does not mean that he died. After drinking water and sleeping, Yara-ma-yha-hu vomits its victim back. The unfortunate man comes to life, but becomes a little smaller in stature. Some people were devoured and spewed out repeatedly by Yara-ma-yha-hu, and they gradually became smaller and redder. As a result, a withered red-skinned vampiric creature is born - another yara-ma-yha-hu.
The best way to deceive a vampire is to pretend to be dead. When Yara-ma-yha-hu returns from his walk, he will think that the man has died. He will tickle him, poke him with a stick to see if there really is no life in him. If a person does not react to tickling, Yara-ma-yha-hu will sit nearby and observe his behavior, looking for signs of life. He may fall asleep, and then the person will have a chance to escape.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru