Vampires & Legends: The Legend of the Ekimmu

RereRini

54, female

Royal

Posts: 246

from RereRini on 05/12/2019 10:45 PM

Sumerian and Babylonian myth dating from 4,000 B.C. describes an ekimmu—a spirit that isn't buried properly that returns to suck life from the living.

In the Mesopotamian Empire, there were these creatures called Ekimmu. Ekimmu means "snatched away". Mesopotamians dreaded the Ekimmu, and prayed that they themselves were not one day turned into an angry bitter spirit banished to roam the earth in search of peace.

The Ekimmu are said to appear as a demon phantom-like creature that searches for victims to feed its misery. The Mesopotamians also called the Ekimmu "evil wind gusts". Now, unlike stereotypical vampires, the Ekimmu does not drink blood in order to live; instead it feeds off of the life forces of plants, animals, elements, and humans by tapping into their aura.
Mesopotamians believe that you could become one of these evil wind gusts by:
-dying violently from murder
-dying young
-death from a battle/war
-death before finding love
-improper burial, or no burial at all
-dying during pregnancy
-dying from drowning
-dying from starvation
-improper offerings to the Gods

If an Ekimmu were to show up on your doorstep, it would not be a good sign. Usually, within a few days, the inhabitants of the household that the Ekimmu invaded would die. An Ekimmu could can also make the living behave criminally or could inflict disease upon them.

Legends about the Ekimmu still exisit today. Modern Ekimmu are believed to wander the earth among the homeless, living in sewers, tunnels, and abandoned buildings. They tend to stay in run-down urban areas.