Pricolici

The word “pricolici” is unknown in origin, but comes from Romanian folklore. Unlike strigoi, moroi, or even varcolac or mora, the pricolici was not as general a term for vampire, witch or goblin. The word pricolici was almost always a term for werewolf instead, in Romanian mythology. However, like the strigoi, they are the undead souls of the once living, that have come back from the dead to do harm to others, and prey off of the living. Men who are malicious and violent, or especially cruel to others in life are said to return to the world as pricolici once they’re dead, so that they can continue to harm others. Although vampire attacks have as of yet, not been reported very often or taken as seriously in recent times, modern werewolf attacks are not all that rare in their area of origin. Presently, many people living in rural Romanian areas sometimes claim to have been attacked by an abnormally large wolf. According to victims, the wolves attack silently, creeping up behind targets when they’re alone. Men often claim that these are not regular wolves, but pricolici that have come back from the dead.

There are several other terms used for the creatures of the same ilk in Romanian mythology. Some have suspected that though the varcolac is said to be an animal that eats the sun or moon during an eclipse, that the pricolici is capable of it too. While a pricolici is always associated with the werewolf type character, it is also almost always included among the numbers of strigoi and moroi. Spirits that are born of nature instead of man, are the ielele  and dansele; though the pricolici resembles a wolf, he comes from the evil spirit of a dead man. A spirit of nature is an entirely different thing altogether; though not having been human, it is capable more of mischief than any great evil.