MAHR

[Folklore] The ancient Slavish and Teutonic people believed that the Mahr were the spirits of their deceased family members (but also of other living persons) whose soul had left the body at night. These spirits would disturb the night's rest of humans and even drink their blood. The Mahr appear as moths, hairs, or blades of straw. In other sources, the Mahr are a race of giant vampire moths that dwell in the Carpathian Mountains. When a person was bitten by one of the Mahr, the creature would host the body of that person. A Mahr can be killed, and thus returning the soul to the original owner, by driving a wooden stake through its heart, or by finding its lair and exposing it to daylight. In Poland they are called Mora and in Bulgaria Morava.