Shtriga

Sources do not give a single cosmogonic origin myth for the shtriga; rather, the figure is part of Albanian popular belief in which a woman may 'become' a shtriga through social circumstances such as childlessness, envy, or malicious intent. Linguistically the Albanian term is reported to derive from Latin strīga and is cognate with Italian strega, Romanian strigă and Polish strzyga, placing the shtriga within a wider European lexical and folkloric field of witch/striga-type beings. Ethnographic anecdotes (e.g., Edith Durham) supply localized images and practices but do not provide a unified origin narrative.

Typically described in human form as an old or middle-aged woman, often ugly or disfigured, with a crooked nose and eyes described as grey, pale green, or pale blue—referred to in Albanian as sybardha (literally 'white/pale eyes'). Her stare is said to be hateful and uncomfortable; people are warned to avoid looking directly into her eyes. After feeding she is commonly said to transform into a small flying creature, traditionally a moth, fly, or bee.

The shtriga is primarily portrayed as a nocturnal life-force or blood-sucker who creeps into sleeping infants' and children's rooms to suck their blood or vitality, leaving victims comatose or dead unless cured. After feeding she is said to transform into a flying insect and depart; folkloric motifs assert that only the shtriga herself can cure those she has drained (often by spitting into their mouths). She is also associated with an 'evil eye' (Albanian: syliga) whose gaze can harm or unsettle people. Socially, the shtriga functions as both an embodied witch-type person and a label applied to spiteful, envious, or childless women.