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| Origin: Hindu |
Vetala are almost snake-like and hunt in pairs so they can capture their prey. They don't usually hunt solo. They also appear to be loyal and protective of their kind, obviously having a strong pack mentality that extends like family.
Vetala appear human until they attack, at which point they reveal sharp teeth and blue, snake-like eyes.
Mythology[]
A vetala (Sanskrit vetāla or वेताळ) is a ghost-like being from Hindu mythology. The vetala are defined as spirits inhabiting corpses and charnel grounds. These corpses may be used as vehicles for movement (as they no longer decay while so inhabited); but a vetala may also leave the body at will.
In Hindu folklore, the vetala is an evil spirit who haunts cemeteries and takes demonic possession of corpses. They make their displeasure known by troubling humans which mainly includes affection towards God and good in the person as they want them to be evil minded. In their course of action they can drive people mad by knowing the psychological defects of the person, kill children by making them mentally weak to commit suicide,and cause miscarriages.They also say it guards villages but actually they are not doing that. According to ancient secret texts available with High Priest of a family they say during old days bandits used to steal valuable treasure in the Hindu temples, so in order to protect them they made the public believe that vetalas are guarding the village which will be effective to keep the bandits away from village and believing in the same way the God will be guarding them.They also say as both the good and bad people live in this world even the vetalas are also both good and bad where bad vetalas are only extreamly dangerous and good will be servants of God.
They are hostile spirits of the dead trapped in the 'twilight zone' between life and afterlife. These creatures can be repelled by the chanting of mantras with good mind concentration. One can free them from their ghostly existence by performing their funerary rites.They pretend to have an uncanny knowledge about the past, present, and future which they communicate and manipulate the persons mind through dreams in order to control the person and a deep insight into human nature.They also communicate through thoughts which also includes images and influencing the 'Manasu'(Indian word -Thoughts of Heart) which will be highly effective.Therefore many sorcerers seek to capture them and turn them into slaves and use them for their selfish needs.
A sorcerer once asked King Vikramaditya to capture a vetala who lived in a tree that stood in the middle of a cremation ground. The only way to do that was by keeping silent. Every time Vikramaditya caught the vetala, the vetala would enchant the king with a story that would end with a question. No matter how hard he tried, Vikramaditya would not be able to resist answering the question. This would enable the vetala to escape and return to his tree. The stories of the vetala have been compiled in the book Baital Pachisi.
Powers and Abilities:[]
- Fangs - They possess extremely strong, sharp fangs that can rip open a human throat. In John's journal, he states that a Vetala's bite marks on their human victims resemble the marks of a vampire attack.
- Paralyzing Venom - Vetala paralyse their victims with a venomous bite. It knocks the victim out cold, and causes a ringing in the ear along with weakened strength.
- Feeding - Like vampires, they feed on human blood.
- Super strength - Vetala appear to have enhanced strength that allows them to overpower even well built humans like Sam and Dean.
- Super senses - Vetala appear to possess enhanced hearing, as one was able to detect someone sneaking behind his back.