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Estries are female vampires of Jewish folklore that were believed to prey on Hebrew citizens, particularly men. The name derives from the French ''strix'', a term for a night owl. In some accounts they are considered identical with succubi: both were portrayed as beautiful, blood-thirsty female demons, with Succubi thought to favor babies and young children as prey. Estries, like other vampires, needed to feed on blood to survive and were more indiscriminate in their choice of victims. Succubi were said to kill pregnant women and babies out of jealousy or spite, and to seduce (or in some cases rape) men.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Succubus History )〕 Estries and succubi were both said to be able to appear as humans or in spirit form at will, but Estries were also described as able to turn into birds or cats and various other animals. ==Sefer Hasidim account== The Sefer Hasidim, a book on Jewish piety, stated: ''"1465 There are women that are called estrie... They were created at sunset (the first Sabbath before creation ). As a result of this, they are able to change form. There was one woman who was a estrie and she was very sick and there were two women with her at night; one was sleeping and one was awake. And the sick woman stood up and loosened her hair and she was about to fly and suck the blood of the sleeping woman. And the woman who was awake screamed and woke her friend and they grabbed the sick estrie, and after this she slept. And moreover, if she had been able to grab the other woman, then she, the estrie, would have lived. Since she was not able to hurt the other woman, the estrie died, because she needs to drink the blood of living flesh. The same is true of the werewolf. And since....the estrie need to loosen their hair before they fly, one must adjure her to come with her hair bound so that she cannot go anywhere without permission. And if a estrie is injured or seen by someone, she cannot live unless she eats of the bread and salt of the one who struck her. Then her soul will return to the way it was before.'' ''1466 There was a woman who was suspected of being a estrie, and she was injured when she appeared to a Jew as a cat and he hit her. The next day she asked him to give her some of his bread and salt, and he wanted to give it to her. An old man said to him (Ecc. 7:16) “Be not overly righteous.” When others have sinned one must not show kindness, for if she lives, she will harm people. Thus the Holy One, blessed be He created her for you (a test )."'' 〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Jewish Myth, Magic, and Mysticism )〕〔http://vampiresaz.webs.com/ef.htm〕 Estries were believed able to fly if their hair was unbound, while binding an estrie's hair would keep it grounded. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Estries」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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