Dakhanavar


The dakhanavar is a vampire in Armenian folklore who protected the valley from intruders, first reported by Baron August von Haxthausen in his mid-19th century account of Armenia and Russian Transcaucasia, the book Transcaucasia: Sketches of the Nations and Races Between the Black Sea and the Caspian. The Dakhanavar follows travelers until they stop for a rest, stalking their every move. When they finally stop, the vampire attacks them in their sleep, typically going for their feet. The local legend would often attack travelers in the night, sucking blood from their feet. In one legend, he was outsmarted by two men who had already heard of the vampire's habits and slept with their feet under the other's head. The vampire, thinking that they were one being with two heads and no feet, ran from the valley and was never heard from again.

Description and common attributes

The story of the Dakhanavar as documented by August von Haxthausen:
According to Jonathan Maberry's Vampire Universe: The Dark World of Supernatural Beings That Haunt Us, Hunt Us and Hunger for Us:

Protection

In line with common vampire folklore, Jonathan Maberry has identified garlic as an apotropaic which can protect against the Dakhanavar.