In Japanese folklore, the onryō is a vengeful ghost who was wronged in life. Most onryō in kabuki are female seeking vengeance on abusive, neglectful, or faithless husbands. There were always shown with long disheveled black hair, aiguma makeup (white and indigo) and clad in white burial kimonos.In Greek mythology, the Keres were female spirits of death and destruction. Hesiod called them the daughters of Nyx and sisters of the Fates, Moros, Thanatos, Hypnos, Eris, and Charon. They were said to take delight in war and murder and hovered around the dying to drink their blood.In the folklore of the Near East and Europe, Abyzou is one of many female demons who attack children, pregnant women, and virgins. Abyzou feeds on her victims’ blood and milk, causing miscarriages and infertility, preventing lactation, killing infants, and causing young women to sicken and die. She was said to be motivated by envy, as she herself was infertile. Abyzou does not sleep, but rather wanders the world looking for women about to give birth. She was generally pictured with the attributes of a fish or serpent and said to have arisen from the sea.
