The Adze: Vampiric Spirits from Ewe Folklore
- Dani Resh
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
Welcome back to another installment of Things That Never Were, the series where we pull back the curtain on the world’s most fascinating myths, legends, and monsters.
This blog’s focus is on the Adze, the blood-sucking vampires of the Ewe people of Ghana and Togo. Yes, I know, I keep coming back to vampires. But honestly, it is so crazy how many variations of this monster there are around the world.
As we all know, most vampires in folklore are tall, brooding figures with pale skin and quite a bit of sex appeal. The Adze, however, drastically detours from that stereotype by taking the form of a firefly. Yes, you heard that right. The rather charming bug that usually conjures up magical, fairylike scenes, or of children chasing them around the backyard on a hot summer night, trying to capture them in glass jars.
Yet, according to the Ewe people, fireflies are something to be feared, as they can slip through the smallest cracks or fly through a keyhole at night to drink the blood of sleeping victims, leaving them weak and feverish. Anthropologists believe the legend of the Adze was created to explain the very real threat of malaria when the sudden, devastating illnesses struck their communities.
According to lore, if an Adze is cornered or trapped, it will transform into a hunchbacked, humanoid figure with long talons and dark charcoal-like skin. Or, it might skip that transformation altogether and instead, inhabit or possess the person attempting to trap it. When this happens, the human host is called an abasom. By day, the human will appear normal, but at night, it will be driven to harm others, as it is driven by jealousy and malice.
How can you tell if someone is possessed?
Here are some clues:
If someone displays intense envy or jealousy, an Adze will be drawn to their negative emotions, and they will be more likely to become its victim. So, it's best to avoid people who display these characteristics. Also, at night, you may be able to see that the host body is actually emitting flames.
When a community believes it is being attacked by an Adze, they often turn to spiritual specialists or priests. Through divination and rituals involving the deity Afa, these spiritual leaders attempt to banish the evil spirit from the community. Sometimes, this leads to public confessions from the community to release the tension and jealousy that allowed the Adze to take root in the first place.
While legends say the Adze can be killed in its human form, it is incredibly agile and dangerous. It’s far better to do your best to make sure there are no openings into your room at night, no matter how small, and keep your heart free of envy!
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