This is a very good example of how urban myths can mix together to give birth to new legends.
On the caribbean isle of Granada we come across records of Loogaroo.
It is usually a woman who struck a deal with the devil to gain supernatural powers. The price is measured in human blood and she is forced to hunt every night to collect the blood needed to sustain the deal.
She would leave her body and take on the form of a flame. When the devil was pleased with the bounty she was allowed to return in her body and rejoice of the powers she was invested with.
Apparently she was compelled to stop at any point in her way and count rice beans so an effective safety measure against it is to pun bowls of rice in front of the entrance.
Since it would take her too long to count she would most likely avoid the house. If she still wanted someone in the house there was a possibility that the sun would rise before she was done with the rice and she would be forced to return to her body without her prey.
NOTE:
The term “Loogaroo” derives from “Loup-Garou” [french term for a type of warewolf], but we also see African voodoo influences and Chinese influences [the counting of the rice]
๑۞๑ Related: ๑۞๑
† Vampires in Ancient Cultures
