Adze (Adzé)
West AfricaVampiric SpiritNocturnalFireflyPossession
Lore
Adze is a hostile spirit often described as a vampiric presence that slips between forms — most commonly a tiny, ember-bright firefly and, more dangerously, a shadow in the skin of a neighbor. As a field naturalist might note: its light is honest and small, its touch insubstantial. Smell: a sharp tang of ozone and wet earth, like metal left in rain. Sound: a thin, insectile buzz layered with a barely human whisper, heard just beyond comprehension. Temperature: an abrupt, localized cold that prickles the skin — the air around it feels emptied, not warmed. Close observation records restless households, unexplained weight loss in the infirm, and the uncanny persistence of that single light at midnight.
Origin: Ewe / Togolese & Ghanaian folklore • West Africa (Togo, Ghana)
Classification: Spirit / Hostile (Monster)
Field Notes
Observations
- A lone, will-o'-the-wisp–like light that appears indoors or returns nightly to the same homestead, often followed by sudden nighttime illness or strange behaviour in a household member.
Encounter Advice
- avoidance: Keep living spaces well lit after dusk, secure openings where small lights can enter, avoid sleeping alone or outdoors where the light is seen, and do not follow or try to capture the light unprepared. Isolate anyone showing sudden wasting or fever until a community elder can be consulted.
- defense: Smoke indoors with clean-burning fragrant herbs or charcoal to drive out insubstantial visitors; place lines of salt or ash at thresholds; carry or display iron objects and simple protective amulets. Engage a trusted elder, healer, or ritual specialist for diagnosis and rites rather than attempting violent confrontation. If a person is believed possessed, community supervision, restraint to prevent harm, and ritual cleansing are the traditional responses.
- offering: No true appeasement is recorded; prevention and community ritual are emphasized. Small fires or continual light are said to keep it at bay.
Abilities
- Firefly IngressTransforms into a luminous insect to slip through tiny openings and enter dwellings undetected at night.
- Vitae SiphonFeeds by drawing blood or life-energy from sleeping victims, leaving lasting illness or weakness rather than instant death.
- Human Guise AssimilationWhen exposed in the human world it can inhabit or be the guise of a witch, living among people while continuing nocturnal predation.
Weaknesses
- Sunlight ExposureIts insectile form is vulnerable to direct daylight, which disperses its luminescent body and forces withdrawal.
- Open Flame & SmokePersistent flame or smoke drives it from a house and can prevent re-entry in its flying form.
- Salt PerimeterA line of salt or shaken ash at thresholds hinders its ability to cross into sleeping quarters.