Abstract
Flying Heads : One Aspect of Sino-Asian Vampirism. Among the oddities of the foreign populations of Southeast Asia that are described in Chinese travel books starting from the 12th or the 14th century are beings whose heads fly off during the night to feast sometimes on fish or shellfish, and sometimes on human entrails, most especially those of women or small children. These bizarre practices, which the Chinese authors had great trouble explaining, are indeed confirmed by beliefs revealed by ethnographic studies. But these strange occurrences or beliefs were already recorded in southern China beginning in the first centuries AD, and they soon figured among the legends that spawned a whole literature of fantasy. As such, they much later spread to Japan, where they served to expand the genre of ghost stories.
Published Version
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