Alukah (Hebrew: עֲלוּקָה|‘ăluqā) is a feminine Hebrew word that means "horse-leech", a type of leech with many teeth that feeds on the throats of animals.[1] According to some biblical scholars, alukah can mean "blood-lusting monster" or vampire. Alukah is first referred to in Proverbs 30:15 in the Hebrew Bible.[2]
The most detailed description of the alukah appears in the Sefer Hasidim, where the creature is a living human being but can shapeshift into a wolf.[3] It can fly (by releasing its long hair) and would eventually die if prevented from feeding on blood for a long enough time. Once dead, a vampire can be prevented from becoming a demon by being buried with its mouth stuffed with earth.[4]
The claim is that Solomon refers to a female demon named Alukah in a riddle that he tells in the Book of Proverbs . The riddle involves Alukah's ability to curse a womb bearing seed. Historically, Alukah has been closely associated with Lilith or thought to be her direct descendant. The name Alukah may, additionally, merely be another title for Lilith.[5]
Robert Masters described the Alukah as "a Hebrew succubus and vampire derived from Babylonian demonology."[6]