In a Damien Echols video I just linked for another topic, right at the end he describe Egypt as the birthplace of vampire lore, which he sees as exclusively spiritual beings for the obvious reason: they don’t have a body to give them energy.
(He gives a short version at the end of the video, which I’ll link below paused at the right time, and he says he recorded more that I’ll look for later. )
So… THAT rung a bell.
It’s my UPG that we know one of these. I’ve posted, regrettably vaguely I see now, that it was my UPG that the Akasha Subterfuge was a parasite, and that he was a dead human mage that had tried to become immortal.
In this post from October 2020:
and this one from April 2021 where I basically just hadn’t changed my mind:
I sadly did not mention more details, which I swear on alI I hold dear, included that he was an “Egyptian mage”. My vision of this ghost was that he knew he would fade, as all ghosts do and they eventually die the 2nd death. But, because he was a mage he had (well, has) the psychic skills to take energy from living humans, he used that to avoid the 2nd death and is still here over 3k years or whatever later.
I saw flashes of him through centuries, hovering around humanity. And his failed attempts to take their lives for his own.
This is known to happen to other ghosts naturally, if they figure it out, they can become parasitic with their hauntings, at least for a while. They can lose their understanding that they were human and devolve into lesser entities that are just parasitic, but I digress. Unlike those unfortunates, this guy is good at it, got to give him credit where it’s due.
So, his main MO, (and this is where my UPG gets a wee bit out there), is he specifically goes after other mages, not just any human. His ideal plan, is to possess the body, oust the rightful occupant, and take a living body. Now, that’s so difficult it might as well be impossible. I have to admire the sheer audacity for trying, but his failure is actually my one (UPG based) case study of exactly how hard that is for every time someone on BALG asks if the can swap themselves with another person. Since HE couldn’t do it and he is skilled and motivated, the answer might as well be “no that’s not a thing”.
Damien Echol’s video paused at the point of describing how the Egyptian created vampires:
What interesting about this, is the whole thing looks to me like a missed opportunity.
If I didn’t just add 2 and 2 to make five, we know an advanced Egyptian mage, who is motivated to talk to occultists, and yes, he’s a tricky, lying, parasitic ghost who will try to suck you dry or bodysnatch you, (I guess he not called the “Subterfuge” for nothing) but what has he seen and what does he know? He’s been hovering around humanity for 1000s of years. Unlike the Goetia who to me a are a bit high minded, he’s seen it all up close and personal, and can relate to us as humans.
And what is my favourite thing in all the world? Knowledge.
I was intrigued 4 years ago and dismissed my UPG as “probably overblown: needs verification”. I think I might just have got the verification I wanted from the most random place.
I think I’ll make this a journal, and try to make a point of approaching the Akasha Subterfuge and seeing if I can work something out with him, knowing what I know now about how the Egyptians fed their ghosts on purpose.
For this I will rely heavily on the necromantic techniques of Sorceress Cagliastro, which I’ve used to great success before, and create for him a permanent portal. Which means inviting him as a house guest, basically. This is an involved operation and I’m looking for rewards that may be more UPG than not, and I’m a poor writer, but I will attempt to keep you guys updated.