Samca

Samca is an

In its woman form, this demon has a very large, ugly and crooked mouth that always spits fire. It can come out at the end of each month, around full moon, and it usually appears to children under the age of four, who are so frightened that they become sick immediately. The disease children develop after Samca appears to them is called "the children's malice". This demon can also appear to women who are about to give birth. Once visible she would touch the pregnant women as if kneading them, scaring them so much that they either die instantly or remain crippled for life.

Samca has 19 names: Vestitia, Navadaraia, Valnomia, Sina, Nicosda, Avezuha, Scorcoila, Tiha, Miha, Grompa, Slalo, Necauza, Hatavu, Hulila, Huva, Ghiana, Gluviana, Prava, and Samca.

The Samca was described in 1900 by Rabbi Moses Gaster, who noted the similarities between Christian (namely Romanian, Greek, and Slavonic) and Semitic (Aramaic) charms against child-stealing, and the frequency of these tales, both oral and written, in the Balkans.^[1] Per a folk incantation recorded from "the mouth of the peasants of Roumania", Gaster described Samca as Avezuha, the "wing of Satan".^[2]

In modern culture

The legend was revived thanks to a TikTok trend in late 2021 - early 2022. Users of this social platform have reported that an evil spirit attributed to Samca roams the cemeteries and country roads during the night attacking violently wanderers and travelers. Numerous deaths and unresolved crimes have been attributed to Samca over the years, however none were proven real.

In 2022, Hamilton Fringe Festival's new play contest was won by playwrights Natalia Bushnik and Kathleen Welch for their play, Samca, which used the mythology of Samca attacking pregnant women as a metaphor for abortion.^[3]

References