 Jiangshi , sometimes called " Chinese vampires " by Westerners , are reanimated corpses that hop around , killing living creatures to absorb life essence ( qì ) from their victims . They are said to be created when a person 's soul ( 魄 pò ) fails to leave the deceased 's body . However , some have disputed the comparison of jiang shi with vampires , as jiang shi are usually represented as mindless creatures with no independent thought . One unusual feature of this monster is its greenish @-@ white furry skin , perhaps derived from fungus or mould growing on corpses . Jiangshi legends have inspired a genre of jiangshi films and literature in Hong Kong and East Asia . Films like Encounters of the Spooky Kind and Mr. Vampire were released during the jiangshi cinematic boom of the 1980s and 1990s . 
