 South Asia also developed other vampiric legends . The Bhūta or Prét is the soul of a man who died an untimely death . It wanders around animating dead bodies at night , attacking the living much like a ghoul . In northern India , there is the BrahmarākŞhasa , a vampire @-@ like creature with a head encircled by intestines and a skull from which it drank blood . The figure of the Vetala who appears in South Asian legend and story may sometimes be rendered as " Vampire " ( see the section on " Ancient Beliefs " above ) . 
