 The Loogaroo is an example of how a vampire belief can result from a combination of beliefs , here a mixture of French and African <unk> or voodoo . The term Loogaroo possibly comes from the French loup @-@ <unk> ( meaning " werewolf " ) and is common in the culture of Mauritius . However , the stories of the Loogaroo are widespread through the Caribbean Islands and Louisiana in the United States . Similar female monsters are the <unk> of Trinidad , and the <unk> and <unk> of Colombian folklore , while the Mapuche of southern Chile have the bloodsucking snake known as the Peuchen . Aloe vera hung backwards behind or near a door was thought to ward off vampiric beings in South American superstition . Aztec mythology described tales of the <unk> , skeletal @-@ faced spirits of those who died in childbirth who stole children and entered into sexual liaisons with the living , driving them mad . 
