Soucouyant

The use of salt as a purifying, grounding agent against chaotic magic is a near universal constant across global myths.

Speaking of salt and wild transformations, let's head to the Caribbean folklore of Trinidad and Guyana to look at the Soucouyant.

Oh yes, the fireball.

This is usually an old reclusive woman living at the edge of the village.

She folds the empty skin up, hides it in a wooden mortar used for pounding herbs, and transforms into a brilliant glowing fireball.

This fireball shoots rapidly across the night sky, compresses itself magically to slip through keyholes or cracks under doors, and hovers over sleeping victims to drain their blood, leaving blue marks on their skin.

The Soucouyant is an incredible blend of vampiric lore and elemental magic, and the defense mechanisms against her are deeply specific and revealing.

Right, the salt again.