Tradition: Romanian mythology
Alternative Names: Miha, Grompa, Slalo, Necauza, Hatavu, Hulila, Huva, Ghiana, Gluviana, Prava
Category: Demon
The Myth
Samca most commonly appeared as a naked woman with disheveled hair reaching down to her heels. She had small eyes that shone brightly like stars, iron hands, long nails sharp like knitting needles or hooked like sickles, and a tongue of fire. In her female form, she had a very large, ugly, crooked mouth that constantly spat fire.
Samca could also take the form of a very large and fierce pig, a grinning dog with terrible teeth, a hairless cat with fiery bulging eyes, a crow with bloody eyes, or a large black spider.
She could emerge at the end of each month, around the full moon, and usually appeared to children under four years old. Children who saw her became so frightened that they immediately became ill. The illness they developed after encountering Samca was known as “the children’s malice.”
Samca could also appear to women who were about to give birth. She would touch and knead the pregnant woman, terrifying her so severely that the woman either died immediately or remained crippled for the rest of her life.
Samca was said to have nineteen names: Vestitia, Navadaraia, Valnomia, Sina, Nicosda, Avezuha, Scorcoila, Tiha, Miha, Grompa, Slalo, Necauza, Hatavu, Hulila, Huva, Ghiana, Gluviana, Prava, and Samca.
Protection against Samca required writing all nineteen of her names on the wall of a house, or having another person write a protective spell that could then be carried on the body. If Samca attacked someone protected by such a spell, the demon would instead harm the person who had written it. However, if the writer was an old person, Samca would not harm them, causing them only to grit their teeth in their sleep.
In a Romanian folk incantation recorded by Moses Gaster, Samca was identified as Avezuha, described as the “wing of Satan.”
Sources
“Samca.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed September 12, 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samca