Angiak

Pad of Definitions

According to Eskimo lore, an Angiak is a child of the living dead. Eskimo often had to give up their new-born children during harsh times and would do so by abandoning them in the snow. Unless the Eskimo tribe moved to a new land, it was believed that the ghosts of these babies would come back to haunt them. An Angiak is said to gain strength upon each visit to the tribe, until it is powerful enough to seek revenge on the elders.

Journal of Religious Psychology, Volume 6

The angiak, or spirit of a child born prematurely[...]

Vampire Universe

The Dark World of Supernatural Beings That Haunt Us, Hunt Us, and Hunger for Us

In centuries past when hard times and famine struck the Inuit people of what is now Alaska, another young mouth to feed was a hardship that could endanger the survival of the entire family and the unwanted child was sometimes taken out into the remote snowfields and left to die. After the poor child died its spirit sometimes returned as a vengeful revenant called an Angiak who sneaks into the camp and suckle each night at its mother's breast while she sleeps. This feeding helps it gain strength, and when it become strong enough, it starts openly attacking the elders of the family, taking various fierce animal forms.

Mithril Circle (RPG group)

An angiak was a child of the living dead in Eskimo lore. These are created during harsh times when a tribe’s elders take out an unwanted baby into the snow to die of exposure. Unless the tribe moves on to another hunting ground, they may soon find themselves haunted by this small, miserable ghost. Each night, it returns to strengthen itself by suckling at its mother's breast, and when it has gained enough strength, returns to wreak its revenge on the elders. If it is absolutely necessary to dispose of a child in this way, one must forego naming him before his death, as a human acquires a soul only after gaining a name.