House Bats

Alternatives: Stamoy (plural: stamoys; pronounced: STAH ・ moy) In the early 18th century, there was a family of seven found dead and drained of blood, lying on their cabin floor; they were devoid of wounds aside from numerous insect-like bites on the neck, arms, legs, and abdomen. Their home was empty of food and valuables, but was also coated in thick layers of guano; scratches adorned the walls and large, strange cocoons eerily hung from the ceiling, swaying slightly side to side, barren. A cave located nearby was deemed the culprit － some strange, beastly plague thought to reside within. The exact cause of the massacre was never concretely determined, though none lingered long to find it. West Virginian folklore - Riverton House bats are arguably one of the cutest, dangerous creatures found within West Virginia －which they use to their advantage. Stamoy can have lives similar to normal, cave-dwelling, North American bats, but thrive in human households. The small, flying creatures can be found in WV, parts of southern Ohio, eastern KY, southwestern PA, and western VA. Regardless of their habitat, House Bats share similar physical traits: their fur is usually light in color, appearing as fluffy white, gray, or in rare instances, tan; the hair on a Stamoy is similar to that of a sheep’s wool－curly and soft; they grow up to 0.3 oz, 3.2 in long, and have a wingspan of 9 in, though those born within human residences are smaller on average (0.15 oz, 2 in, 8 in). Their wings, feet, and face are a dark, leathery gray or black, their nose and inner ear a pale pink, and their eyes a brown, or an almost black color. Unlike most species of bats, House Bats’ wing membrane attaches to the knee; additionally, they have excellent night vision and hearing. The animals reach maturity at one year, but only a third reach adulthood on average, due to illness and other environmental factors; typically, a Stamoy will live 7 years. Daily Life and Development: Outdoors vs. Indoors Most Stamoy live in small colonies within caves; caverns provide a year-long cool, humid environment that stays above freezing and provides ideal conditions for hibernation. Cavedwelling House Bats build up a layer of fat in the autumn to use as a reserve during the winter. Like the Virginia Big-Eared Bat, Stamoys living in caves also mate within the colony’s cave, as well as raise and nurse their pups. Each year, 2 - 3 bats are birthed per female. Youths learn to fly at four weeks of age. Though House Bats can adequately live outdoors, they prefer to reside in the warm, safe, and bountiful homes of humans. If while hunting or traveling, a Stamoy sees an open window, door, chimney, or other entrance into an inhabited domicile, they will enter. Upon home invasion, the bat switches to a parasitic mindset. First, the creature begins exuding pheromones that calm and cause affectionate feelings in humans; combined with their generally cute faces that appear to smile, their hosts often treat them as a puppy or kitten instead of reacting with fear and disgust, as with other species of bats. Usually, an invading House Bat is kept as a pet; to humans, the bat appears to be safe, friendly, and even affectionate. However, the lovable pets eventually become genderless vampires that feed upon human blood, satiating their thirst and primal desire to reproduce. All Stamoys survive on a diet of insects, like beetles, flies, moths, and mosquitoes. Given the chance, they will also consume human blood. Named for their difficulty to remove from a household, House Bats begin feeding on humans one week after entering a home. At this point, the two are fairly used to coming into contact with one another and a bond of trust has formed. Before feeding, the bat will lick its feeding point with a saliva-coated tongue (usually on the neck or upper arm), which desensitizes the area and acts as an anticoagulant; when it bites, the victim feels only a tickle, sensing nothing as the bat sucks blood from its prominent fangs, which are hollow; the roof of the mouth helps form a suction, effortlessly allowing the vampire to siphon liquid. The fangs also release a calming chemical into the bloodstream that accumulates over time, reducing the victim’s ability to process thoughts or problem solve. Once blood has been consumed, the bat’s sexual organs (both internal and external) will shrivel up, becoming functionless and unrecognizable－looking like a skin tag or scab. The bat will continue drinking two pints of blood daily for 7 - 9 days before entering its replication phase. After engorging on blood, the bat will find a secluded, high, dark location. As it perches and stills, a thick, musky substance secretes from its pores, completely covering it in 32 hours; the substance hardens into a leather-like material, as the bat’s body breaks down and splits into two smaller clones of itself. The 32 - 38 days this process takes is successful as long as it remains untouched and out of direct sunlight; those bitten by the House Bat will still be under the influence of its poison, performing basic functions, but feeling in a daze, looking dead-eyed, and speaking with slow, slurred speech. The emerging replicates do not enter life as infants, but as adults, albeit undersized ones. The new Stamoys have fully functional sexual organs until their first taste of human blood; yet, the first two series of replications are at high risk of eviction, as the bat’s pheromones are thin in the air, the chemicals in human bloodstreams mostly excreted, and the small Stamoys weak. If they are removed from or flee the house, they will join a Stamoy colony elsewhere; if they are accepted into the home, they will repeat the cycle: drinking blood until reaching a normal size and weight, then dividing. An indoor colony of House Bats will grow and feed until there are no living members in the household left or they are interrupted by human outsiders or pest control.