Crawlers Explained:
Crawlers refers to a parasitic ghost that appears as a black leech-like creature that burrows into the back of the head of a person with black hair. It then causes the victim to eat large quantities of food for the parasite to feed on gradually growing larger over the space of two weeks before it leaves of its own accord. The term crawler also refers to a victim of the parasite as people who become the host of the parasite go through a disturbing transformation where they lose their intelligence and start crawling around on all fours in a manner much like an insect. This transformation however is temporary and after the parasite has had its fill the victim will return to normal after a few days. However family members and loved ones often become freaked out by the transformation and seek the help of a priest to exorcise the spirit. This is a bad move however as once the crawler is exorcised the victim does return to normal instantly but often dies from disease within a matter of days afterwards. There are stories of wandering priests who actively went around performing these exorcisms unaware of the damage they were causing because they didn't stick around long enough to see the results of their actions. Since exorcists tend to work for large amounts of pay their also stories saying that they were eager to get the money and run before they were caught out. Crawlers often try very hard to protect their host and victims often have superhuman strength and healing powers. Victims tend to be a lot less aggressive than normal to avoid conflict and even quite cute and adorable in their behavior, however if they are physically attacked they can be savage and ruthless in their retaliation, although Crawler victims never attack each other which can sometimes be an early warning sign. There are even stories of crawlers protecting the people who look after them from threats and being rather heroic in this respect. Since the transformation is due to an invasive spirit it can't be passed on to others though many wrongly believe that a bite from a Crawler will turn you into one in the stories, similar to the belief in vampires. The loss of intelligence and crawling manner of walking develops gradually over a matter of days however the superhuman strength, healing factor and lack of aggression are almost instant. Victims often don't realize they have the parasite in the back of their head at first as it's no bigger than a hair at first. Sometimes their change in behavior or the fact they are a lot stronger or instantly heal can be found out soon after the parasite has taken hold and alert loved ones to their possession. The Crawler can be rather helpful sometimes as communities that just accept the Crawlers and try not to eradicate them have been told that they survived various epidemics that killed off many other settlements. Crawlers tend to live near large bodies of water and when they mature they turn into Haze Flies which are Mosquito like creatures that can open up portals to the fairy realm in exchange for blood though unlike Mosquitos have to ask for permission from the blood donor. This is one reason why people don't like Crawlers as Nags tend to use them to open up what most believe is the gates to hell.