Fire Vampire

The Fire Vampires, also referred to as the Flame Creatures of Cthugha, are a gestalt species of elemental creatures from a world called Ktynga, a.k.a. Norby's Comet after its discoverer, Gustav Norby. Their leader is called Fthaggua.

Biology
Fire Vampires appear like striated networks of electricity. Most of them are reddish in color, with the sole exception of their leader, Fthaggua, which is blue. The entire species is actually a huge superorganism, all linked together into a unified consciousness. If Fthaggua is destroyed, all other Fire Vampires will perish too, for they are nothing more than extensions of Fthaggua.

Fire Vampires inhabit the comet known as Ktynga: a fiery object with a surface temperature estimated at 1100 °C, and which moves through space at FTL speed, animated by the will of Fthaggua.

According to Gustav Norby, the Fire Vampires feed on the life force of other creatures. They strike their victims like a lighting bolt, causing the victim's body to burst into flames and be consumed almost instantly, leaving piles of charred bones behind. Additionally, they also absorb the knowledge of those they consume, which allows them to learn their languages and to gather knowledge of a planet before conquest.

Culture and society
The Fire Vampires and their leader, Fthaggua, were originally servants of the Great Old One known as Cthugha, before being banished by the Elder Gods to the comet Ktynga. However, they somehow managed to convert Ktynga into a mobile world which could travel at FTL speed from one planetary system to another. "Piloted" by its fiery inhabitants, Ktynga circled Earth in 2321 and departed to Antares, but approached Earth again in 2327, demonstrating how fast it can move.

The Fire Vampires are a hostile species which conquer other worlds by force, demanding that the inhabitants surrender thousands of their population to be consumed.

Appearances

 * "The Fire Vampires", by Donald Wandrei (1933)
 * "The House on Curwen Street", by August Derleth (1944)
 * "The Dweller in Darkness", by August Derleth (1944)
 * "Something in the Moonlight", by Lin Carter (1981)
 * "The Horror in the Gallery", by Lin Carter (1976)