The winged strigoi is an atavistic degeneration of the vampire spawn which plague the catacombs and sewers of Ravenna, where they lurk during the day, eagerly awaiting nightfall when they flutter from flying buttresses in cathedrals and among chimneys from the manors. They search the city streets for outcasts and the homeless to swoop down and grab their prey, screaming into the mist-covered night skies.