Black Magic is being blamed as the reason for two parents flipping out in the middle of the night and biting off the thumbnails and part of a nose to drink the blood of their daughter.

Cheng Chorn, 46, and Srun Yoeung, 37, attacked their 12-year-old child before dawn on Thursday while she was still asleep.

Neighbors reportedly rushed to the couple's house and rescued the girl after hearing her screams during the night.

The girl was taken to a local hospital for treatment and released to the custody of other villagers as the parents were held in jail pending charges of child abuse and a host of others.

"We, the police, just have no idea what offense to charge them with," says Keo Norea Phy.

Although Cambodia is a Buddhist country, many people in the countryside are deeply superstitious. Some residents claim the ability to communicate with the dead and cure the sick by exorcising evil spirits from their bodies.