And Now We Talk about Vampires
I’m sure the first thing that comes to mind at “vampire” is Dracula, the original classic novel and Hollywood blood sucker. Or you could be thinking of more modern tales, such as the Vampire Chronicles of Ann Rice. And, of course, there’s the Lycan vs. Vampire plots circling the web.
Vampire qualities are fairly consistent through all their depictions: folklore, classical literature, Hollywood (both blockbusters and B-movies), and modern. The vamp is a creature, which may or may not be considered one of the undead, that subsists on human blood, has a particular aversion to sunlight and garlic among other things, and possesses special, almost magical abilities including but not always limited to changing into a bat, superhuman strength and reflexes, rapid healing, and the ability to turn humans into vampires. This last is a very common plot point in all but most folkloric vampire tales.
Europe, especially Eastern Europe, is full of vampire tales, which may explain why Dracula commonly sets up shop in Transylvania. Traditionally, those who die unnatural deaths or commit suicide become vampires after death, and certain magicians are living vampires. Birth defects were commonly considered signs of a vampire-to-be, and there were also some others, such a red hair or the habit of talking to oneself, depending on the region. After death, bodies that refused to rot after a set point in time were considered vampires, and for good reason; why would a corpse rot if it was getting up every night to fill itself with fresh blood? The wards against vampires, garlic, holy objects, and bits from certain bushes like hawthorn, as well as the fact that vamps tend to lack reflections come from folklore as well.
As far as I can figure, there are two broad kinds of vampires: folkloric and modern. Each of these groups can be further sub-divided: folkloric vampires by their region of influence, such as the Slavic states, Romania, Greece, and the Roma or Gypsies, and modern vampires into somewhat more complex groups that I’ll try to handle individually.
The first sub-group of the modern-day vamp are the Dracs. Following a theme set up by the world-famous Count Dracula, Dracs tend to work solo or with an underling or two that has either been hypnotized into servitude or Turned. A Drac Disguises himself as a gentleman, usually one of great wealth and title (hence Count Dracula). They are also very skilled at seduction and have some sort of natural ability to pull in members of the opposite sex, typically women since Dracs are most commonly male. A Drac will usually draw in and feed on one person until the victim dies or is Turned. In terms of abilities and weaknesses, Dracs are the base upon which all other modern vampires are based; they fly, turn into bats or other animals (the original Dracula had multiple forms, including a rat, a wolf, and dust), cast no reflection, and withdraw from garlic, holy symbols, and sunlight, which can either weaken or kill them depending on the individual. Incineration, decapitation, and the classic wooden stake can kill them, as can werewolves due to their mutually incompatible gene viruses. For the most part, Dracs are ageless and cannot reproduce, relying on Turning humans to continue their bloodline if they suspect vampire hunters are after them.
The next sub-group are the Clanners. These are vampires that gather together in groups for their mutual benefit. They are called Clanners because these groups frequently become full-fledged clans, each one possessing a special trait unique to them, such as resistance to certain anti-vampire methods, special powers such as element control, or a hereditary disfigurement like red eyes. When clans emerge, there are usually several of them, either warring with each other or united under some common goal, frequently the preservation of the group. For some examples, look to the Blade Trilogy movies, especially the first one, or a Role-Playing system by White Wolf called Vampire: the Masquerade. However, Clanners don’t necessarily need to be divided into clans to be Clanners; they could just be another race in a fantasy/gothic world. These ones are pretty much Dracs that form a community.
Clanners, besides the typical vampire weaknesses, are also subject to the problem of corrupt politics. Vamps aren’t exactly the most trusting or friendly of creatures, so it’s not uncommon for there to be spying and intrigue within or between clans. Occasionally, some radical may try to wipe out the entire inter-clan council for some reason or another (again, see Blade I). For the most part, however, Clanners get along with each other so that their society doesn’t collapse.
I’m not sure if this is a sub-group or not, but I want to focus a little on the Turned, those that once were human and became vampires. Like werewolves, there is a spectrum of sorts for Turned behavior, ranging from ravenous feral beast to just like any other vampire. Those Turned by Dracs tend to fall near “normal vampire,” but have a bond that makes them unerringly loyal to the one who Turned them. Clanners can produce two varieties: normal vampires who join the biter’s clan, or mindless blood-sucking monsters. Of course, this is just a general overview; anything’s possible.
Vamps are considered undead for the most part, in that they usually don’t have pulses or require regular food and drink, and this may be due to the Vampire retro-virus. Unlike the Lycanthropy virus, which merely alters the DNA to allow for transformation, Vampirism completely changes the organism into something different. Somehow, it “kills” its victim and then animates it again. Another possibility is that the virus messes up the body’s natural fluid production, especially the blood, requiring the victim to ingest blood from another source to stay alive. As with Lycans, the virus is transmitted by the saliva during a feeding.
Vampires that can reproduce with other beings run the possibility of creating hybrids, especially human-vampire hybrids like Blade the vampire hunter who has all the strengths of a vampire and few if any of the weaknesses. These dhampir have a bit of a basis in folklore. Both the Slavs and Romani believed that the offspring of a vampire and a mortal would produce either another vampire or a dhampir, who would hunt and destroy vampires.
Due to their incompatible genes, vampires and werewolves cannot breed with each other, and so the rare vampire-werewolf cross is usually accomplished through massive genetic engineering or the very rare lycan who is somehow able to fuse the two retroviruses in their body after being bitten by a vampire, gaining the powers of both creatures, but requiring blood to maintain control. Insanity in these types is common.