Vampires

Ah yes. The tried and true monster of the night. Vampires. I’m sure we all know the basics and while I could find resources and go on at length about them, I wanted to take a look at a few of the common traits and then how you can sort of play with them. Personally speaking, I find that there’s nothing wrong with the original vampire so to speak, but the market has become flooded with them in one way, shape or form. Now, there’s still a place for the classics and I will always appreciate tales like Dracula, Vampire Hunter D, Nosferatu, and the like (including one of my guilty pleasures – the Blade trilogy and the Underworld series), but I am also one that appreciates trying new things with the lore. I may not have liked Twilight, but I could appreciate the desire to branch out, even if I still don’t quite the understand the why or how in that instance especially.

If you’re from America (was going to say of American descent but that’s not entirely accurate either in this case), we all recognize that there tend to be some typical features of the average vampire:

• Pale skin and a generally mortal aversion to sunlight
• No reflection in mirrors and sometimes no shadow
• A stake through the heart will kill them (though sometimes it has to be a specific type of wood)
• Garlic, crosses, and holy water are essentially anathema to them (also running water like rivers or streams especially)
• They have superhuman traits like increased strength and speed; inhuman eyesight and sense of smell; and occasionally the ability to transform into a bat, a wolf, or mist, depending on the lore and their power level / age
• Speaking of age, they’re thought to be immortal but not invincible (I’d say Hellsing might be a bit of an exception but he’s just damnably difficult to kill)
• And as we all know, they require blood or some kind of life essence to sustain themselves
• In that vein (pun intended), the manner in which they ensnare their prey can be anything from savage hunters to deceptive hypnotists to polite diners who ask for permission
• Speaking of permission, there’s the oft cited instance of vampires being unable to enter a place without permission

For a fantastic glimpse at vampires across the world and the various mediums they appear in, I’d suggest taking at look at the Vampire fandom page: https://vampires.fandom.com/wiki/Vampire_traits_in_folklore_and_fiction So much information, albeit a little crowded and maybe not entirely mobile friendly.

Now, even in newer tales with modified vampires, some of these traits will continue to carry over. Drinking blood tends to be a primary trait that makes a vampire, in essence. Take that away and they’re something else, more or less. However, as we have seen in various mediums, the vampire monster / character makes for a great template to build off of if you want a souped up baddie or creature in your world. If anyone is familiar with Vampire: the Masquerade, it’s a TTRPG (also a console / PC game now) that gives a very interesting look at vampire clans of various appearances, abilities, and alignments. I haven’t played that one but the Werewolf equivalent is quite entertaining.

Using that as a sort of example, when I dabbled in the world of vampires, I took a similar approach. Because I tend to have some sort of rhyme or reason for most of my creations, origin stories are also quite important, and for the four I created, there is one. I won’t delve into it today, but suffice to say I know how my vampires came about and why they ended up the way they did. XD It’s a pet peeve of mine when that particular question never gets answered or even alluded to. It’s so frustrating to me, but I digress.

Now, this is from a book I’d like to get cleaned up and try to publish or get published one of these days so I won’t say too much about it, but I do want to remind you that you can take established precedents and play with them to your hearts content. Vampires in space? Vampires by a new name entirely but bearing all the other characteristics and then some? Some other new hybrid or amalgamation of lore and horror? By all means! All I ask is that there be a method to your madness. A ‘why’. Something! lol My brother and I watched a movie once called Rubber and for me, it was one of the most maddening movies I’ve ever seen because the premise was “for no reason”! There is no official why and that drove me bonkers. But at least he got a kick out of it. XD

But I’ll go ahead and start winding down now. I hope you’ve enjoyed the latest installment and if you have any other vampire lore to share, I’d love to hear it. I’m all about new takes and new info in general anyway. Thank you and see you next time!

Also, the latest earworm I’m enjoying (and the one I was listening to while I wrote this), should you be so inclined and are at least semi-partial to video game music with no lyrics: