Vampires... Your definition?

[BenzSmoke]

I think of Vampires as unnatural monsters that would sooner kill and eat you than take you out to dinner. You know, the big scary boogie-men that want your blood, the ones that you need holy water, and stakes for. They live in castles, turn into bats, fry in the sun, and like to kid-nap people.

 

[Double A]

Blood-drinking immortal that burns in sunlight, is extremely pale, and a fantastic seducer. They have fangs, cannot eat garlic, go over moving water, and the only way to be cured is to drive a wooden stake thought the biter's heart. They can turn into a bat and control bats. If they don't get blood then they go mad and only a rampage until they do. But besides that they are like your normal human being, not super strong, wealthy, or dead.

Don't forget sleep in a coffin and can turn people into vampires by biting them.

And being incredibly scary.

 

[nothinghere]

1. Something that sucks blood

2. Something that can kick ass

3. Something that is hunted by the Belmont's

 

[SlippingStar]

Don't forget sleep in a coffin and can turn people into vampires by biting them.

And being incredibly scary.

That too! And dirt in the coffin.

 

[UnwishedGunz]

ugh this topic again, i get in arguments everyday in school because my friends insist on bringing up the vampire subject day after day after day.

first it was the mid-eval era, then the renaissance era, next the industrial era, now were heading into the vampire era because of all those little girls who have orgasms every time they see a vampire twinkle.

the only twinkle i want to see coming for a vampire is the shine of light before it blows up in the sun.

all those off fashion vampire movies were great, in my opinion the movie Day Breakers was the best vampire move of all time but now-a-days the world is focusing on 100+ year old dudes loving teenage girls, just SCREAMING pedophile, if pedophiles wasn't enough they had to add necrophilia to the mix.
(sorry for the rant on vampires)

OT: my old definition of vampires was, Blood Sucking, Transforming, Eternal, Joyless, Fearing, Creatures of the Dark.

and my new definition of vampires is just one simple word...Gay

 

[KingGolem]

You see, the thing most people don't realize about vampires is there aren't any, so one depiction of them is just as "accurate" as another. I actually prefer it when people mix it up, though I also prefer vampires to be immortal and subsist on the blood of humans (or at least be able to). Dracula is cool, but he is not the only cool vampire.

For example, my favorite vampires are Marceline and her father from Adventure Time with Finn and Jake (but really, everything about that show is awesome). Marceline is pretty much a standard vampire save for the fact that she subsists on the color red, which need not come from blood. Her father is even stranger, for he sucks out souls, and seems to be more akin to a Lovecraftian horror than what we might consider a vampire. I like those ideas because they're fresh and unexpected.

I think Meyers and her ilk have gotten us all worked up over trying to define what a vampire definitely is so we can juxtapose them to her horrible sparkly abominations and say, "They're not 'real' vampires!" My friends, sparkly douchebag vampires are not the problem, trashy teen romance novels about vampires are the problem. They've made us all ashamed of Blade, Dracula, and Marceline.

 

[realslimshadowen]

A mythical creature that feeds on something of humanity's in order to survive. Anything else is details.

That being said, anything that sparkles is a fairy (like, a mythical fairy or fae or fey or whatever) wearing a vampire suit.

 

[Au Naturel.]

Hey Rachel Alucard (from BlazBlue)! I think vampires should be fancy pants and charismatic! They should not necessarily burn in sunlight, but they don't enjoy it too much, it makes them feel weak. They drink blood of course, and when they do, there is a possibility of infecting the other person. And of course, they can turn into a bat! They live in fancy Victorian houses! Even castles! In seclusion from the rest of society, usually in a high point of a valley of forest.

That's my vampire.

 

[Throwitawaynow]

Attractive reasons can differ, can't die from age, faster and stronger than humans, the older they are the more powerful they are.

Can die from sunlight, stake, decapitation, fire I guess if they can't put it out, starvation from not being able to feed. Can't enter "homes" uninvited, as in people that live there and have made it theirs.

 

[Distorted Stu]

Alucard is pretty much my definition aswell. The creators nails folkore right on the head with him. Perfect vampire, even the minor vamps are good (showing their proer weaknesses: sunlight, water, holy works etc)

 

[Epic_Mushroom]

My personal favourite, and what I think about when people say 'real' vampires, are those of 'Vampire: The Masquerade', in White Wolf's 'Old World of Darkness'. Sunlight was fatal if they were exposed for more than a few seconds, their bodies were more resistant to mundane injuries but immune to nothing and they were dependent on blood not for survival but to stay animate and call upon most of their powers. They were also divided into several vampire families, called clans, that determined the powers they had the easiest access to and the type of curse they were put through; for example the Nosferatu were hideously ugly, so ugly that they could not be mistaken for humans under normal circumstances whilst the Venture had to limit themselves to a certain kind of mortal, job description, ethnicity, religious beliefs etc etc, to gain any kind of sustenance.

Mostly, however, I was enamoured to their ways of coping with their new natures. The transformation left them all with a monstrous destructive side, called the Beast, that would try to corrupt and destroy everything around them, regardless of what it meant to the vampire, or sometimes it would target those specifically because of that. They had ways of keeping the beast under control, mostly by maintaining their humanity, but things like violence murder or even simple theft made the Beast gain just a little more ground, and it was ground hard-won. Pardon my rambling, but these are what I consider proper vampires; not overly powerful though significantly more powerful than your average mortal, locked in a struggle with their own bestial nature and unable to rely on anyone but themselves and perhaps those few vampires nearest. And even those you'd be better off watching with care, too.

 

[The_Blue_Rider]

I only really use the 'suck blood' thing for vampires - because some of the other stuff is a bit ridiculous. Garlic is their weakness? Really?

Vampire's don't suck! They scrape and lick.

You know how dracula do it, its a scrape and lick motion
Bill and mandy FTW

 

[Sister Jaxs]

Anyone remember Blade? Now that was a good vampire. Modern, with a twist and a whole lot of guns.
Still kept the whole "I'm a monster, who kills other monsters." But added alot of good action.

 

[Anchupom]

I keep two ideas of Vampires.

30-days-of-night vampires and astocratic vampires.

 

[ctuncks]

For a topic like this, I believe this trope is appropriate http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/OurVampiresAreDifferent. However at current I believe that "The old World of Darkness" has a very good setup for what defines a vampire (as well as enough variations to keep things interesting)

For the unenlightened VTM has a fairly concrete set of rules that define a vampire:
Undead
Requires blood to animate their corpse and to fuel their abilities and attributes
Has to wrestle with an animalistic, ID-like force (Aka The Beast) for control
Immortal
Able to heal by spending blood
More resilient to mundane sources of damage
Animals are generally uneasy around them (mortals too if you conceal your nature poorly)
Vulnerable to powers of "True Faith"
Getting Staked causes paralysis.
Extremely vulnerable to sunlight and fire, both physically and psychologically

That?s pretty well much all the major bases covered but they can further powers/weakness? depending on their clan.

Using my character from the current game of Dark Ages I?m playing I can demonstrate how a vampire can deviate from the concrete set of rules above.

As a member of Clan Lasombra (one of the vampiric high clans) he has the extra weaknesses of both extra vulnerability to sunlight (on top of the standard vulnerability) and casting no reflection. However on the plus side clan membership has given him easy access to their three common powers (Disciplines)
Potence: Which is just another name for Super Strength
Dominate: The ability to command others to do your will, generally requires eye contact and understood spoken words.
Obtenebration: Control over the shadows and darkness from the otherworldly ?Abyss?

On top of this one can take extra traits to further customise their vampire to be different from the norm.

For example my character has an extreme vulnerability to water (Similar to vampires in Legacy of Kain)
On the plus side though he?s inoffensive to horses, and able to eat food (able to savour and taste it) though unable to gain any sustenance from it and must later hurl it back up.

 

[zega frega omega]

An immortal creature that drinks blood and burns in intense light. DO. NOT. SPARKLE.

 

[Ekonk]

Creatures of the night, drink blood to become young again, immortal, sleep during the day in the earth in which they were laid to rest, be shown as they truly are when they sleep (corpses bloated with other people's blood), only way to kill is stake through the heart and head chopped off. May require garlic in the mouth or else they might wake up again anyway. Also absolute must: death. They must be dead.

 

[Macgyvercas]

A vampire should drink blood to survive, burn in sunlight and be unable to enter the houses of others without permission. Why do so many pieces of vampire fiction forget about that last piece of lore?

Because by modern standards, it's relatively obscure. As is the one about not being able to cross running water.

Though I believe once invited inside, they can enter and leave at will.

OT: My definition of vampires? Do me a favor. Go watch Van Helsing.

*waits for you to finish watching*

Look at Dracula in that movie. That's my definition.

 

[mega48man]

well shit, i got 2 really cool views of a vampire

first image;
-smart, cunning, dashing, sexy, etc, the perfect man
-an ability to have a woman fall into his control through his gaze
-pale skin? w/e, the ladies don't mind b/c they're hypnotized
-blood lust, always going for the ladies neck
-can turn into a bat and fly away when the husband/police/van helsing shows up
-owns a huge castle and welcomes guests...who never leave
-sunlight and garlics a *****, so is holy water

essentially, the original vampire but just a bit polished up.

second image
-death metal. vampires live by killing people, makes sense
-lots of blood
-has that metal rockstar look
-maybe someone like frost from blade, has a hate for the human race as a whole but understands its usefullness
-all about sex, b/c when you're bullet proof, you're a god. and when you're a god, or blood god, you should have people on their knees
-sunlight and garlic is NOT always a *****, but can be in some cases, and holy water doesn't do shit.

that's the modern vampire, pretty much something straight out of Blade or Van Helsing with hugh jackman. zealous overpowered monsters that can easily function in society, with the exception of dracula from van helsing. and remember, vampires aren't demons, relgion is out of the question, it's all genetics, just like in Blade 2.

 

[emeraldrafael]

I wrote a fictional series for an advanced english class and this is what i used:
http://quizilla.teennick.com/stories/8394131/oscuro-chronicles-vampire-lore

That being said, I dont know, I find alot of the weaknesses vampyres have make them incredibly girly.