Vampires... Your definition?
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Blood sucking creatures with an insane amount of class and sophistication that burn up in the sunlight and hate garlic.
Basically I picture an albino Hannibal Lecter when I picture a vampire.
Not the "dark brooding gothic" vampires that mentally deranged people claim to be, or the emo sparkling kind.
Basically I picture an albino Hannibal Lecter when I picture a vampire.
Not the "dark brooding gothic" vampires that mentally deranged people claim to be, or the emo sparkling kind.
I feel that if you're in the proper neighborhood of either Hellsing or Legacy of Kain, you're on the right track.
Either one has essentially creatures - potentially able to be horrible monsters - subsisting on blood in place of food, starting to see people as walking lunches. The sun makes you weaker, because you're a creature of the flipping NIGHT and it's hot out besides. Do you know what the sun does to a corpse? Well, vampires are un-freaking-dead, so they definitely don't like the sun!
Both Hellsing and Legacy of Kain - though different worlds - make good use of supernatural powers. Powers revolving around blood, stealth, transformation, deadly forms of attack, and so on. More to the point, there are such cases where the nature of the vampire here is backed by some research. As a graduate who actually took a class in this stuff, I can say that there is some basis in the old knowledge.
Dunno WHAT the hell Twilight is suppose to be from.
Either one has essentially creatures - potentially able to be horrible monsters - subsisting on blood in place of food, starting to see people as walking lunches. The sun makes you weaker, because you're a creature of the flipping NIGHT and it's hot out besides. Do you know what the sun does to a corpse? Well, vampires are un-freaking-dead, so they definitely don't like the sun!
Both Hellsing and Legacy of Kain - though different worlds - make good use of supernatural powers. Powers revolving around blood, stealth, transformation, deadly forms of attack, and so on. More to the point, there are such cases where the nature of the vampire here is backed by some research. As a graduate who actually took a class in this stuff, I can say that there is some basis in the old knowledge.
Dunno WHAT the hell Twilight is suppose to be from.
I wouldn't go so far as to entirely agree with OP's definition, but it's close.
Let's see...
Zey Vant To Zuck Your BLAAAAAD nya-ha-ha-ha-ha! Ahem. Yes. That'd be the primary one. For whatever reason - a disease, curse, accident of evolution, whatever - they cannot easily, or at all gain nutrition from normal food or generate their own blood cells (+ plasma?) and have to take that of others. Whether or not they actually suck their prey dry or just take a donation is another issue, but having a punctured jugular is usually fatal anyhow...
May also require "living" blood, i.e. transfusion packs (generally filtered and only much good for plasma and erythrocites) are no good. Or, they might be like hot pockets. Either way.
Optionally, can turn other people into vampires, as part of the blood sucking/draining process or by other means.
Badly injured or outright killed by exposure to sunlight. Maybe it's the heat (IR?), or the ultraviolet, or albino-style hypersensitivity (lack of melatonin?), or just a curse, but they can't go outside or easily past an uncovered window during the day.
Beheading and wooden stakes through the heart are also favourites for outright kills. They make no sense, but... yknow... tradition.
Generally, no reflection, but it depends on how far along the scale of fantasy to sort-of-realistic alternate universe you want to go.
Some kind of shapeshifting ability is a good add-on.
Superhuman strength, recuperation and seductiveness is a must. And built-in Brylcreem glands. And a castle in eastern europe. Plus a vicious, evil streak a mile wide and a taste for teenage virgins (generally girls, but you never know these days, and they always were kinda louche).
Bonus points if the staking or crisping does not suffice, for reason that they may be brought back to life by means of a secret rite that can be performed once a century when the moon is in the eighth house of Aquarius - one involving arcane runes and administering a single drop of blood to their ashes/dessicated husk.
(Definitely blood - tomato ketchup will NOT do at all.)
The twiglite one - which I understand is "get a bit glowy in the sun, don't have any circulation (ergo, no erections?), and can jump hella far" - can nark right off.
Let's see...
Zey Vant To Zuck Your BLAAAAAD nya-ha-ha-ha-ha! Ahem. Yes. That'd be the primary one. For whatever reason - a disease, curse, accident of evolution, whatever - they cannot easily, or at all gain nutrition from normal food or generate their own blood cells (+ plasma?) and have to take that of others. Whether or not they actually suck their prey dry or just take a donation is another issue, but having a punctured jugular is usually fatal anyhow...
May also require "living" blood, i.e. transfusion packs (generally filtered and only much good for plasma and erythrocites) are no good. Or, they might be like hot pockets. Either way.
Optionally, can turn other people into vampires, as part of the blood sucking/draining process or by other means.
Badly injured or outright killed by exposure to sunlight. Maybe it's the heat (IR?), or the ultraviolet, or albino-style hypersensitivity (lack of melatonin?), or just a curse, but they can't go outside or easily past an uncovered window during the day.
Beheading and wooden stakes through the heart are also favourites for outright kills. They make no sense, but... yknow... tradition.
Generally, no reflection, but it depends on how far along the scale of fantasy to sort-of-realistic alternate universe you want to go.
Some kind of shapeshifting ability is a good add-on.
Superhuman strength, recuperation and seductiveness is a must. And built-in Brylcreem glands. And a castle in eastern europe. Plus a vicious, evil streak a mile wide and a taste for teenage virgins (generally girls, but you never know these days, and they always were kinda louche).
Bonus points if the staking or crisping does not suffice, for reason that they may be brought back to life by means of a secret rite that can be performed once a century when the moon is in the eighth house of Aquarius - one involving arcane runes and administering a single drop of blood to their ashes/dessicated husk.
(Definitely blood - tomato ketchup will NOT do at all.)
The twiglite one - which I understand is "get a bit glowy in the sun, don't have any circulation (ergo, no erections?), and can jump hella far" - can nark right off.
The vamp story's say that a vamp is not alive nor dead they are meant too be a corps that climes out there grave in search for blood too keep they bodies fresh. Normally going after family, friends or anyone close to the when they where alive. There are some good documentary's on youtube about vamps werewolfs and whatnot.
Anne Rice had it pretty close for me, before she started to get... you know... preachy, but other than that I don't really know.... I mean I used to watch Buffy as a kid, but the only vamp I ever liked from that was Spike... Mostly cause he's freaking hilarious
Amusing that you mention that, becuase in Vampire The Masquerade, truely strong vampires are capable of going out in the sun, though it either takes immense unholy fortitude or other extraordianrily (for vampires) powerful techniques to pull off.Merkavar said:
It makes me laugh because Dracula isn't a vampire by a vast majority of the definitions.
It drinks blood/"life essence" for sustenance - it's a vampire. Other facts about it don't change this, the story being bad doesn't change this.
That is the only requirement that is able to hold all different mythologies and stories. If you demand it be more specific then you're not really describing "vampire" anymore, but some subset of a different type of vampire.
It drinks blood/"life essence" for sustenance - it's a vampire. Other facts about it don't change this, the story being bad doesn't change this.
That is the only requirement that is able to hold all different mythologies and stories. If you demand it be more specific then you're not really describing "vampire" anymore, but some subset of a different type of vampire.
They must drink blood to survive. They do not age. They die when exposed to direct sunlight. They are allergic to garlic (for some reason). They mus originate from the Transylvania region of Romania. They must have an upper class feel to them, a well brought up gentleman or lady sort. They must be well-spoken. They must be well dressed. They cannot be killed except for a wooden stake through the heart, nowhere else will do. They must be able to turn into bats.
But they absolutely, positively, MUST NOT SPARKLE!!!
But they absolutely, positively, MUST NOT SPARKLE!!!
Boom vampire - http://www.rifters.com/blindsight/vampires.htm
On a side note, I have no clue who Alucard is, do you guys mean the character from Castlevania?
On a side note, I have no clue who Alucard is, do you guys mean the character from Castlevania?
Well I'm not too hung up on the details as long as they are blood sucking super human bad-asses, and not sparkly emo vegetarian pussies.
I always quite liked the Buffy the Vampire Slayer definition of vampires. They seemed to have quite a believable mix of old lore, combined with how vampires might adapt to modern life. I don't know a great deal about Twilight vampires, but I preferred the idea in Buffy that vampires were somewhat hedonistic and soulless, rather than mopey and emo.
That said, I really don't get excited about vampires in general anyway- they're just one of those classic monsters.
That said, I really don't get excited about vampires in general anyway- they're just one of those classic monsters.
The Vampire Diaries?FargoDog said:
OT: Definition of vampires? "Oooh. Shiny."
In all honesty, though, I like TVD's version of a vampire. Blood-drinking, burns in sunlight, unable to enter houses without permission, regenerates any wound, super-strength that increases with age, relative super-speed that makes it look like they travel by flitting, weakened by verbena, dies only via a wooden stake through the heart.
Well the drinking blood thing is a given but I'd say it doesn't kill them, just makes them really weak to the point where it drives them mad.
They burn in sunlight.
They're stronger and faster than humans.
Their skin is cold and they have no heartbeat.
You kill them by beheading.
They also are attractive and seductive.
Oh, and dead people's blood is like poison and temporarily weakens them.
Kind of a mix of different views.
They burn in sunlight.
They're stronger and faster than humans.
Their skin is cold and they have no heartbeat.
You kill them by beheading.
They also are attractive and seductive.
Oh, and dead people's blood is like poison and temporarily weakens them.
Kind of a mix of different views.