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] introduced many common elements of the vampire theme to Western literature in his ] '']'' (1813). These include the combination of horror and lust that the vampire feels and the concept of the undead passing its inheritance to the living (''Note:'' In the following excerpt, ''corse'' is "corpse"): ] introduced many common elements of the vampire theme to Western literature in his ] '']'' (1813). These include the combination of horror and lust that the vampire feels and the concept of the undead passing its inheritance to the living (''Note:'' In the following excerpt, ''corse'' is "corpse"):

] in ''] ]'']] ] in ''] ]'']]

: ''But thou, false Infidel! shalt writhe'' : ''But thou, false Infidel! shalt writhe''
: ''Beneath avenging Monkir's scythe;'' : ''Beneath avenging Monkir's scythe;''
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* ]'s ] novels, in which vampires were created by a race of aliens known as the Nephilim. * ]'s ] novels, in which vampires were created by a race of aliens known as the Nephilim.
* ]'s urban fantasy series, '']'', whose system of magic borrows liberally from various folkloric traditions. White, Red and Black Court vampires all exist, embodying different vampire myths (Black Court being the standard American vampire). * ]'s urban fantasy series, '']'', whose system of magic borrows liberally from various folkloric traditions. White, Red and Black Court vampires all exist, embodying different vampire myths (Black Court being the standard American vampire).

==Strengths and weaknesses of fictional vampires==

The abilities and limitations of vampires vary significantly from early folklore to modern Hollywood. However, Bram Stoker’s ''Dracula'' (1897) is principally the foundation for the modern vampire. In his novel, Stoker outlines some general strengths and weaknesses of vampires. In this section, quotes from Stoker's novel can be found alongside the corresponding ability and limitation, as well as a few other references. '''Note, these abilities and limitations are not universal, and not all vampire tales share these strengths and weaknesses!''' In fact, there are extremely few vampire tales in which the vampire possesses all the strengths and weaknesses listed.

===Abilities===

*Vampires are ]. ''"The vampire live on, and cannot die by mere passing of the time... When they become such, there comes with the change the curse of immortality. They cannot die, but must go on age after age adding new victims and multiplying the evils of the world."'' Other legends suggest that vampires do age, but very slowly, dependening on their ability to feed.

*Vampires have superhuman strength. ''"The ] are strong. He have always the strength in his hand of twenty men."'' The degree of strength depends on the myth; commonly, legends suggest a broad range of strength among the undead, often depending on the age of the vampire, how often over time the vampire has fed on human blood, or how ''recently'' the vampire has fed on human blood.

*In many tales, vampires have superhuman speed and reflexes, often faster than human eyes can see or able to catch arrows. This ability is sometimes referred to as "flitting." Examples include vampires found in the ] '']''.

*Vampires are ]. ''"He can grow and become small, and he can at times vanish and come unknown... Even more, we have seen amongst us that he can even grow younger... He can transform himself to wolf... he can be as bat... He come on moonlight rays as elemental dust."'' Some tales grant vampires limitless power to transform, while other vampire tales restrict a vampire to only a few shapes or sizes. Common forms include animals (e.g., ], ]), forms that grant vampires the ability to bypass obstacles (e.g., ], ]), or forms that better conceal themselves in human society or attract members of the opposite gender. Other notable vampire shapeshifting examples are found in '']'' (1872) as a monstrous ], in '']'' (1922) as a ], and in '']'' (1992) as a ].

*Vampires can to a degree control the weather and the elements. ''"He can, within his range, direct the elements, the storm, the fog, the thunder... He can come in mist which he create."''

*Vampires can fly. Sometimes this is wholly supernatural, sometimes it is connected to the vampire's ability to turn into flying creatures (e.g., ], ], ]) or into lightweight forms (e.g. ], ], ]) and then create winds as a means of propulsion.

*Vampires have the ] of influence and suggestion. ''"He can command all the meaner things, the rat, and the owl, and the bat, the moth, and the fox, and the wolf."'' In many tales, this ability is so powerful that humans cannot disobey it.

*Vampires can see in the dark, ''"no small power this, in a world which is one half shut from the light."''

*Vampires cast no shadow and have no reflection. ''"He throws no shadow, he make in the mirror no reflect."'' This mythical power is largely confined to European vampiric myths and may be tied to the vampire's lacking a soul.

*Vampires can enter and exit anything, ''"slip through a hairbreadth space at the tomb door... He can, when once he find his way, come out from anything or into anything, no matter how close it be bound or even fused up with fire, solder you call it."'' Sometimes this is explained by the aforementioned shapeshifting powers which allow vampires to exploit the tiniest passage to escape from confinement or gain entry into forbidden locations.

*Vampires are skilled in ], the conjuration of the spirits of the dead. ''"All the dead that he can come nigh to are for him at command."'' This is common in myths where the vampire is either the creation of powerful magic or else is himself a human mystic who sought vampiric unlife.

*Vampires are very fierce and savage like animals, without heart or conscience, with no emotion or sympathy. ''"He is brute, and more than brute, he is devil in callous, and the heart of him is not."'' Most vampire myths portray the vampire as being evil, but not all portray the vampire as savage. Many tales revolve around nobles who have later become vampires, and enjoy (and seek to continue) a life of opulence as well as a cultured existence, with only their feeding habits to mark them as savage. In some tales, such as the '']'' ], the vampire may lose all control if pressed too long without feeding, lashing out at anyone or anything with blood.

*Vampires are very intelligent and are more cunning than man, ''"he is of cunning more than mortal, for his cunning be the growth of ages."''

*Vampires become more powerful each time they feed. ''"The nosferatu do not die like the bee when he sting once. He is only stronger, and being stronger, have yet more power to work evil."'' Subsequently, the older the vampire the more powerful it usually is. The above abilities can increase with age or decrease with youth. ''"Therefore I shall fix some things she like not... She is young as UnDead, and will heed."''

===Limitations===

*Vampire powers are limited during the day. ''"His power ceases, as does that of all evil things, at the coming of the day...We have on our side power...a power denied to the vampire kind...the hours of the day and the night are ours equally."'' The level of debilitation depends on the tale. Some vampires do not lose their powers at all, but must avoid sunlight to avoid being burned or killed by it. Others lose their powers entirely during the day, or even enter a state of ] as long as daylight remains.

*Vampires may not trespass without permission. ''"He may not enter anywhere at the first, unless there be some one of the household who bid him to come, though afterwards he can come as he please."'' Some tales extend this even to a vampire not being able to harm a visitor who does not enter the vampire's lair of their own free will.

*Vampires are reluctant to enter or cross bodies of water. ''"It is said, too, that he can only pass running water at the slack or the flood of the tide...The Count, even if he takes the form of a bat, cannot cross the running water of his own volition, and so cannot leave the ship."'' Another example is found in the film '']'' (2000), in which the main vampire, ], refuses to travel by sea.

*Some tales maintain that vampires must return to their native soil before sunrise to safely take their rest. This convention is maintained in some stories in which the vampire keeps native soil in his coffin, no matter where he may travel. Other tales ignore this convention entirely, allowing vampires to rest in any dark place.

*Vampires in some tales have very specific dietary requirements while others do not. Some stories such as '']'' suggest that a vampire may subsist on animal blood, but not enjoy full vitality unless it feeds on human blood. ]'s Dracula stated "I never drink ... wine", but the vampires from '']'' can only ingest blood and wine, to the exclusion of all other nourishment. The vampires of the TV series '']'' occasionally ingest regular food and beverages on a recreational basis. Spike, for example, enjoys cookies, nachos, and other junk food. Spike also enjoys beer and whiskey, and they have the same intoxicating effect on him as they do on humans. Angel also occasionally ingests regular food and beverages, but usually subsists on a diet of pigs blood. However, most tales of the undead feature vampires that cannot eat (or at least cannot gain nourishment from) normal human food. In some stories, vampires are able to feed on the blood of other vampires, and may gain some portion of the other vampire's strength by doing so.

*There are things in which vampires have no power against such as ], a branch of ], and all things sacred (e.g., ], a ], a ], or sacred objects from other ]). ''"I had laid over the clamps of those doors garlic, which the ] cannot bear, and other things which they shun....I shall fix some things she like not, garlic and a crucifix, and so seal up the door of the tomb...The branch of wild rose on his coffin keep him that he move not from it."''
**This weakness fluctuates depending on the the tale. The vampire may be unable to attack someone holding such an item, or may be burned by it, or even be unable to tolerate being in the same room as it.
**Garlic is confined mostly to European vampire myths; the plant also has other properties depending on the legend.
**Holy water and other holy symbols are normally only effective in myths containing strong religious overtones; many modern vampire tales have included vampires who scoff at such items when wielded by "superstitious" vampire hunters. In other stories, any religious symbol wielded by a sincere adherant of the relevant faith is effective in warding off a vampire. In Eastern vampiric myths, vampires are often similarly warded by Eastern holy devices such as ] seals.
**In some cases, the vampire cannot enter consecrated ground, even if no holy symbols are present.

*Some tales imply that the metal ], when worked into weapons or items, such as a blade or a bullet, is damaging to a vampire. This is primarily a cross-contamination of many European myths concerning ] or other ], who are often reputed to be killed by items made of silver. This limitation is sometimes depicted in films, as in the recent ''Blade'' series (], ], ]), as well as literature, like ] popular vampire novel '']'' (1975), ''"He touched the heavy shape of his father's target pistol in his jacket pocket. Bullets were no good against them except maybe silver ones..."''

*In Bram Stoker's ''Dracula'' (1892), there are three ''referenced'' ways to permanently kill a vampire: a sacred bullet, a wooden ] through the heart, or ]. ''"A sacred bullet fired into the coffin kill him so that he be true dead, and as for the stake through him, we know already of its peace, or the cut off head that giveth rest."''
**This includes other means of death that effectively removes a vampire's head, such as incinerating the body completely, as portrayed in the novel '']'' (1845), where the main character, the vampire Sir Francis Varney, commits suicide by throwing himself into the active ] ], ''"Varney took one tremendous leap, and disappeared into the burning mouth of the mountain."''
**In many representations, a wooden arrow or spear through the heart will work just as well as a stake, provided the wood is lodged in the heart and doesn't completely pass through the body. Some stories even suggest that vampires may be killed by multiple shots of wooden bullets to the heart; this was featured in numerous ] comics of the 1970s. Other tales suggest that a vampire can be killed by penetrating the heart with bone or antler; this method was successful in the film '']'' (1987) when a vampire was impaled on a deer head trophy. In the '']'' video game series, the important portion was the mere impalement of the heart; the material piercing it did not matter.
**In other tales, such as '']'', a stake immobilizes the vampire, who will however immediately recover once the stake is withdrawn.

*Additionally, in the novel ''Dracula'', there are two ''implied'' ways to kill a vampire: ], or normal death during daytime. Vampires must feed on blood to survive or they will starve to death. ''"He can flourish when that he can fatten on the blood of the living... he cannot flourish without this diet, he eat not as others."'' However, the novel does not rule out the possibility of reanimation if the vampire corpse is fed (as occasionally depicted in films, e.g. '']'' (2003)). Depending on the lengend, a vampire can be killed like a normal man, during the day, when his powers are limited to the powers of mortal men. ''"Today this Vampire is limit to the powers of man, and till sunset he may not change."'' However, the novel does not rule out the possibility of reanimation once the sun sets.

*Old folklore from Eastern Europe suggests that many vampires suffered from a form of ], being fascinated with counting. Millet or poppy seeds were placed on the ground at the gravesite of a presumed vampire, in order to keep the vampire occupied all night counting. Aside from the counting ] on ] this characteristic seems to have largely disappeared from modern media.

Revision as of 21:39, 30 July 2005

You must add a |reason= parameter to this Cleanup template – replace it with {{Cleanup|reason=<Fill reason here>}}, or remove the Cleanup template.
 Vampire fiction covers the spectrum of literary work concerned principally with the subject of vampires.

The best known work in this genre is of course Bram Stoker's gothic novel Dracula. It was not, however, the first. Myths and legends of blood-imbibing creatures capable of transmogrification predate the novel form. The immediate antecedent of Dracula is Sheridan le Fanu's classic of the genre, Carmilla. This in turn owes more than a little to John William Polidori's The Vampyre; this work was contemporaneous to Lord Byron's poem The Giaour which also treats on this subject.

Lord Byron introduced many common elements of the vampire theme to Western literature in his epic poem The Giaour (1813). These include the combination of horror and lust that the vampire feels and the concept of the undead passing its inheritance to the living (Note: In the following excerpt, corse is "corpse"):

File:ByronAlban.jpg
Lord Byron in Albanian Costume
But thou, false Infidel! shalt writhe
Beneath avenging Monkir's scythe;
And from its torment 'scape alone
To wander round lost Eblis' throne;
And fire unquenched, unquenchable,
Around, within, thy heart shall dwell;
Nor ear can hear nor tongue can tell
The tortures of that inward hell!
But first, on earth as vampire sent,
Thy corse shall from its tomb be rent:
Then ghastly haunt thy native place,
And suck the blood of all thy race;
There from thy daughter, sister, wife,
At midnight drain the stream of life;
Yet loathe the banquet which perforce
Must feed thy livid living corse:
Thy victims ere they yet expire
Shall know the demon for their sire,
As cursing thee, thou cursing them,
Thy flowers are withered on the stem.

Ironically, Byron's own wild life became the model for the protagonist Lord Ruthven in the first vampire novel, The Vampyre (1819) by John William Polidori. Polidori's Lord Ruthven seems to be the first appearance of the modern vampire, an undead, vampiric being possessing a developed intellect and preternatural charm, as well as physical attraction. By contrast, the vampire of folklore was almost invariably thought of as a hideous, unappealing creature.

An unauthorized sequel to Polidori's novel by Cyprien Bérard called Lord Ruthwen ou les Vampires (1820) was adapted by Charles Nodier into the first vampire stage melodrama, which was in turn made into an opera by German composer Heinrich Marschner.

Bram Stoker's Dracula has been the definitive description of the vampire in popular fiction for the last century. Its portrayal of vampirism as a disease (contagious demonic possession), with its undertones of sex, blood, and death, struck a chord in a Victorian England where tuberculosis and syphilis were common.

Dracula appears to be based at least partially on legends about a real person, Vlad Ţepeş (Vlad the Impaler), a notorious Wallachian (Romanian) prince of the 15th century known also as Vlad III Dracula. He was the son of Vlad II Dracul. Vlad II received the title Dracul ("The Dragon") after being inducted into the Order of the Dragon in 1431. In Romanian, Dracul means dragon or devil, and Dracula (or Draculea) means "son of the Dragon" (or "son of the Devil", though "son of the Dragon" was intended in this case). Stoker is believed to have seen a reference in an article by Emily Gerard who said that Dracula was a word meaning the Devil. (Emily Gerard, "Transylvanian Superstitions." Nineteenth Century (July 1885): 130–150). Oral tradition regarding Ţepeş includes his having made a practice of torturing enemy prisoners and hanging them, or parts of them, such as heads, on stakes around his castle or manor house. Ţepeş may have suffered from porphyria. His rumored periodic abdominal agony, especially after eating, and bouts of delirium might indicate presence of the disease.

File:DraculaLugosi1931Poster.jpg
Filmgoers met Dracula (Bela Lugosi) in 1931 in a landmark vampire film.

Stoker also probably derived inspiration from Irish myths of blood-sucking creatures. He also was almost certainly influenced by a contemporary vampire story, Carmilla by Sheridan le Fanu. Le Fanu was Stoker's editor when Stoker was a theatre critic in Dublin, Ireland.

Much 20th-century vampire fiction draws heavily on Stoker's formulation; early films such as Nosferatu and those featuring Bela Lugosi or Christopher Lee are examples of this. Nosferatu, in fact, was clearly based on Dracula, and Stoker's widow sued for copyright infringement and won. As a result of the suit, most prints of the film were destroyed. She later allowed the film to be shown in England.

Though most other works of vampire fiction do not feature Dracula as a character, there is typically a clear inspiration from Stoker, reflected in a fascination with sex and wealth, as well as overwhelmingly frequent use of Gothic settings and iconography. A contemporary descendant is the series of novels by Anne Rice, the most popular in a genre of modern stories that use vampires as their (sometimes sympathetic) protagonists. Darren Shan writes young adult books with a similar slant.

Examples of Vampire Literature

Vampire Films and Television

Of the various fictional monsters to be depicted in movies throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, the vampire has been one of the most popular. Vampires have appeared as terrifying monsters in an amazing number of movies, so much so that the depiction of vampires in popular culture is strongly based upon their depiction in movies throughout the years.

For more infomation, please refer to List of vampire movies

Other Media

Video game series featuring vampires primarily use Dracula or Dracula-inspired characters (such as the appearance in Conker's Bad Fur Day). Konami's Castlevania series is the longest running series which uses the Dracula legend, though its writers have made their own alterations to the legend. An exception to this trend is the Legacy of Kain video game series, which features vampires set in an entirely fictional world called Nosgoth.

Other vampire tales seen in several places include:

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