History Main / OurvampiresAreDifferent

** Cannot bear the touch of special symbolic items, like silver, similar to [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent werewolves]] or other super natural beings; silver is toxic or burns them. This may relate back to the days when silver was thought to be solid-light and as a symbol of the light would harm anything non-human. Silver isn't alone however as some folklore also mentions garlic for its pungent scent which spirits both good and ill are normally repulsed by (although in some variants it's the ''flowers'' of the garlic plant, for their flowery sweetness), pure rough wood for its connection to nature, and salt for its ability to ward off spirits and other nasty beings off as it represents purity of soul. They also can harmed by [[HolyHandGrenade magically augmented weapons and ammunition]].

** [[HolyBurnsEvil Crosses]], but not necessarily other religious symbols. Originally, it had to be a full blown crucifix (that is, a cross with a figure of Jesus on it). In modern renditions, this is usually subject to [[ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve the power of belief]] of the wielder, the vampire, both, or neither. For instance, if a character is a sincere Jew, then they could use the Star of David to ward off a vampire. Then you can have a vampire who carries his own crucifix, as he is a believer too, like Henry Fitzroy in ''Blood Ties''. He also prays and goes to confession (he figures that he is subject to the same sins as humans, and needs to do penance for them). Fortunately, he is a FriendlyNeighborhoodVampire. In other cases, the religion the symbol represents has to have been around during the vampire's lifetime to have any effect. If a vampire predates all modern religions, don't go reaching for your crucifix.
** Holy water (drinking or total immersion in holy water often IS lethal)

** In some folklore, vampires are all stricken with a debilitating obsession with numbers, if you throw a quantity of small objects on the ground in front of them (seeds, grain, beads etc.) they will not be able to resist the urge to pick it up and count it, this affords the victim time to either run away or kill the vampire. ("Three! Three mustard seeds! [[Series/SesameStreet Muha-ha-ha!]]"). Putting said objects into a vampire's coffin keeps them busy counting as well. Sometimes, the urge is powerful enough that you can force the vampire to expose itself to dawn. Sometimes it is not an "urge" but they are somehow forced to count those objects.

** They are [[SuperEmpowering capable of changing human beings into other vampires]]. Classical vampires like {{Dracula}} needed to go through a more elaborate process to make another vampire, but bowdlerized versions removed the detail where he made the victims drink ''his'' blood to begin the transformation, leading to the idea that victims can become vampires from just a bite.

*** Of course, there can also be a fusion of "types". A vampire may create mindless undead slaves via simple feeding; (often referred to as "spawn") but to create a ''thinking'' vampire with the potential for the gambits of powers, the full process is needed.

** The traditional Victorian vampire has a range of supernatural abilities. {{Dracula}} had shape-shifting, limited flight, control over animals and the weather, the ability to scale walls and other gifts, on top of the standard vampire strengths. It is unclear if this is due to Dracula studying BlackMagic to enhance his skills (and this type of vampirism can come with an innate ability to learn ''that'' as well- it's also implied that this may have been how Dracula ''became'' a vampire) or if it was due to his advanced age. It's possible that both might be true.

** In other cases the vamp can age into an outright HumanoidAbomination which will usually mean they are much more powerful, though some may understandably lament their transformation into outright monstrosities and more obvious loss of humanity; this, again, may happen gradually or in spurts. The ones who won the SuperpowerLottery have, either naturally or through using their immortal lifespan to acquire ridiculous amounts of magical power, evolved into outright [[GodOfEvil Gods of Evil]], and are a menace to the entire world.
** Sometimes a vampire can be damaged by mundane weapons, and will feel pain and suffer consequences (for example, if you shoot him in the knee, he can't walk)--but it won't kill him, and he'll eventually heal from all injuries. (Quite often the vampire has to drink blood to heal.) In other cases, mundane weapons do nothing at all--weapons pass through the vampire like a ghost, or bounce off, or the vampire's flesh heals as soon as the weapon is removed.

** Wooden stake through the heart. In most modern depictions, this is fatal; in the original folklore, it merely stops the vampire from leaving his coffin. In most of the older stories, one had to use a hammer or a grave digger's shovel to drive the stake in, which meant that vampire stakings mainly happened during the day when the vampire was asleep, but recently, it's become [[MadeOfPlasticine oddly easy]] to do by hand. Remember, the ribs are there to prevent just such an occurrence. In some cases a special specimen of wood is needed for the stake to be effective, commonly Hawthorn, and occasionally it needs to be blessed or enchanted, but not all vampires are this picky about what goes through their chests.

*** Dracula in Bram Stoker's novel was almost unaffected by sunlight; it limited his {{shapeshifting}} powers but he could [[DaywalkingVampire still walk around]], was still super-humanly strong, and definitely wasn't burned. The same goes for other vampires before Stoker's, such as ''Literature/{{Carmilla}}'' and ''Literature/VarneyTheVampire''.

*** The idea that sunlight isn't fatal has undergone somewhat of a resurgence. The vampires in L.J Smith's ''Night World'' series can survive exposure to sunlight, but it inhibits their powers. The vampires in ''{{Moonlight}}'' can survive exposure to sunlight for a limited amount of time. In some folklore, vampires were actually at their strongest at high noon, when their shadow was at its smallest. They were weakest at dusk, when their shadow was at its longest.

** No reflection (often because the vampire [[OurSoulsAreDifferent has no soul]], but see below). This sometimes extends to shadows. But it depends on the vampire apparently. In one medium there are several ''types'' of vamps who have various weaknesses. In more recent examples this has been 'modernised' in terms of the vampire not being able to be picked up by audio or video recording or transmitting equipment.

** Sometimes, vampirism [[NoOntologicalInertia is tied to the creator]]. Depending on [[RuleOfDrama how important the infectee is to the plot]], killing the creator-vampire will either turn all of his "children" back into humans, or kill all of his creations with him. In some cases, killing the lower level vampires will do nothing to those they have sired; only the guy at the top of the pyramid is tied in this way.
*** Recently, the idea has arisen that vampires judge each other by how far removed they are from a "source". The highest social status belongs to someone who somehow became a vampire without being turned by one via bite.

[[caption-width-right:344:''[[AsManyXAsThereAreY You see, doctor, there are as many species of vampire as there are beasts of prey.]]'' [[note]]From the top left: Film/{{Dracula|1931}}, [[Film/{{Nosferatu}} Count Orlok]], [[Film/VanHelsing Aleera]], [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer Spike]], [[Film/ThirtyDaysOfNight Marlowe]], [[Literature/{{Twilight}} Edward Cullen]], [[Manga/{{Hellsing}} Alucard]], Manga/{{Karin}}, and [[Series/SesameStreet Count von Count.]][[/note]]]]

[[caption-width-right:344:''[[AsManyXAsThereAreY You see, doctor, there are as many species of vampire as there are beasts of prey.]]'' [[note]]From the top left: Film/{{Dracula}}, [[Film/{{Nosferatu}} Count Orlok]], [[Film/VanHelsing Aleera]], [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer Spike]], [[Film/ThirtyDaysOfNight Marlowe]], [[Literature/{{Twilight}} Edward Cullen]], [[Manga/{{Hellsing}} Alucard]], Manga/{{Karin}}, and [[Series/SesameStreet Count von Count.]][[/note]]]]

->''There are as many types of vampire as there are disease; some are virulent and deadly, and some just make you walk funny and avoid fruit.''\\
-- '''Creator/TerryPratchett''', ''Discworld/CarpeJugulum''

** Physical features, such as being [[UndeathlyPallor exceedingly]] [[EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette pale]], having unusual eyes (see GlowingEyesOfDoom), and, of course, {{fangs| are evil}}. In folklore, there were ''numerous'' physical telltales - eyebrows that met over the nose, fingers all the same length, hair in the center of the palms or backward-facing palms - that are mostly overlooked in modern versions. The original novel-version {{Dracula}} has practically all of them. If they can hide some or all of them, dropping the disguise constitutes using GameFace. Sometimes vampires will become more and more human-like in appearance as they consume more blood/live longer. Sometimes... not.

** LifeDrinker: Rarely, the vampire is immortal but must restore his/her ''youth'' by drinking blood. In abstinence, they "age", and immediately begin to grow young after they've fed. This originated with ''{{Dracula}}'' and with persistent stories about one ElizabethBathory's [[BloodBath bathing habits]].

* Can turn into bats, wolves, or wisps of smoke for travel. (Bats are by ''far'' the most common.) A rare transformation featuring prominently in early literature (such as ''{{Dracula}}'') was the ability to turn into ''elemental dust in moonlight''. A connection to bats isn't part of older vampire folklore because all vampire bats are native only to the New World.

* [[ClassicalMovieVampire Act like Bela Lugosi's]] [[Film/{{Dracula}} portrayal of Dracula]].

* Sometimes instantly turn to dust or dissipate completely when killed, an idea believed to have first turned up in Stoker's ''{{Dracula}}''. This may ignore mass-energy conservation, as in ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', or release enough energy to cause serious damage to anything nearby, as in ''Series/{{Ultraviolet}}'' and ''FromDuskTillDawn''.

* OurVampiresAreDifferent/ProfessionalWrestling

* If killed, can be restored to unlife with the proper procedure. One early version of this, appearing in both pre-Dracula stories ''Literature/TheVampyre'' and ''Varney the Vampyre'', is that a vampire will be revived and healed automatically if its corpse is bathed in moonlight.

[[folder:Baseline rules:]]

[[folder:Additional rules:]]

[[folder:Powers:]]

[[folder:The baseline rules for vampires are:]]

[[folder:Somewhat-common additional (mostly modern) rules for vampires are:]]

[[folder:Their preternatural powers can include:]]

'''The baseline rules for vampires are:'''

'''Somewhat-common additional (mostly modern) rules for vampires are:'''

'''Their preternatural powers can include:'''

** You can also have a critter that sucks out someone's [[LifeDrinker youth]], or [[LifeEnergy lifeforce]], or [[YourSoulIsMine soul]], or "will", or [[EmotionEater fear]]. [[BuffySpeak It's a whole big sucking thing]]. Usually for a vampire, it is blood; whether or not they consume anything ''else'' varies between versions like [[ChineseVampire Chinese vampires]], who are souls inhabiting bodies and essentially become hopping corpses (hence their name), or the more esoteric psychic vampires, who are living people who thrive by sucking up the life force and/or mental and emotional energy of others.

'''Usually, their preternatural powers include:'''

* EmotionalControl

The purpose of vampires in the story varies quite widely. They serve as the BigBad or as a [[RuleOfSymbolism metaphor]] for something, be it addiction or denial of aging (see above), or even communicable diseases like the plague or STD's. There is some danger of the vampire character being too [[{{Anvilicious}} on-the-nose]] for the metaphor.

** There are also different reasons as to ''why'' vampires need blood. [[RuleOfSymbolism Sometimes it's a metaphor for alcoholism or drug abuse.]] Sometimes it's that they've [[LivingOnBorrowedTime overstayed their welcome on life]]. They ''should'' be dead, so they have to steal life from others to remain "living". This may be a metaphor for the phobia of aging and death that is common among middle-aged celebrities. Other times, the act of puncturing the throat and feeding is tied in with metaphors about [[ComingAndGoing sex and virginity]].

** There are also different reasons as to ''why'' vampires need blood. [[RuleOfSymbolism Sometimes it's a metaphor for alcoholism or drug abuse.]] Sometimes it's that they've [[LivingOnBorrowedTime overstayed their welcome on life]]. They ''should'' be dead, so they have to steal life from others to remain "living". This may be a metaphor for the phobia of aging and death that is common among middle-aged celebrities.

** Sometimes, vampirism [[NoOntologicalInertia is tied to the creator]]. Depending on [[RuleOfDrama how important the infectee is to the plot]], killing the creator-vampire will either turn all of his "children" back into humans, or kill all of his creations with him.

* SuperHearing

* SuperSenses: Particularly smell, [[EvilTastesGood taste]], and night vision.

** [[VampireInvitation They cannot enter a home unless invited in by someone.]] This can range from killing them to simply that they physically can't enter. However, it is still a large [[WeaksauceWeakness disadvantage]]. The original Dracula was able to skirt around this problem if he had already drunk the blood of someone inside (Lucy sleepwalked, so he bit her when she left the house at night). Some versions allow the invitation to be revoked in an instant, others require elaborate ceremonies, while some do not allow the invitation to ever be revoked. In other cases the invitation may need to be renewed every time the vampire returns.

* Sometimes instantly turn to dust or dissipate completely when killed, an idea believed to have first turned up in Stoker's ''{{Dracula}}''. This may ignore mass-energy conservation, as in ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', or release enough energy to cause serious damage to anything nearby, as in ''{{Ultraviolet}}'' and ''FromDuskTillDawn''.

*** Or they create living servants like ''ghouls'' or ''blood-slaves'' who feed on their blood, get power from it some how, and protect their masters any way they can.

** [[RemovingTheHeadOrDestroyingTheBrain Decapitation]] - and as a bonus point, this one isn't exactly exclusive to vampires; it conveniently works on almost any supernatural creature, and humans too. Then again, so does a stake through the heart...