History Main / TechnicallyLivingVampire

* In ''VisualNovel/CodeRealize'', vampires are simply a sub-race of humanity with enhanced physical abilities, with their fangs being their most vampire-like trait. They don't need to suck blood and can walk in daylight.

* In ''Literature/TheSanguineChronicles'', vampirism and [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent lycanthropy]] are both caused by a virus, and the infected is perfectly alive, as Marko has to convince [[spoiler:Aconite]] after her infection.

Compare: {{Dhampyr}}s, who as the born offspring of normal vampires have "vampire-lite" abilities while still being biologically alive; and TechnicallyLivingZombie, when someone [[OurZombiesAreDifferent looks and acts much like a zombie]] without also being an undead revenant. Sometimes, there might even be examples of mutant monsters who feed on both blood and flesh, blurring the lines between vampires and zombies. Contrast with RidiculouslyAliveUndead, for when vampire/zombie characters can almost completely pass for being alive when they're actually undead; and ActuallyNotAVampire, for when someone--usually a normal human--displays superficially vampiric behaviors or traits, without actually being a true example of whatever a vampire is defined to be.

* ''ComicBook/{{Morbius}}'': Morbius [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin the Living Vampire]] has none of the regular vampire weaknesses aside from the hunger for blood itself, and some ''very'' [[{{Pun}} light]] photosensitivity in lieu of a weakness to sunlight, due to having been transformed by science instead of being bitten by an actual undead vampire ([[FantasyKitchenSink which do exist]] in the ''Franchise/MarvelUniverse'' as well).

* ''Franchise/TheDCU'': Sgt. Vincent Velcro from ''ComicBook/CreatureCommandos'' and ''ComicBook/FrankensteinAgentOfShade'' is a "scientific vampire", a man experimented on to have all the same powers as a vampire, including bat transformation and super-strength, but none of the weaknesses.

* ''Franchise/TheDCU'': Sgt. Vincent Velcro from ''Creature Commandos'' and ''ComicBook/FrankensteinAgentOfShade'' is a "scientific vampire", a man experimented on to have all the same powers as a vampire, including bat transformation and super-strength, but none of the weaknesses.

* All vampires in ''Manga/CallOfTheNight'' are treated as living beings. It is explicitly stated that most of the known weaknesses of vampires, such as garlic, silver bullets, and crosses, are just rumors based on sightings of real vampires that became more fiction than fact over time.

* In ''Film/TheAddiction'', which portrays a vampire's need for blood as a metaphor for drug dependency, Peina is a vampire who claims to have almost conquered his addiction and, as a result, is almost human. He can eat real food, sleep, maintain a job, diet, and defecate--all things other vampires in this world cannot do because they're only driven by their hunger for blood, like a heroin addict in need of their fix.

* In the indie film ''Film/TheHamiltons'', the titular family are all vampires of the HumanSubspecies variety. In the film's world, the Hamiltons and any other vampires out there seem completely human, they're born, mature, live, and die similar to humans, with the exception that they need to drink blood to survive. (One notable difference is that apparently for the first few years vampire children are somewhat feral, craving blood all the time, and capable of killing a grown man to get it. At least if Lenny, the youngest of the Hamilton siblings, is representative of vampire children as a whole and not just a result of his parents dying while he was a baby and then being raised by unprepared siblings.)

** ''Film/TheLastManOnEarth'' (1964) with Creator/VincentPrice, closer to the original novel, the infection that wipes out humanity turns them into vampire/zombie-like creatures. Most of them are undead, but it later turns out some of the creatures are this trope and can be reverted to a human state.
** ''Film/TheOmegaMan'' (1971) with Creator/CharltonHeston, the infected here are actually photosensitive mutants and fully functional intellectually, albeit kind of crazy from the change.
** ''Film/IAmLegend'' (2007) with Creator/WillSmith [[NotUsingTheZWord never uses the V-word]], or even the word "undead". The infected (referred to simply as "darkseekers") are alive and explicitly said to be by the protagonist, who is trying to find a cure for the plague. Apparently, it started with a cure for cancer based on the measles virus, but quickly mutated and became airborne. [[spoiler:It is later revealed that one of the antidotes that Neville is experimenting with is actually successful, and the infected test subject is beginning to transform back into a normal human.]]
* ''Film/MyBestFriendIsAVampire'': Jeremy is skeptical that he is a vampire because he is able to walk around in sunlight. Modoc explains that only undead vampires need to avoid sunlight, living vampires like Jeremy and Modoc only find sunlight mildly annoying.
* ''Film/Morbius2022'' involves the titular character, Michael Morbius, curing his rare blood disease by splicing his own DNA with that of bats. It turns him into a monster with incredible power, and a thirst for blood. [[spoiler:His brother Milo soon follows suit.]]

* In ''Film/Underworld2003'', vampires aren't undead, but get their powers from a mutated virus; as a result, they breathe, can die from bullets and stabbing as easily as sunlight, and can have children.
* ''Film/TheVampireDoll'': Yuko Nonomura is a vampire created by hypnosis, which keeps her from dying but twists her into insanity that leaves her begging for death during brief moments of lucidity. She hasan UndeathlyPallor except for the wounds that would have killed her, which are constantly bleeding. She's deathly cold, has SupernaturalGoldEyes, drinks from both animals and humans. Releasing the hypnosis kills her within seconds, but it can only be done by the hypnotist willingly releasing her or the hypnotist dying.

* In ''Literature/{{Blindsight}}'', vampires were a HumanSubspecies that evolved to prey on other humans. But they went extinct hundreds of thousands of years ago because right angles gave them seizures. The myths about the living dead stemmed from their ability to hibernate for decades at a time while their slow-breeding prey repopulated. And while they're assumed to have been capable of breeding normally, the fact that they were recreated in the 21st century by giving retroviral gene therapy to autists and sociopaths, suggests that there may have once been a natural virus that could turn ordinary humans, or at least half-vampires, into vampires.

** The White Court vampires (or [[InSeriesNickname Whampires]], [[TheNicknamer as Harry Dresden calls them]]) are simply humans that have a demonic symbiote called the Hunger in their bodies that grants them immortality and superhuman capabilities. This makes them different from the Black Court or the Red Court ones:
*** They don't feed on blood, they [[EmotionEater feed through physical contact on a particular emotion]], which is determined by their bloodline -- the Raiths feed on [[VampiresAreSexGods lust]], the Malvora on fear, the Skavis feed on despair. However, the feeding process is dangerous, since it can drain the victim's life force and kill them. Also, the people who are the Whampires' regular "meals" become addicted to the experience. Also, if a Whampire is starving, they will inadvertently attract people to them as potential prey. This is especially visible in the case of [[ThePornomancer Thomas]] [[DeconstructedTrope Raith]], who couldn't get a steady nonmagical job because his female colleagues and clients sexually assaulted him.
*** They don't have the stereotypical vampire weaknesses, their only weakness is the emotion that opposes the one that they feed on and its symbols; it is either love, courage, or hope.
*** They have souls, which means they have free will and can choose to be either good or evil. They can cross a threshold uninvited without being weakened more than a wizard entering uninvited; it is also possible for them to initiate a Soulgaze with a wizard or to become a Faerie Knight.

** The Red Court also [[StealthPun counts]] ([[spoiler:well, not, since they are extinct as of ''Literature/{{Changes}}'']]), especially the half-breeds. The first stage of turning is becoming a half-breed, a human with a HorrorHunger for blood. Half-breeds retain their souls and free will like the White Court vampires and HolyBurnsEvil doesn't apply to them if they bear no ill will. The true Red Court vampires are a [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]] example; after a half-breed kills someone by feeding on them, they become a fully-fledged Red Court vampire. Their soul leaves the body, while the body is still living and turns into a [[AnimalisticAbomination batlike demon]] [[HumanoidAbomination in a human "flesh mask"]].
* ''Literature/{{Elcenia}}'': Elcenia's vampires are neither undead nor created from other creatures, but instead a race that reproduces on its own like any other; and whose members can naturally shapeshift between bats and pale humanoids, and feed on blood.
* In ''Literature/FevreDream'', vampires are a separate humanoid species, who although long-lived do live and die as normal, and reproduce in the usual way. (The thing about bite victims becoming vampires is explicitly stated to be a baseless superstition.)

* The "vampires" from the proto-ZombieApocalypse novel ''Literature/IAmLegend'' provide an early example of non-supernatural vampires explained in a sci-fi context. Many of the people infected with vampirism (a bacterial disease) are still alive and completely mortal; while other vampires are actually undead zombie-like creatures, but when they infect a live person, it turns them into a vampire without killing them.

* In ''Literature/{{Peeps}}'', "vampires" are actually people infected with a parasite that makes them violently insane as well as extending their lifespan and increasing their strength. Except for "carriers" who have the benefits of the parasite without the insanity, and mostly hunt the ones who are.
* In ''Literature/TheSagaOfDarrenShan'', vampires just age at a tenth of the normal human rate, half-vampires a fifth. However, Darren was turned, he faked his death so that he could leave without drawing suspicion.
* In ''Literature/TheSanguineChronicles'', vampirism and [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent lycanthropy]] are both caused by a virus and the infected is perfectly alive. As Marko has to convince [[spoiler:Aconite]] after her infection.

* Methuselahs of ''Literature/TrinityBlood'' have a bacterium that feeds on red blood cells in their bloodstream, which they need a regular supply of. They typically live for 300 years and most are born with the bacteria, which kicks in sometime in their [[ImmortalityBeginsAtTwenty teens or twenties]]. Despite having supernatural abilities and WeakenedByTheLight, they consider "Vampire" to be a {{Fantastic Slur|s}}.

* ''Series/StarTrek'': The [[MonsterOfTheWeek alien of the week]] in "[[Recap/StarTrekS1E1TheManTrap The Man Trap]]" is a "salt vampire", a living alien, with a mouth resembling a leech, which sucks the salt out of the bodies of crew members, killing them in the process.

* Vampires from ''TabletopGame/BladesInTheDark'' are technically living, since they are the result of a ghost possessing a "hollow" -- a magically prepared human body that was stripped of the soul it had been born with. Since destroying a soul does not kill the body in this setting, hollows and, by extension, vampires have regular human metabolism, albeit jacked way up in case of the latter.

** The ''TabletopGame/{{Ravenloft}}'' setting has "vampyres", which do not have the usual vampire weaknesses but whose only power is to charm someone they've bitten due to euphoric venom in their saliva. They started in [[TabletopGame/AdvancedDungeonsAndDragons2ndEdition 2nd edition]], where their stats were pretty much the above Pseudo-Undead "template" applied to vampires.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'': Vampires are humans who've been infected and mutated by "Strain I" of the Human Meta-Human Vampire Virus while elves infected by the same variant become Banshees, and a different subvariant turns humans into Nosferatu. The exact effects differ by edition and subtype, but vampires generally become immortal, gain a HealingFactor, and can shrug off lethal toxins with ease, at the cost becoming vulnerable to sunlight and substances like silver or [[WoodenStake wood]], and steady degradation of their Essence that can only be halted by absorbing Essence from other metahumans. They can also no longer keep down normal food, and instead need to feed on metahuman blood. Cosmetic changes such as skin growing pale and developing more distinct fangs are also common. They do still need to breathe (though they simply go into [[HumanPopsicle torpor]] if cut off from air, rather than dying) and have a pulse, though both their breathing and pulse rates are slower than normal.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Traveller}}'': In ''Journal of the Travellers' Aid Society'' #16 Amber Zone adventure "The Day of the Glow", an epidemic of a disease called the "glowing plague" breaks out on the planet Purfyr. The symptoms include sunlight on the victim's skin becoming extremely painful, shrinking gums (which makes the victim's teeth, particularly the canines, seem to lengthen), an intense desire to consume iron-rich organic substances (such as blood), and insanity that can cause the victim to resort to murder and/or cannibalism to obtain blood. PlayerCharacters who participate in the scenario may come to the conclusion that vampires actually exist.

* ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'' introduces Vamp to the ''VideoGame/MetalGear'' series. Despite his UndeathlyPallor, ScaryTeeth and penchant for blood, his backstory is nowhere near supernatural -- he's a Romanian war orphan who survived being bombed in a church by feeding off his own family's blood. The other seemingly supernatural abilities he has (his super strength, agility, and apparent immortality) are eventually {{Hand Wave}}d in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'' as the abilities of the {{Nanomachines}} he received prior to the events of ''[=MGS2=]''. Lastly, just to drive the trope home, Snake explains to Raiden that he's called Vamp not because of his vampire-like traits, but for his bisexuality (whether or not he was TheVamp in any of his relationships is never touched upon, ironically).

* ''Website/TaerelSetting'': The Kin'toni are living beings infected with a virus/prion of sorts that turns them into blood-thirsty, sun-fearing beings who drink blood. They are able to be killed like living beings, the wiki has kin'toni die of such things such as sickness, blood loss, and one who died of a heart attack. Spread like a zombie outbreak though.

* Creator/DCComics: Sgt. Vincent Velcro from ''Creature Commandos'' and ''ComicBook/FrankensteinAgentOfShade'' is a "scientific vampire", a man experimented on to have all the same powers as a vampire, including bat transformation and super-strength, but none of the weaknesses.
* ''ComicBook/{{Morbius}}'': Morbius [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin the Living Vampire]] has none of the regular vampire weaknesses aside from the hunger for blood itself, and some ''very'' [[{{Pun}} light]] photosensitivity in lieu of a weakness to sunlight, due to having been transformed by science instead of being bitten by an actual undead vampire ([[FantasyKitchenSink which do exist]] in the Franchise/MarvelUniverse as well).

* ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueGodsAndMonsters'' is set in an {{alternate|Universe}} Franchise/DCUniverse starring radically different counterparts of familiar superheroes; with their version of "{{Franchise/Batman}}" actually being Kirk Langstrom (better known as Man-Bat in the rest of the DC Multiverse). Unlike most incarnations of Langstrom (who are usually [[OurWerebeastsAreDifferent were]]-{{bat|People}} monsters), this one instead became an {{expy}} of Franchise/{{Marvel|Universe}}'s ComicBook/{{Morbius}}; a scientist who had accidentally turned himself into a quasi-vampiric mutant in a botched attempt to cure his terminal illness. Langstrom has several of the usual vampire traits, including [[HorrorHunger strong cravings for blood]] along with superhuman strength, speed, and durability, though [[DaywalkingVampire sunlight doesn't seem to hurt him]].

* Chiropterans in ''Anime/BloodPlus'' are mostly humans infected with a "d-base" extracted from the blood of a queen. Chevaliers are humans fed blood from a queen. While the queens are the biological offspring of a queen and a chevalier, born as twins.

* In ''Manga/DevilsLine'', the vampires look virtually identical to humans. They are labeled "devils/[[{{Oni}} oni]]" and the "red-eye" race. They are biologically unchanged from humans, except for having a low body temperature (10 degrees lower than humans), pale-colored skin and heavy eye-bags. They also have enhanced physical abilities (super strength, speed, reflexes and senses) and the ability to heal their injuries. However, when a devil sees human blood or experience sexual arousal their body starts to transform; their eyes turn red, their canines and nails grow to long lengths, their blood vessels bulge out and they lose their sense of self to their instinctive need to drink blood. Lastly, devils have short lifespans, living up to an average of only 39 years.
* Vampires in ''Manga/InterviewsWithMonsterGirls'' is considered a HumanSubspecies that have some different biological features, such as needing to ingest blood for survival and heightened senses. They are also legally treated as humans and accorded human rights.
* Vampires in ''Manga/{{Karin}}'' are their own species who are more or less human until they start going through puberty, at which point they subsist entirely on human blood. The only traditional weaknesses they show are being incredibly susceptible to sunlight and an aversion to garlic (though that's only because they have an acute sense of smell). [[spoiler:They're also capable of interbreeding with humans, but all resulting {{Dhampyr}}s are sterile.]]
* ''Manga/MonsterMusume'': Vampires are a species of bat-like liminal that are infected with a virus. They have wings instead of hands, are sensitive to bright light, and drink blood because they need to consume liquids with high iron content. However, they're not undead and they have no supernatural abilities. This is explicitly contrasted to actual undead beings who've appeared in the series, like zombies and ghosts.
* Evangeline in ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'' is an interesting case in that she claims to be undead and has very vampire-like qualities, despite lacking a few of the well-known weaknesses such as sunlight. Still, she lives and breathes like any other student in the series, she just happens to be much older than the rest. [[spoiler:It's revealed late in the series that Evangeline is the result of a magical experiment about immortality, transforming her into the vampire she is]].
* Methuselahs of ''Literature/TrinityBlood'' have a bacterium that feeds on red blood cells in their bloodstream, which they need a regular supply of. They typically live for 300 years and most are born with the bacteria, which kicks in sometime in their [[ImmortalityBeginsAtTwenty teens or twenties]]. Despite having supernatural abilities and WeakenedByTheLight, they consider "Vampire" to be a {{Fantastic Slur|s}}.

* Creator/DCComics: Sgt. Vincent Velcro of the [[ComicBook/FrankensteinAgentOfShade Creature Commandos]] was a "scientific vampire", a man experimented on to have all the same powers as a vampire including bat transformation and super strength, but none of the weaknesses.
* Creator/MarvelComics: {{ComicBook/Morbius}} [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin the Living Vampire]], who has none of the regular vampire weaknesses aside from the hunger for blood itself, and some ''very'' [[JustForPun light]] photosensitivity in lieu of a weakness to sunlight; due to having been transformed by science, instead of being bitten by an actual undead vampire ([[FantasyKitchenSink which do exist in the Marvel Universe as well]]).

* ''{{ComicBook/Vampirella}}'': Thanks to a '''''severe''''' case of DependingOnTheWriter, Vampirella is either the undead daughter of Lilith or a living HumanAlien Vampire variant. Sometimes she's a mix of both. {{Lampshaded}} by ComicBook/RedSonja in a crossover, where she's confused about why she can see Vampirella's breath in the cold air despite being a vampire.

* {{Discussed}} in the ''{{Fanfic/Luminosity}}'' short story "Molly", when the human Cadan recognizes Molly as a vampire:
-->'''Cadan''': ...are you technically? Dead?\\
'''Molly''': I don't feel that way.\\
'''Cadan''': No heartbeat. ...Right?\\
'''Molly''': Trees are alive.

* ''Fanfic/TheEventideVerse'': The one-off [[InvoluntaryTransformation "Flutterbat"]] transformation in the ''MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' episode ''[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS4E7Bats Bats!]]'' is reimagined into a disease that transmits from [[PunBasedCreature vampire fruit bats]] to pegasus ponies via bites. These "bat ponies" have bat-like wings, red eyes, fangs, and an intense thirst for [[VegetarianVampire fruit juices,]] but are very much still alive. The transformation can even be treated, though not fully cured, with the right potion. The condition is also [[LamarckWasRight hereditary,]] with foals appearing to be ordinary pegasi at first.

* ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueGodsAndMonsters'' is set in an {{alternate|Universe}} Franchise/DCUniverse starring radically different counterparts of familiar superheroes; with their version of "{{Franchise/Batman}}" actually being Kirk Langstrom (better known as Man-Bat in the rest of the DC Multiverse). Unlike most incarnations of Langstrom (who are usually [[OurWerebeastsAreDifferent were]]-{{bat|People}} monsters), this one instead became an {{expy}} of {{Franchise/Marvel|Universe}}'s {{ComicBook/Morbius}}; a scientist who had accidentally turned himself into a quasi-vampiric mutant in a botched attempt to cure his terminal illness. Langstrom has several of the usual vampire traits, including [[HorrorHunger strong cravings for blood]] along with superhuman strength, speed, and durability, though [[DaywalkingVampire sunlight doesn't seem to hurt him]].

* In ''Film/TheAddiction'', which portrays a vampire's need for blood as a metaphor for drug dependency, Creator/ChristopherWalken plays Peina, a vampire who claims to have almost conquered his addiction and, as a result, is almost human. He can eat real food, sleep, maintain a job, diet, and defecate--all things other vampires in this world cannot do because they're only driven by their hunger for blood, like a heroin addict in need of their fix.

* In Creator/PeterWatts' ''{{Literature/Blindsight}}'', vampires were a HumanSubspecies that evolved to prey on other humans. But they went extinct hundreds of thousands of years ago because right angles gave them seizures. The myths about the living dead stemmed from their ability to hibernate for decades at a time while their slow-breeding prey repopulated. And while they're assumed to have been capable of breeding normally, the fact that they were recreated in the 21st century by giving retroviral gene therapy to autists and sociopaths, suggests that there may have once been a natural virus that could turn ordinary humans, or at least half-vampires, into vampires.
* In Garfield Reeves-Stevens' vampire thriller novel ''Bloodshift'', vampirism is initially presented as the classic supernatural phenomenon, but is discovered to be a virally-induced mutation (transmitted by drinking the blood of an infected mutant after having had one's own drained to near-death) that transforms a human being into a superficially-identical but radically different organism. The transformed being gains immense strength, speed and durability, enhanced by the vampire's internal organs all fusing into a single "generalized organ" that takes over the function of ''all'' the others; this allows any part of it to support any other injured part (the single exception to this organ-fusion is the heart, which is why stake-sized weapons that transfix it are still fatal). The vampire also gains effectively unlimited longevity, though extremely old vampires continue mutating into something eventually unrecognizable as human, and it is implied that very few vampires have the psychological strength of will to live much beyond five centuries. However, the organism also becomes dependent on human blood, fatally vulnerable to ultraviolet light (including sunlight), and capable of self-directed psychosomatic injury (vampires who believe in their own nature as damned undead are harmed by crucifixes because ''they'' believe they "should" be). Varies slightly from the trope in that additional, genuinely supernatural abilities seem to be accessible at later stages of vampiric existence (telepathy, precognition etc.), but the vampires themselves are still living organisms.
* In J.M. Dillard's Franchise/StarTrek novel, ''Bloodthirst,'' a genetically-engineered virus induces severe porphyria, with a craving for blood.

** The Red Court also [[StealthPun counts]] ([[spoiler:well, not, since they are extinct as of ''{{Literature/Changes}}'']]), especially the half-breeds. The first stage of turning is becoming a half-breed, a human with a HorrorHunger for blood. Half-breeds retain their souls and free will like the White Court vampires and HolyBurnsEvil doesn't apply to them if they bear no ill will. The true Red Court vampires are a [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]] example; after a half-breed kills someone by feeding on them, they become a fully-fledged Red Court vampire. Their soul leaves the body, while the body is still living and turns into a [[AnimalisticAbomination batlike demon]] [[HumanoidAbomination in a human "flesh mask"]].
* ''{{Literature/Elcenia}}'': Elcenia's vampires are neither undead nor created from other creatures, but instead a race that reproduces on its own like any other; and whose members can naturally shapeshift between bats and pale humanoids, and feed on blood.

* Creator/OctaviaButler's ''{{Literature/Fledgling}}'' features the Ina, who are a separate species living symbiotically with humans. They drink blood, avoid the sun, and live a very long time. They reproduce biologically among themselves; there is no way for humans to become one.
* ''Literature/HereticalEdge'' vampires are actually aliens called Akharu. They did not originally have to drink blood, but they were cursed with a blood plague and now have to drink the blood of others in order to prevent it from paralyzing them. An Akharu can turn a human into another Akharu as long as the human isn't already a Heretic or hybrid of another species, but converted humans will burn in the sunlight.
* The "vampires" from Creator/RichardMatheson's proto-ZombieApocalypse novel ''Literature/IAmLegend'' provide an early example of non-supernatural vampires explained in a sci-fi context. Many of the people infected with vampirism (a bacterial disease) are still alive and completely mortal; while other vampires are actually undead zombie-like creatures, but when they infect a live person, it turns them into a vampire without killing them.
* ''Literature/ImmortalGuardians'': In Dianne Duvall's books, vampires are living, breathing humans who've been infected with a virus that causes an extreme allergy to sunlight, manic violence, and a desire for blood, although blood isn't needed for survival. The feeding is what causes the virus to spread from host to host, and requires them to eventually be hunted down and slain.

* In Scott Westerfeld's ''{{Literature/Peeps}}'' "vampires" are actually people infected with a parasite that makes them violently insane as well as extending their lifespan and increasing their strength. Except for "carriers" who have the benefits of the parasite without the insanity, and mostly hunt the ones who are.
* ''Literature/TheSagaOfDarrenShan'', they just age at a tenth of the normal human rate, half-vampires a fifth. Though when Darren was turned, he faked his death so he could leave without drawing suspicion.

* ''Literature/TheStrain'' Trilogy: The ''strigoi'' are victims of parasitic blood worms that take over their bodies and put them under the Master's will. They're never explicitly referred to as undead, and many traditional vampire characteristics are explained in biological terms. Even the Master's immortality is credited to his ability to BodySurf in parasite form, as opposed to vampiric eternal life. Subverted with The Master and his fellow ancients, as the final book confirms they are [[spoiler:undead pieces of a slain FallenAngel rather than a human.]]

* ''Series/DoctorWho'': "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS26E3TheCurseOfFenric The Curse of Fenric]]": The Haemovores are a species of vampiric humanoids, but are themselves not undead. They're mutants that look and behave like vampires, subsisting on blood (or seawater), but are completely alive.
* ''Series/StargateAtlantis'': The Wraith. Deathly pale humanoids with fangs who suck the life out of their victims? Check, check, and check. (though they feed on life force through their hands, rather than biting people and drinking blood.) The big difference between them and ordinary vampires is that they're living creatures descended from insect-like aliens that absorbed human DNA.
* ''Series/StarTrek'': "[[Recap/StarTrekS1E1TheManTrap The Man Trap]]": The [[MonsterOfTheWeek alien of the week]] is a "salt vampire", a living alien, with a mouth resembling a leech, which sucks the salt out of the bodies of crew members, killing them in the process.

* Vampires from ''TabletopGame/BladesInTheDark'' are technically living, since they are the result of a ghost possessing a "hollow" -- a magically-prepared human body that was stripped of the soul it had been born with. Since destroying a soul does not kill the body in this setting, hollows and, by extension, vampires have regular human metabolism, albeit jacked way up in case of the latter.

** The TabletopGame/{{Ravenloft}} setting has "vampyres", which do not have the usual vampire weaknesses but whose only power is to charm someone they've bitten due to euphoric venom in their saliva. They started in [[TabletopGame/AdvancedDungeonsAndDragons2ndEdition 2nd edition]], where their stats were pretty much the above Pseudo-Undead "template" applied to vampires.
* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'': Vampires can either be true undead or undead-like living, depending on which plane of the multiverse one looks at (planes with living vampires include Innistrad and the aforementioned Zendikar). This is a vital distinction in regards to becoming a Planeswalker, as the Spark that grants Planeswalkers their DimensionalTraveler powers can only be developed within a living soul; Sorin Markov of Innistrad is able to become a vampire Planeswalker because Innistradi vampires are not truly undead, not like vampires on many other planes.

* ''{{TabletopGame/Traveller}}'': In ''Journal of the Travellers' Aid Society'' #16 Amber Zone adventure "The Day of the Glow", an epidemic of a disease called the "glowing plague" breaks out on the planet Purfyr. The symptoms include sunlight on the victim's skin becoming extremely painful, shrinking gums (which makes the victim's teeth, particularly the canines, seem to lengthen), an intense desire to consume iron-rich organic substances (such as blood), and insanity that can cause the victim to resort to murder and/or cannibalism to obtain blood. PlayerCharacters who participate in the scenario may come to the conclusion that vampires actually exist.

* Hunters in ''{{VideoGame/Bloodborne}}'' are not referred to as vampires, but they tick a lot of the boxes. They are not undead and can be killed by conventional weapons, but gain increased agility, strength, and durability after receiving a transfusion of Yharnam blood, and can also heal instantly by either injecting vials of blood or (via the Rally mechanic) by attacking enemies immediately after taking damage, presumably splashing blood in their wounds.
* In Creator/ElephantGames' ''[[FracturedFairyTale Cursed Fables]]: White As Snow'', it's eventually revealed that [[spoiler:Literature/SnowWhite]] is a vampire. She exhibits absolutely no signs of being undead, however; she was found and adopted as a baby and grew up like any child, gradually maturing into a fully grown woman. In fact, until the bloodlust drives her to snap and start killing everyone, her father and stepmother believe her to be a perfectly normal, healthy human being, albeit one with an UndeathlyPallor. (And yes, she was a vampire from birth -- it's discovered late in the game that she killed people throughout her childhood by drinking from them, but their deaths were mistaken for illness. [[spoiler:This includes her adoptive mother, whom she killed when she discovered the secret.]])

* ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'' introduced Vamp to the series. Despite his UndeathlyPallor, ScaryTeeth and penchant for blood, his backstory is nowhere near supernatural -- he's a Romanian war orphan who survived being bombed in a church by feeding off his own family's blood. The other seemingly supernatural abilities he has (his super strength, agility, and apparent immortality) are eventually {{Hand Wave}}d in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'' as the abilities of the {{Nanomachines}} he received prior to the events of ''[=MGS2=]''. Lastly, just to drive the trope home, Snake explains to Raiden that he's called Vamp not because of his vampire-like traits, but for his bisexuality (whether or not he was TheVamp in any of his relationships is never touched upon, ironically).
* ''{{VideoGame/Rimworld}}'' has Sanguophages, a particular strand of xenohumans that fit many of the classic vampire tropes, including requiring occasional long, multi-day sleeps usually in coffins called 'deathrests', intolerance of heat and sunlight, and of course a thirst for human blood (often extracted in the form of 'Hemogen packs'). However, despite their many abilities, they are alive and human just as much as any other xenohumans, and though difficult can be killed conventionally.

* The True Ancestors of the {{Franchise/Nasuverse}}, particularly ''{{VisualNovel/Tsukihime}}'', are very much organic living beings. Vampires who became thus by being bitten by True Ancestors (or by other "second-generation" vampires), however, are regular undead.

* The closest thing to a vampire in ''Webcomic/Aurora2019'' was Upyr, a man who thirsted for blood after being exposed to cave corruption.

* Vampires in ''WebComic/SamAndFuzzy'' are living beings, albeit with a very different physiology (their heart and lungs are located inside their craniums, and their bodies contain seventeen appendixes that cover all the other necessities) and a prolonged lifespan. They sleep, eat and drink like humans (though they're mostly nocturnal by nature) and their need for blood appears to be a compulsion rather than a requirement (synthetic blood, which the vampires vastly prefer to drinking from people, is widely available in the Underground either way). [[spoiler:Like most supernatural beings in ''Sam and Fuzzy'', they were born from The Tar, a psycho-reactive substance that creates life out of thoughts, beliefs and fantasies. Vampires drink blood, are nocturnal and have some supernatural abilities because vampire ''stories'', who pre-date the actual vampire species by centuries, believe they did, but The Tar cannot create non-living matter and as such they're mostly human otherwise. While Vampires breed true (including with humans) and no longer need Tar to replenish their numbers, any contact with unrefined Tar [[ImMelting causes them to dissolve]].]]
* The vampires in ''Webcomic/CrimsonStars'' are officially considered to be a more advanced offshoot of humanity. While older, more powerful vampires are rumored to have transcended human limitations altogether, ordinary vampires still require food, water, air, sleep and so on in addition to a steady intake of human blood. They reproduce normally, so most vampires are simply born from vampire parents, but converted vampires also exist - usually human underlings ennobled for their service.

* Website/SCPFoundation: [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-742 SCP-742]] is a mutagenic retrovirus that transforms humans into vampire-like creatures. They bite their prey with paralyzing venom, and instead of feeding on blood, they drain stem cells from their victims' bone marrow, which allows them to become biologically immortal.
* Website/TaerelSetting: The Kin'toni are living beings infected with a virus/prion of sorts that turns them into blood-thirsty, sun-fearing beings who drink blood. They are able to be killed like living beings, the wiki has kin'toni die of such things such as sickness, blood loss, and one who died of a heart attack. Spread like a zombie outbreak though.

* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'': In the episode "Shadow of the Bat!", Dala (a minor vampire villain from the ''{{Franchise/Batman}}'' comics) is depicted this way; she was turned into a quasi-vampire due to a FreakLabAccident, which gave her most of the typical vampire traits and powers, to the point that {{ComicBook/Etrigan}} noted that she was almost indistinguishable from a true supernatural vampire. She also bites Batman, thus infecting him with vampirism... [[spoiler:though the ending reveals that she never actually turned him into a vampire, that was [[AllJustADream all just a nightmare]] he suffered due to being injected with hallucinogenic venom from Dala's bite]].

* Methuselahs of ''LightNovel/TrinityBlood'' have a bacterium that feeds on red blood cells in their bloodstream, which they need a regular supply of. They typically live for 300 years and most are born with the bacteria, which kicks in sometime in their [[ImmortalityBeginsAtTwenty teens or twenties]]. Despite having supernatural abilities and WeakenedByTheLight, they consider "Vampire" to be a FantasticSlur.

** The TabletopGame/{{Ravenloft}} setting has "vampyres", which do not have the usual vampire weaknesses but whose only power is to charm someone they've bitten due to euphoric venom in their saliva. They started in [[TabletopGame/AdvancedDungeonsAndDragonsSecondEdition 2nd edition]], where their stats were pretty much the above Pseudo-Undead "template" applied to vampires.

** The [[TabletopGame/AdvancedDungeonsAndDragonsFirstEdition 1st edition]] ''Monster Manual II'' introduced "Pseudo-Undead", a rule precursor of what would be called "templates" in later editions. Those were (living) humanoid creatures with the appearance and physical traits of the most common undead, but with none of their supernatural powers. Pseudo-vampires were cited as the most common and most human-looking examples.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'': Vampires are humans who've been infected and mutated by one variant of the Human Meta-Human Vampire Virus while elves infected by the same variant become Banshees and a different variant turns humans into Nosferatu. In all cases, the infected becomes unable to eat anything but the blood of metahumans, gains severe sensitivity to sunlight and silver, undergo physical mutations that include lengthening and sharpening of the teeth and fingernails, and gain multiple magical abilities. None of them are undead, though, they're still alive and must regularly drain the Essence of living creatures via drinking their blood to survive.

* ''Literature/LostSouls'': Vampires are a predatory subspecies of humanity that have been living alongside, breeding with, and preying upon humans for eons. In fact, the four main vampires in the book (Zillah, Molochai, Twig, and [[spoiler:Nothing]]) have so much human ancestry that almost all the 'classic' vampire traits have been bred out of them.

* All vampires in ''Manga/CallOfTheNight'' are this. It is explicitly stated that most of the known weaknesses of vampires, such as garlic, silver bullets, and crosses, are just rumors based on sightings of real vampires that became more fiction than fact over time.
* All vampires in ''Manga/TheCaseStudyOfVanitas'' were once humans. The renowned alchemist Paracelsus built the Tower of Babel as part of an experiment to rewrite the World Formula, resulting in a disaster known as the Babel Incident. The human formula had been altered and given way to the existence of vampires. Vampires can suppress the urge to drink blood, have no problem with sunlight, and are considered living beings.

* Evangeline in ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'' is an interesting case in that she claims to be undead and has very vampire-like qualities, but still lacks a few of the well-known weaknesses such as sunlight. Still, she lives and breathes like any other student in the series, she just happens to be much older than the rest. [[spoiler:It's revealed late in the series that Evangeline is the result of a magical experiment about immortality, transforming her into the vampire she is]].
* The True Ancestors of the {{Franchise/Nasuverse}}, particularly ''{{VisualNovel/Tsukihime}}'', are very much organic living beings. Vampires who became thus by being bitten by True Ancestors (or by other "second-generation" vampires), however, are regular undead.

* In ''Manga/DevilsLine'', the vampires look virtually identical to humans. They are labeled "devils/[[{{Oni}} oni]]" and the "red-eye" race. They are biologically unchanged from humans, except for having a low body temperature (10 degrees lower than humans), pale-colored skin and heavy eye-bags. They also have enhanced physical abilities (super strength, speed, reflexes and senses) and the ability to heal their injuries. However, when a devil sees human blood or experience sexual arousal their body starts to transform; their eyes turn red, their canines and nails grow to long lengths, their blood vessels bulge out and they lose their sense of self to their instinctive need to drink blood. Lastly, devils have short lifespans, living up to an average of only 39 years.

* ''ComicBook/StrontiumDog'': Durham Red is an apparently ageless bloodsucker, but her abilities are a side effect of exposure to strontium-90, and she is otherwise perfectly human.

* ''Film/TheVampireDoll'': Yuko Nonomura is a vampire created by hypnosis, which keeps her from dying but twists her into insanity that leaves her begging for death during brief moments of lucidity. She hasan UndeathlyPallor except for the wounds that would have killed her, which are constantly bleeding. She's deathly cold, has SupernaturalGoldEyes, drinks from both animals and humans. Releasing the hypnosis kills her within seconds, but it can only be done by the hypnotist willingly releasing her or the hypnotist dying.

* in J.M. Dillard's Franchise/StarTrek novel, ''Bloodthirst,'' a genetically-engineered virus induces severe porphyria, with a craving for blood.
* ''Literature/LostSouls'': Vampires are a predatory subspecies of humanity that have been living alongside, breeding with, and preying upon humans for eons. In fact, the four main vampires in the book (Zillah, Molochai, Twig, and [[spoiler:Nothing]]) have so much human ancestry that almost all the 'classic' vampire traits have been bred out of them.

* ''Series/StarTrek'': "[[Recap/StarTrekS1E1TheManTrap The Man Trap]]": The [[MonsterOfTheWeek alien of the week]] is a "salt vampire", a living alien, with a mouth resembling a leech, which sucks the salt out of the bodies of crew members, killing them in the process.

* The TabletopRolePlayingGame ''TabletopGame/AfterbombMadness'' has a playable race of humanoid mutants called the Albinos; they share a lot in common with stereotypical vampires, their albinism means they can't stand sunlight, and they drink human blood for sustenance and to lessen the effects of sunlight.
* Vampires from ''TabletopGame/BladesInTheDark'' are technically living, since they are the result of a ghost possessing a "hollow" -- a magically-prepared human body that was stripped of the soul it had been born with. Since destroying a soul does not kill the body in this setting, hollows and, by extension, vampires have regular human metabolism, albeit jacked way up in case of the latter.

* ''VideoGame/EternalChampions'': Midknight was turned into a living vampire through scientific means. The advantages of this are mixed: he's super-strong, long-lived, has hypnotic powers, and lacks the traditional vampire weaknesses like the sun, garlic, and holy symbols (though he still dislikes them), but the biggest downside is that his body is slowly rotting away unless he consumes human blood, which he [[FriendlyNeighborhoodVampire finds abhorrent]].

* The closest thing to a vampire in ''Webcomic/Aurora2019'' was Upyr, a man who thirsted for blood after being exposed to cave corruption.

* ''VideoGame/EternalChampions'': Midknight was turned into a living vampire through scientific means. The advantages of this are mixed: he's super-strong, long-lived, has hypnotic powers, and lacks the traditional vampire weakness like the sun, garlic, and crosses (though he still dislikes them), but the biggest downside is that his body is slowly rotting away unless he consumes human blood, which he [[FriendlyNeighborhoodVampire finds abhorrent]].