History Main / TechnicallyLivingVampire

* ''VideoGame/EternalChampions'': Midknight was turned into a vampiric creature via scientific means and is described in-game as a living vampire. 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 will slowly rot away if he doesn't consume blood, which he [[FriendlyNeighborhoodVampire finds abhorrent]].

* In ''TabletopGame/WerewolfTheApocalypse'', the Ananasi werespiders drink blood to power their supernatural abilities, and when they do it in their human form, they look like vampires to any uninformed onlooker. They even borrow the "Blood Pool" mechanic from ''TabletopGame/VampireTheMasquerade'', though their similarities to the Kindred end there.

Compare: {{Dhampir}}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.

Compare: {{Dhampir}}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 displays superficially vampiric behaviors or traits, without actually being a true example of whatever a vampire is defined to be.

* In ''TabletopGame/WerewolfTheApocalypse'', the Ananasi werespiders drink blood to power their supernatural abilities, and when they do it in their human form, they look like vampires to any uninformed onlooker. They even borrow the "Blood Pool" mechanic from ''TabletopGame/VampireTheMasquerade'' (though it's separate from the blood in their veins). But unlike vampires, Ananasi ''are'' able to eat normal food and drink, and they don't need to expend any effort to look biologically alive since they still are. The downside is that they have the same vulnerabilities as any other mortal (aging, drowning, disease, etc.).

The Technically Living Vampire is a [[OurVampiresAreDifferent hematophagous creature that looks and acts much like a traditional vampire]], but with at least one crucial difference: they are fully alive instead of being [[TheUndead undead]]. These vampires are actually a race of {{transhuman}} {{mutants}}, a HumanSubspecies, or even another different species that was never human to begin with.

This trope is often used when a writer wants to have vampires in their story, but without making them explicitly supernatural in nature. Typically, living vampires lack most of the traditional weaknesses of undead vampires, though they are also usually much easier to kill. It's also not uncommon for them to be simply LongLived (or even aging just like normal humans) rather than being truly immortal.

Compare with the closely-related 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 displays superficially vampiric behaviors or traits, without actually being a true example of whatever a vampire is defined to be.

* In ''TabletopGame/WerewolfTheApocalypse'', the Ananasi werespiders drink blood to power their supernatural abilities, and when they do it in their human form, they look like normal vampires for all intense and purposes, even borrowing the "Blood Pool" mechanic from ''TabletopGame/VampireTheMasquerade''. But unlike vampires, Ananasi ''are'' able to eat normal food and drink, their Blood Pool is separate from the blood coursing through their veins, and they have numerous other benefits and drawbacks from being biologically alive compared to vampires.

* In ''TabletopGame/WerewolfTheApocalypse'', the Ananasi werespiders drink blood to power their supernatural abilities, and when they do it in their human form, they look like normal vampires for all intense and purposes, even borrowing the "Blood Pool" mechanic from ''TabletopGame/VampireTheMasquerade''. But unlike vampires, Ananasi ''are'' able to eat normal food and drink, and their Blood Pool is separate from the blood coursing through their veins.

** 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 [[AdvancedDungeonsAndDragonsSecondEdition 2nd edition]], where their stats were pretty much the above Pseudo-Undead "template" applied to vampires.

* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'': 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.

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

* Remilia and Flandre Scarlet of ''Franchise/TouhouProject'' are explicitly called vampires, but it's noted that they are more closely related to {{Oni}} rather than the undead of any kind. They share many of the same weaknesses with oni, and they're also supernaturally strong much like the oni, but the key difference seems to be that vampires need to drink blood, CannotCrossRunningWater and can't stand in direct sunlight. They also lack several prominent vampire weaknesses, like vulnerability to holy imagery and the need to be invited inside buildings.
* 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.
* The Valentine siblings Keith, Joachim and Hilda from the ''VideoGame/ShadowHearts'' series. They are descended from a long line of vampires, can withstand daylight and don't seem to have any aversion to garlic. Keith describes them as simply stronger and more durable than humans.

* Vampires in ''WebComic/SamAndFuzzy'' are living beings, albeit with a very different physiology (all their vital organs are located inside their craniums, and their bodies contain seventeen spleens) 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]].]]

* Vampires in ''WebComic/SamAndFuzzy'' are living beings, albeit with a very different physiology (all their vital organs are located inside their craniums, and their bodies contain nineteen spleens) 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]].]]

* Vampires in ''WebComic/SamAndFuzzy'' are living beings, albeit with a very different physiology (all their vital organs are located inside their craniums, and their bodies contain nineteen spleens) and a prolonged lifespan. They need to drink human blood to stay alive. [[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]].]]

* Vampires in ''WebComic/SamAndFuzzy'' are living beings, albeit with a very different physiology (all their vital organs are located inside their craniums, and their bodies contain nineteen spleens) and a prolonged lifespan. They need to drink human blood to stay alive. [[spoiler:Like most supernatural beings in ''Sam and Fuzzy'', they were born from The Tar, a psychoreactive substance that makes 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. While Vampires currently breed true and no longer need Tar to replenish their numbers, any contact with unrefined Tar [[ImMelting causes them to dissolve]].]]

* ''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 technically alive, though they are biologically immortal.

* Remilia and Flandre Scarlet of ''Franchise/TouhouProject'' are explicitly called vampires, but it's noted that they are more closely related to {{Oni}} rather than the undead of any kind. They share many of the same weaknesses with oni, and they're also supernaturally strong much like the oni, but the key difference seems to be that vampires need to drink blood and can't stand in direct sunlight. They also lack several prominent vampire weaknesses, like vulnerability to holy imagery and the need to be invited inside buildings.

* Sanguophages in ''{{VideoGame/Rimworld}}'' has [[spoiler: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.]]

* ''Series/StargateAtlantis'': The Wraith. Deathly pale humanoids with fangs who suck the life out of their victims? Check, check, and check. The big difference between them and ordinary vampires is that they're technically alive, though they are biologically immortal. They also feed on life force through their hands, rather than biting people.

* Series/StargateAtlantis: The Wraith. Deathly pale humanoids with fangs who suck the life out of their victims? Check, check, and check. The big difference between them and ordinary vampires is that they're technically alive, though they are biologically immortal. They also feed on life force through their hands, rather than biting people.

* The Valentine siblings Keith, Joachim and Hilda from the ''Videogame/ShadowHearts'' series. They are descended from a long line of vampires, can withstand daylight and don't seem to have any aversion to garlic. Keith describes them as simply stronger and more durable than humans.

* "Series/StargateAtlantis": The Wraith. Deathly pale humanoids with fangs who suck the life out of their victims? Check, check, and check. The big difference between them and ordinary vampires is that they're technically alive, though they are biologically immortal. They also feed on life force through their hands, rather than biting people.