Vampires, vampires, vampires!

imaginepageant — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 10:10:49 -0500

Ah, vampires. Once so feared as vicious predators, now so stigmatized as sparkly pansies. If you're writing a vampire novel this year, what will your vampires be like? I'm edging towards the vicious predator end of the spectrum, but my vampires won't have superhuman strength or speed, or mind-reading abilities, or anything of the like. After all, humans have been at war with vampires for ten years in my novel, so obviously the vampires aren't supremely powerful. Sun will definitely kill them, and they absolutely will not sparkle. Also, have you worked out the origin of your vampires? Will they be more scientific or supernatural? Or will it be a mystery? Since I like having plausible (if not entirely possible) explanations for the supernatural in my literature, a virus will be responsible for creating my vampires. They essentially become a host to the virus, which puts all the cells in the host's body into a state of stasis - except the red blood cells, which the virus feeds on. Fresh red blood cells keeps the virus alive, and the virus in turn keeps the host's body animated. Hooray for co-dependent ecosystems! So yeah. Tell us about your vampires!

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

Elizabeth_Sabourin — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 11:11:41 -0500

I'm writing the first book in a four-part series about supernatural beings. This one is about vampires, the next will be werewolves, and so on. Vampires can be good or bad in my novel. I prefer the traditional super-speed, super-hearing, super-strength version. Sunlight is uncomfortable and prolonged exposure can be lethal (every seen the Moonlight tv show?). A combination of staking and fire kill. And, no, they don't sparkle. Honestly, I haven't given much thought to creature origins, but they'll probably be more supernatural than scientific. I may use my necromancers for this. A dying person, a few dark spells, some complicated rituals, and voila - Vampire! ;) Otherwise you need to be bitten. I love your vamp origins though. I'm always interested to see people's scientific explanations.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

Katherine Jane — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 11:18:42 -0500

Yeah I have vampires if I go for that story and like your's they will not sparkle ! Mine do have abilitys however although it's diffrent for each one, for example one can charm silver and one can walk in the sun. Their at war with each other now, their leader's insane and living in a fifty mile radius has become a fight or flight situation if you're undead. Their exact origin is a mystery although I've worked out their blood needs to some extent. Mine can exist without blood as they are dead so really they can't die but being deprived of blood for a long time will eventually trap them into a imobile and painful state. Also whilst they are strong and fast they essentialy have human bodies which can't take the punishment and their bones are seriously weak meaning that they need human blood of their own type to heal themselves as they can't produce their own. As for actual humans, I have any which won't be turned as yet and I don't really want the humans to make freinds with them on the basis that I wouldn't want to have to be introduced to something I was supposed to eat later on.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

nanthimus — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 12:57:02 -0500

My story has vampires! They're pretty much ruthless predators. There's no shifting into fog or a bat, however they are capable of putting humans in a thrall and using them to do their bidding. There's also a strict hierarchy, with a sire and his creations, however they're not particularly kind towards each other. Their kills are messy and their feeding is frenzied. They can masquerade as humans but when they vamp out, they actually look rather shark-like, with a mouthful of razor sharp, jagged, uneven fangs. This story won't go into detail about the origins of these vampires. The main character is completely ignorant about it and is only concerned with getting off the ship; the vampire hunter is far more concerned with killing them. Plus, he's a self-medicating alcoholic so. Yeah. Chances are he's not going to remember. everything that he's been taught except the important things, like survival and slaying. |D

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

Xathaia — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 15:55:47 -0500

For some reason, I've decided to write about vampires this year, and I'll admit that I'm a bit embarrassed to admit it. There are three different types of vampires in my story, none of which sparkle. The first type is more of a traditional type. They're pretty human in their conduct, but they still drink human blood and sleep in coffins. If they go too long without feeding, they'll likely loose control and slaughter the first human they see. Sunlight does not kill them, but it burns their skin and eyes horribly and makes it difficult for them to move. Otherwise, a good ol' stake will do the trick, and they'll avoid crosses at any cost. The second type is the same as the first, with one crucial difference: they're not nearly as civilised. These vampires have been living in the wild for too long, and their minds have been taken over by an animalistic frenzy. Their primary goal is to feed. They're stronger than the first type, but also less intelligent. The third type is an evolved version of the first. The sun, stakes and crosses have no effect on them. They coexist with humans in a hidden community, and feed on servings from a local blood bank. They're stronger, faster and overall just a lot more 'perfect'. The only way to get rid of them is to rip and burn them. In a way, the plot is based on a humans vs. traditional vampires vs. new age vampires conflict. My main character is a vampire slayer and spends her time hunting down the wild vampires who threaten to destroy the peace in the all-human town that she lives nearby. My two main antagonists are traditional (and very old) vampires who wish to turn the entire human race immortal (albeit for very different reasons). Oh, and just so it's said, a vampire slayer is born when their mother has had sex with a vampire prior to their birth. I see it as natures way of balancing out the vampire population. They're born with cross markings on the palms of their hands, and they're somewhat more tenacious than other humans, but other than that they're nothing special. Combat and slaying techniques have to be learnt.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

krazikrys — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 17:25:54 -0500

No glittery vampires here. I'm still surprised that I fall into this genre this year, but I'm okay with it. I have two types of vampires in my story: the traditional vampire and the Day Walkers. Vampires live in the night and tend to live in cities where there are things to do at night. You won't find them in small towns that roll up their sidewalks at dark. They don't sleep in coffins, but do require a place to sleep that is free of sunlight. They can't go out for long in the daylight without dying. The only things that will kill them are prolonged exposure to sunlight, chopping off their heads or burning them. No steaks through the heart. No crosses. No holy water. They do need blood to survive, but they can drink animal blood as well as human blood. Their fangs are not visible unless they are about to drink. Their eyes look normal unless they are hunting, around flowing blood, or about to kill. Their skin is pale and they are immortal. They have can move so quickly that it is beyond human perception. They have super strength and struggle to keep it under control. They cannot change into anything nor can they fly. It is their strength that gives them the appearance of flight when they jump for long distances. There are Elders who have been vampires for centuries. They have set down a few rules for vampires to follow to help them blend in to human society. One of which is the killing of Innocents. Vampires are not allowed to kill anyone under the age of 16. Nor are they allowed to turn anyone under the age of 16 into a vampire. Vampires are "made" by being nearly drained of all your blood and then drinking the vampire's blood. There are also "Day Walkers." Day Walkers are vampires so they have all the same capabilities with one exception. Day Walkers are able to be in the sun, just like their name implies. Unlike vampires, Day Walkers are born not made. They have vampire fathers and human mothers. They typically kill their mothers during birth and rarely know their fathers. They age like human children until about eighteen or nineteen, when their aging slows. By the time they are twenty-five, they no longer age. Day Walkers are looked down on by most vampires. The Elders, however, know that they can be useful. They are usually given a job to do: hunt down vampires breaking the law. Day Walkers tend to run in bands of four to six. Very rarely will you see a solo Day Walker, unless they are hunting another vampire.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

equestrian4life — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 17:50:46 -0500

My story is a vampire book! My vampires live in Medieval Camelot. They do not sparkle, nor do they refuse eating. They drink blood from goblets and eat food once a month at huge banquets. They live forever but can die from serious wounds. Some of the vampires even have magical powers! Once in their forever lifetime, a vampire will cross paths with their bond which is an unbreakable tie between two. If a bond is made, the two forces of the vampires creates a bigger force thus giving them unbeatable power and strength.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

cryptorchids — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 17:52:08 -0500

I'm thinking more vampirism-as-an-illness this year. It's a virus that immortalizes cells, causes the victim to crave blood, even develop a nutritional dependency on it... But I sort of want to incorporate some supernatural elements outside of that: ghosts, "demon lovers," shadows, etc. I always feel so determined to reconcile it with science, though. Not sure how I'll handle that.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

SpyGirl — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 20:34:32 -0500

Definitely no sparkles. A very rule bound, "civilized" society, at least on the surface. But other than that I have no idea. I haven't done a vampire novel since my first Nano....so this is a return to a loved genre but I still have a lot of thinking to do to figure out what I want to accomplish.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

Kia_Zi_Shiru — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 21:58:41 -0500

vampires, yes, two types of them, neither sparkle and neither are immortal. They are based on vampirism or "true vampires". You are born with the illness though it is not hereditary. It is an illness that can get worse and worse, though it usually starts to show in puberty, this is called someone's awakening. The first type is the blood type, they need fresh blood and they usually have their own donor for this. because their own blood does not contain enough energy for it to function properly. The second type is the energy type, slightly more new-age and rare, but they need energy from something, some prefer nature, some prefer groups of people, some even prefer to use one person. I did make them more fancy, my energytype vampire can feel someones energy signal and knows when someone is close and my blood type actually lose their eye colour depending on how bad it is for them. Other than that, they can live in the sun (though are sensitive, burn easy etc) and have quite normal lives. But then, when your best friend can see your future, being able to sense someone that you know the energy pattern off is not that strange ;)

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

vampyre_smiles — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 22:50:05 -0500

I have a vampire, well sort of... While he can feed on blood, what he actually feeds on are dreams, memories and emotions (think of those as the "basic food groups" on his nutritional pyramid). At least emotions leave chemicals in blood that he can take in. How he feeds on the others that don't, well, I have an idea how it would work but lets just say it's not going to be explained in the novel because he doesn't know, nor care. And no, eating only dreams would not be healthy for him, and it would still cause people he feeds on problems. Even if he doesn't need to kill people, he's still definitely dangerous to humans and doesn't give a damn about that fact. He's not the kind to angst. Strong sunlight would harm him or at least weaken him, but he lives in a steampunk city and the sun is dim and blotted out by all the steam and smoke.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

JenWales — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 04:00:32 -0500

I always end up wiritng vampire stories. I'd love to read a horror story again, not a sci-fi diesease. But I can be a sucker for the romance- but not the latest teen romance I was into that and out of that when I was about 8!

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

Päärynä — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 11:55:46 -0500

My vampire can be loving and caring, but he has his dark sides. I guess they can choose their sides in my story. Sunlight would kill him and that's why he must cover from it. In my story he drinks blood but doesn't need it too often, once in a while is enough. He just loses his special powers if he doesn't drink blood (in example he can't glamour people so well). My vampires do not need to kill the people they are feeding from.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

DrMelodyPond — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 18:23:23 -0500

I'm writing about vampires too. Mine are 'classic' vampires with a few other things thrown in that I've added myself. They are half demon reanimated corpses and only about a third of those bitten change. You can stop them changing with spells and rituals, but those are only known to a few older vampire hunters. Guns do no damage to them. Traditional vampire hunting weapons only lol. They need to keep feeding or they'll rot. There's no cure for vampirism in my world. I have evil vampires, some are morally grey and I only have one truly 'good' vampire that's never really killed (once or twice when he was on the verge of starving). Their abilities depend on how they were as a human. Slight psychic abilities become full blown, natural athleticism becomes super speed etc. I also have a few dhampirs, which are genetic or 'born' vampires.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

Saxonygal — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 22:51:00 -0500

I have vampires in my novel this year! I will be using traditional vampires, with a few execeptions: they are completely comfortable in sunlight, although it does weaken them a bit. (no sparkling here, although I do love Twilight), the moon's light is a source of power, and when they die, only the body dies. The essance of what they were survives. Confusing, but crucial to my plot.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

theperfectlestat — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 00:50:21 -0500

My vampires have similar "laws of nature" as The Vampire Chronicles (which... surprises no one *eyes screen name*) although not necessarily entirely the same. My vampires do have "super powers", but they don't all have the same ones. For example, MC1 can read minds, move super fast, and has moderate abilities in any other "super power" they might have. He's a pretty well rounded individual, and a very stable, mentally sound individual. MC2 is vicious, has super speed, and not much else. MC3 is the oldest of all of them, but has chosen to forget, and doesn't use any of his powers, or no longer has them, except some mind reading. They all have definite flaws, which is what makes characters interesting, imo. Sunlight burns them to death, but they don't explode into flames immediately (maybe after a minute). Stakes and other paraphernalia have no affect. I would love to have a scientific explanation, or even a supernatural one, but I haven't come up with one I like. I might not even reveal it in the books if I did come up with one, but I want to at least know for myself! So, it's a mystery, even to me.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

vampyre_smiles — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 02:58:23 -0500

The original-original vampires (like even Dracula and before) could walk in sunlight, they just couldn't use their powers, so were basically normal humans during the day.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

vampyre_smiles — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 02:59:25 -0500

Or, you know, slept so they didn't get staked by hunters while they were weak. (Darn this not editing thing...)

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

TheSmith — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 04:33:41 -0500

Aihhh... this is a tough one for me. I've always sworn that I would never write vampires, partially because I'm not that dazzled by them, and partially because I didn't want to butcher the fictional creation. Definitely not a vampire fan, despite having half of the books I own being about vampires, and being an ex-Buffy/Angel fan. But I've always had this character, nicknamed Mix, that has been...supernatural. I've never put a label on him because I couldn't decide what he was (albeit I now just call him my little chameleon) But I need to have a race or species for him in my novel. And I watched 'Let Me In', and with some info about Sumerian folklore from a fellow writer, I've decided to smack the vampire label on him. So, my vampires are of legend, but with a twist. They're not beautiful, or flawless in appearance, and there's nothing physical about them that makes them stand out from the crowd. They do, however, trigger the human instinct of terror - the typical fight or flight response - but they have the ability to manipulate their own auras as to put the people around them at ease. No mind-reading or shapeshifting happens. They're also very strong and very fast, and have the mind for strategy. But they feed only on those who attract them, which would be the people they can see a little bit of darkness in. They don't necessarily HAVE to feed, but they do when the urge strikes. I have a question, though. Exaclty why is it that vampires burn in the sunlight? Mine don't, only because I can't find a logical/believable explanation as to why they would turn into ash in the sun.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

JasmineR — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 06:12:03 -0500

Considered having a few types of Vampires should I head this direction for my novel... All of which will share similiar traits. This is just an idea for my novel. :3 - Sunlight kills then. (Humans sacrificed walking out under the sun, part of a pact/spell/curse to become Immortal taken thousands of years ago.) - Another part of the pact would be - In order for the Vampires to substain youthful looks, Immortality, and more. They must drain victims of their blood, and use that as a life source for themselves. Basically, a life for a longer life. - If the Vampire can't feed, the Vampire will get weaker and weaker until death. - If the Vampire has no head, the vampire can't feed, and dies. - Because of the 'pact' (curse) they took, Vampires are unable to cross Holy or blessed items. They are also unable to enter a Church, or home, without permission. - The more blood a Vampire drinks, the more lifesource they can control, this enhances their looks and abilities. - A vampire can offer his/her curse to another, under the strict rules of the coven. This can happen through a ritual, where the Vampire takes half of the Human's blood, and then offers his/her victim their blood. After the ritual has finished a newborn is created, ready to be taught how to control their thirst for blood. Basically, thousands of years ago, a pact was made between Humans and some sort of supernatural force. This ended up with their being the first set of pureblood and powerful Vampires. Over time, the curse has weakened, but those purebloods still remain. Well, some of them do. Will add more, if I can think of any. :3 Was written at College during a free.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

em_hum — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 09:54:45 -0500

I am so glad to hear we're done with sparkles. I was thinking this past spring that I was going to do a very non-sparkly set of short vampire stories for NaNo. But I got ahead of myself and published them last month... oh well, on to "haunted" houses that kill people. I am a science-minded individual, but I love paranormal. So I find it interesting when people think of clever ways the supernatural came to be. Looking forward to reading new takes on one of the oldest monsters!

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

imaginepageant — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 12:27:47 -0500

Depends on the basis behind your vampirism. To use Anne Rice's vampires as an example, the spirit that created the first vampire was highly sensitive to sunlight, so when it fused with Akasha's blood, her blood became combustible. Sun doesn't technically burn her vampires, it ignites their blood, and the ensuing inferno is what burns them. I'll be using the same idea for my vampires (though it's a virus, not a spirit). Or it could be of a more magical nature... a curse, for instance.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

imaginepageant — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 12:31:34 -0500

Or you could go for an extreme version of Xeroderma pigmentosum!

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

TheSmith — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 16:44:00 -0500

Wow. Thanks for the link imaginepageant! I saw a documentary on children who suffer from that a while ago. Poor, poor kids! Anyway. I forgot to mention, my vampires are immortal. Immortal as in, deathless, never decaying, imperishable. They live for eternity. Which is why I'm running with my theory that vampires don't NEED to feed. If something can't perish, it doesn't need anything to sustain it. Like honey. It's the one food that will never rot, never go off, never expire. You don't need to add anything to it, it just is what it is, naturally. Same with my vampires' immortality. Bet nobody has ever made that comparison before, huh? XD But my vampires are evil and it's in their nature to do horrible things, and like attracts like, which is why they have their fangs out for the bad people in the world. It's not a way to rid the world of evil, either, that's not their intention. That's just an indirect result of them targetting people with 'bad' blood. That, and the fact that they'll get really sick if they so much as dared to drink the blood of an innocent person. In the story it's because the 'good' in the innocents repels them. But it's really just because I'll inflict all kinds of pain and torture on them if they tried to kill off any of my other characters. Mix has issues with sharing his spotlight with anyone else. I need borders to keep him in check. Stupid, egocentric, jealous muse. Anyway. I'm going to try to make my vampires a bit more realistic. I always thought it's such a major contradiction to claim a vampire is immortal, but yet it HAS to feed to live, it has to HUNT to sustain itself, or heal itself, or become more powerful. That defeats the object of being immortal, in my opinion.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

Vikingessa — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 21:24:30 -0500

Mine is a series in the works (over the years) + contains many supernatural beings. Strength is an extra, there's also a different breed of vampire also. As much as I like glitter, it does not belong on vampires. I don't want a vampire covered in the herpes of the craft world, thanks. Not going to give any of them the ability to fly or what-not. I think that some mental abilities are a must, as is the ability to convince + entice. Let's just say the person's traits up until death do have a huge factor. I'm also toying with another original idea that was brewed from my mother's dreams a few years ago. But thank you, you definitely have me trying to decide what abilities my vampires have :)

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

bereccabox — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 21:25:25 -0500

:D I think your idea is boss. But I'm bias.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

Vikingessa — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 21:31:13 -0500

You're incredibly biased lol

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

bereccabox — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 21:35:27 -0500

Yeah, well. That's what friends are for, right? To be biased and tell you that you're stupid when you're being stupid :p But, no, really, I like your novel-idea and I think it's been a long time coming.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

Jayne2 — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 00:36:24 -0500

Fellow vampire writer here :). My vampire lore slightly draws from that in the Blade franchise. Vampirism is a virus rather than a 'life state', and a person can be effected by biting (venom from fangs), blood-to-blood contact (a rare way) or other bodily fluids (extremely rare). The virus completely overtakes a person's body, altering their brain, nervous system and hormonal system - it makes them faster, stronger, have more attuned senses and be extremely aggressive and lack the ability to see right from wrong. The virus also has them thirst for blood, and due to the fact that their eyesight is heightened direct sunlight burns, it also burns on their skin but won't kill them (basically it would be like them having Xeroderma pigmentosum). My vampires can be severely injured/killed by injuries to the brain/spinal system, or through being burned (due to the latter they also have a phobia of fire). My vampires can also die, but they live significantly longer than humans and have an alternative aging system.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

vampyre_smiles — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 05:29:31 -0500

Originally vampires DIDN'T burn in sunlight. The first reference to that is in the movie Nosferatu. It's not even in the original Dracula. But, vamps did rest/sleep/become inactive during the day because the sun, being connected to God and goodness and all that, stopped them from using their powers. So they were weakened . But no burning. AND DEFINITELY NO SPARKLING. XD

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

khshackelford — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 10:10:19 -0500

at first my vamps were nice and sexy...now they done gone and turned bad and killing everyone!!!

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

Velociraptor — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 12:51:39 -0500

My vampires are mainly pretty traditional, and also more supernatural than scientific. They have to drink human blood every few days to get the life force that they need; animal blood keeps them going for a much shorter time and eventually weakens them. They are destroyed by sunlight and impalement through the heart, they are vulnerable to silver (though it doesn't kill them, it just hurts a lot) but religious artefacts don't bother them. They can fly (but not shapeshift), have increased speed and strength, and also a slight thermoreceptive ability to detect heat (vampire bats use this to find where their host's blood runs closest to the skin). The story itself is going to be largely action-based, as the main heroes are part of a vampire police force that sort out any vampires who are causing too much trouble.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

Honeybadger12345 — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 14:58:20 -0500

I'm currently writing a series of six novels. It takes place in an alternate reality where vampires, lycanthropes, shape shifters, witches/warlocks, etc. exist and are public knowledge, being treated on varying ends of the social ladder. My vampires, for example, are treated similarly to drug addicts, thieves, and murders by the public, and are supposed to represent the dark side of humanity in my novel (for a common theme in it is people desperately pretending as though life and humanity are perfect). They are segregated to the shantytowns and slums of cities, known as Bloodboroughs, are given no natural rights, and are can be the subject to arrest and/or execution if found in human territory (vampires often disregard this rule). My vampires are fairly traditional— they feed on mammalian blood (prefer human), are infertile (I will never have a Renesmee), they have heightened animalistic senses (no mind reading or anything like that), and can be killed via stake, fire, decapitation and sunlight if left in the sun long enough (it takes quicker if the vampire has been "dead" longer). By the way, when a vampire dies, their bodies decay much quicker than average depending on how long they've been alive, and will revert back to what their corpse should look like (if they had been dead the entire time) within a day or so. Also, to turn someone into vampire, they must feed them their blood when the person is near death due to blood loss. During the transition, their digestive system adapts to a liquid diet (like a vampire bat), they acquire the ability to retract their teeth when feeding or defending themselves (imagine cat claws) after losing their original incisors, and there is a period of time when they relive some of the most potent memories in their life. People regard the supernatural beings in the series as "preternatural," meaning that they believe there is a rational explanation to explain their existence, however they are not even close to discovering one. My vampires are also portrayed as being relatively the same as they were when human once initially changed. However, they often quickly lose control due to their blood lust and begin to slowly lose their humanity. This does not always happen though, as some vampires are able to resist he urges, and they simply feed of animal blood from butchers or blood dealers (it is difficult though, as if giving up a drug additcion). They can also acquire human blood in a non-murderous way by going to blood dealers, stealing IV bags, or attending "Blood Brothels" (Can either be vampires paying humans for blood, or humans giving their blood for sex). My main vampire character is Leo, the great-great-great-great uncle of my actual main character. He was a second generation Portuguese immigrant during the Industrial Revolution. I've already written way too much, so I'm not about to go too heavy into his character history, but I will add that he was imprisoned for many years in an anti-preternatural organization, and was fed blood mixed with emetics so that he would vomit when he ate human blood. Leo couldn't eat his own blood (Ew) because vampire blood is similar to venous blood, and contains almost no nutrients. He eventually would become nauseous without the emetics, forcing him to be off human blood. This happens to many vampires who are taken away. Alright.I think I'm done here. I hope you enjoyed this overly detailed description of my vampires!

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

ComposeTheSilence — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 19:18:26 -0500

Hello ladies and gentlemen, I,ofcourse, have vampires in my story. My vampires are not sensitive to any sunlight nor do they die from a stake thru the heart. Garlic is one of their favorite spices. In my novel there are a scarce amount of Vampires left. Most have been purified/restored by sacred hunters. They do not have many abnormal specialties, only immortality(although later in the story we see vampires being killed by the rouge group of sacred hunters). Most do not have super strength, sight or turn into bats or fly. Those who do have a greatamount of strength has it because...well, because they work out :) Vampires, in my novel, are much like their human counter parts. Each individual vamp is different when it comes to abilities(one can be strong or telapathic or very intelligent based on their own personal lifestyle and interest) One major difference between my novel and other stories are; they do not need blood to survive. I know, I know but just wait for it. The intake in blood is crucial very crucial, however, blood alone is not going to help. Each vampirehas a debt to pay. Wether it be, smoking or self harm or even small things like putting money into savings or walking for long hours. Everyone is different. :)

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

Panta — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 20:52:24 -0500

I've focused on a scientific/supernatural hybrid. Vampirism is a genetic mutation that forces them to obey their body's hunger for blood as sustenance. Though this allows for variations in the populace like those in humans. The basic differences between each class of vampire would include: - Without blood a vampire weakens and eventually succumbs to the Hunger (organ failure), but some vampires can go longer without the need for blood, some even for decades though they become severely weakened. - Sunlight; it kills, at least the common blood vampires. More evolved vampires can walk under the sun. - Only the highly evolved vampires are immortal. Common vampires' lives are finite but significantly greater than a human. I'm not looking to add many weaknesses, especially holy materials and garlic (seriously, why was this even made a weakness?). The only weakness a vampire has is decapitation (and sunlight for the commoners), due to their monstrous regenerative capabilities (again if a vampire hasn't fed in awhile this rate is lowered). The mutation also allows vampires to create HUGE charges within themselves, energising powerful psionic abilities - telepathy, bi-location, telekinesis, pyromancy. Still working on this part but it plays on the idea that all humans are innate psychics but our bodies can't produce the necessary bio-electricity to fuel that level of brain activity. Either that or the supernatural will come into play on this part if I can't flesh out the above idea properly.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

AGhra — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 03:22:44 -0500

Despite being tired of all the vampires in literature at the moment, I find myself writing about them. Though they're not technically vampires, they just share some characteristics with them. They like blood and grow stronger from it, they can't stand sunlight and are just genereally... vampire-like. Without the teeth. They are going to be slightly stronger and faster than humans, but not all of them. Most of them will be trying to avoid blood all together, and are then slightly weaker. Instead of being set on fire in contact with sunlight (or freaking sparkling) they will all have the extreme form of sun allergy. Blisters and hives and all that. They'll be from a failed experiment, though no one will actually know in my novel. Except the evil medical company of course. They won't be immortal, not technically, but they age very slowly. I haven't really figured out an explaination for that yet, but I am sure it will come to me at 3 AM or something.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

Allicat232 — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 08:41:30 -0500

I sort of have vampires... They're called vampires, but that's almost al the similarities to the traditional vamps. Born of human parents, the vampires are mutated something-other-than-human entities. Their bodies require a high iron diet; red meat, spinach, brocolli - more research will be done into iron-rich food. They can tolerate extremes in temperature that a regular human cannot, and are fairly strong/fast. I've also got Witches, Werewolves, Elves and Faeries, all of which I've altered into something more human than the lore suggests. If it all fails I'll revert to tradittional!

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

Yuutousei — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 17:23:14 -0500

Two different types of vampires appear in my story (which utterly confuses MC who has only dealt with one).

"Western" vampires, that appear in stories like Dracula. Supernatural abilities based on clan, create others via biting, drink blood, the regular spiel. Most also follow a "Masquerade", to keep the cattle from knowing they walk among them.

"Eastern" Vampires, hopping corpses, et cetera. They drain "spirit" instead of vitae, and although they have supernatural abilities, it's based more on training. The people know they walk among them, but ignore it.

Actually, there are no plans of "evil" vampires.... Or any other supernatural creatures... How the heck did I manage to make every villain in my story a human?

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

Huushiita — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 17:55:29 -0500

*facepalm* I've just been through about two dozen 'plot generators' and I can't find something suitable enough for my novel. I know that I want to write about vamps, but all my friends, despite trying to help, just don't seem to understand what it is I want from them. HALP! What sort of plots can I write about? I want to write about classic vamps, set anywhere between the 1400's to the 1800's. I want it to be slightly goth. I want the mood and the mystery and the sexuality that classic vamps give off. I'm thinking the mood is akin the Dracula, but I don't want to WRITE like I'm copying Dracula. What do you guys think? : )

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

Panta — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 21:14:29 -0500

We need more people in your disposition towards the current vampire trend. I hate it, but at least we can do something about it. Maybe the era of raw vampires has passed and glitter will be all the rage soon (hope not), but I'd be thankful for just one author to put out a gritty, violent vampire story. I love vampires but the only reason I chose to write one now is because I'm tired of Twilight fangirls screaming in my ears how it's sooo amazing! Seriously, I can still hear echoes. Make it stop, please! I just want to write this story and say, "here, THIS is what a vampire is." Enjoy all the throat-tearing, blade cleaving, bone breaking violence. Hello Hellsing.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

manic ragdoll — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 21:29:20 -0500

I am writing a cyberhorror novel...one of the races is essentially what would result if a tiefling and vampire produced a grotesque offspring. Still working on the details and their role in the city-state, but they are essentially pale-skinned, carnivorous demon spawn...should be entertaining.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

Panta — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 21:32:25 -0500

Between the 15th and 19th centuries people were very superstitious of creatures like vampires so I think the core of any vampire plot set in those time periods would be about the conflict between humans and vampires. One such concept I love is the, "are humans any better than the animals (vampires) they hunt?" Something which was portrayed superbly in the recent anime, Shiki. There's plenty of material you can check out that'll give you the "mood and sexuality" of classic vamps you could check out; Interview With a Vampire is always a classic of this genre, as is anything Anne Rice has done. True Blood is more modernised but it is centered around the sexualism of vampires that you might be looking for. When you create your plot do it with these kinds of TV shows, films and books in mind. My novel will be about a rogue vampire struggling with his own nature, trying to find a balance between the monster that he is, and the humanity he still possesses after more than a century, and the senior vampire trying to reign him in for his plan to overthrow the vampire order that wish to halt technological progress that would make humans as powerful as vampires in the future.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

manic ragdoll — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 21:32:31 -0500

Steampunk and vampires...airships, dapper attire, and bloodsucking fiends with a noir atmosphere... ...or Jack the Ripper reimagined as a vampire...I would voraciously devour either xD

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

Cazzamanda — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 23:38:42 -0500

My vampires burn in the sun, explode with a stake through the heart, they feed on HUMANS- draining them either to a point of death or turning them to a vampire. They are also dominant, out in the open, running part of the world, none of this living underground and hiding. To Human and Vampire romances they sa NO!!!! Anyone caught breaking that law is either exiled from the kingdom or they are staked. They are neither good nor evil being but they are an established socitey with laws. Just like humans there are some who will break those laws. Some will be good and some will be bad. (Of course the humans don't fare too well but this a vampire dominated world now... well except for the part that the werewolves are dominating.)

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

AGhra — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 13:48:09 -0500

I just don't get what it is about people who want to kill you and everybody around you, SO ATTRACTIVE? "I want to eat you." "Oh, I love you too." No. No. The first time I ever heard of a vampire that sparkled... I.. I don't know, it was just such an absurd concept. I have no problem with people trying to create modern mythology, but sparkles? REALLY? You took creatures who were created to be so gruesome it kept people inside at night and you made them sparkle? Oh, and all these vampire academy novels? What? I don't know. And this turned into a rant. Not all of my 'vampires' will be evil, or prone to killing, but most of them will be. And my characters will have to kill them brutally. It'll be awesome.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

BlackTiger6593 — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 19:19:16 -0500

My vampires can be good or bad, depending on what they themselves want to be (a majority of them fall into that 'bad' spectrum). They have to drink human blood to stay healthy. They can drink the blood of other mammals, but it diminishes their strength greatly (think of it as if a person were to live on a diet of cookies and cupcakes...not good for them). With my vampires, as they grow older, they grow stronger. Because of this, some of them can walk out in sunlight if they've been around for a while (basically, they develop an immunity to it as they grow older...I still haven't worked out the ages for this to happen at, though...) They all have super heightened senses (eyesight, hearing, etc.). Any traits they had as humans are exemplified as vampires (if they were physically strong, they now have superhuman strength. If they were smart, they're now super intelligent, etc.). This can sometimes be a weakness, though. For instance, if you were emotional as a human, you become super emotional as a vampire and in my universe, that's how you end up with those tortured Angel/Anne Rice-esque vampires. They don't sleep in coffins, but some of them do anyway just to fit the cliche. Crosses and other religious paraphernalia only pose a problem to them if they believe(d) in that religion. Killing them can be tough. Fire and beheading are the only things that work 100% (except you have to make sure they're COMPLETELY burned or beheaded otherwise they can heal right back up!). A stake through the heart only works if you can keep it in long enough that they bleed to death (yes, my vampires can bleed to death). I will admit that I often worry that I make my vampires TOO strong...

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

imaginepageant — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 20:20:41 -0500

I have the opposite problem: I'm worried that my vampires aren't strong enough. I'm thinking I'm going to have to retool them.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

BlackTiger6593 — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 21:36:26 -0500

I've retooled them so many times and I never feel satisfied with my changes...usually what I end up doing is I hand my vampire ideas to a friend of mine who will outright tell me if she thinks something is stupid or not I think your vampires sound very interesting. You definitely took a realistic take that I haven't really seen before (usually my vampire movies and books tend to be the more traditional vampire like Anne Rice, Dracula, etc.), but it's something I'd definitely be curious to read about.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

Graverobber — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 21:44:32 -0500

Another Vampy writing vixen here. While I am not male, men can be vixens as well, dammit. I'm leaving my vampires' mythos pretty vague. It's more like us humans. We know we came from our parents, and their parents, and so on, but we don't know exactly how we got here in the beginning. There are theories and convoluted ideals, however, nothing is set in stone. I didn't want my vampires to have the comfort of knowing where they came from. My vampires are mostly like humans, mentally. Their personalities change very little when they're turned. As for physical changes, they become much stronger than humanly possible, their senses are highly attuned and cat-like, they are able to move quite stealthily without intending to in the slightest. They've got a ravenous hunger for blood, of course, and will take it from whatever source they can get, though their personal preference varies widely from vampire to vampire. Their body temperature is slightly cooler than that of a human's, but they're not frigid, and their organs and such do work perfectly, provided they're adequately fed. However, procreation is impossible, whether it be vampire-vampire or vampire-human. Their bodies lose all capability to create. They're leeches. They take life, and they can only sustain themselves on taking a life, therefore creating life in utero is impossible. A vampire's child is those it sires. Which gets into clan dynamics. There is always an Alpha (either male or female, but never one of both), Betas, and an Omega in every clan. Vampires do not have to follow and live a clan-compatible life, but they've got a much better shot at not being forever!killed by bounty hunters if they have more vampires on their side. They're not loners, for the most part. As with any family, there are going to be personality conflicts, and violet opposition to authority. Partially due to the well known and seldom ignored law that only the alpha can turn new members. Anyone can feed, but only the alpha can vampify humans and bring them into the fold. Depending on the strength of a clan, the omega can break off and start their own clan, as in the story I'm working on. If it's a formidable clan, and any clan is only as strong as it's weakest link, the omega has no problem physically as a leader. It's mentally where they run into trouble. If the alpha is killed, the clan will fight, to the death if necessary, among it's two strongest and most able minded members, as determined by the rest of the clan. From there, everyone drinks from the newly crowned alpha, who in turn drinks from them, and is considered to be their sire for all intensive purposes. It is now their duty to guide and protect their family. I've probably left some stuff out, but my brain is fried right now. Not enough sleep, not decent sleep, not adequate caffeine, bah.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

NKVD Man — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 23:43:37 -0500

No story for them yet, but here is my vampire idea. Many of the things said to harm vampires...the daylight, contact with holy symbols/places ect;is just a myth put about by vampires themselves. A stake through the heart will kill them though;although it needs to stay in for a certain length of time or the vampire can revive.Beheading/burning kills them too, on the spot. Like anacondas, they only have to feed on human blood every few months. The rest of the time, normal food sustains them; a starving vampire will have to feed more often. When not feeding they look like humans, however if they don't feed for 4 months or more, they start to rot. If they rot enough their mind goes and they become more like zombies until they have fed, when they recover their human looks. If they rot to the point where their bodies start falling apart, they die. They tend to form small gangs of three or four and are territorial;too many vanishings of people will bring the law down hard on them, so rival vampires are ok as long as they keep moving;if they refuse to move the local vampires will either make them move or outright kill them.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

Honeybadger12345 — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 01:03:33 -0500

The thing is the stupid sparkling thing is what is supposed to reveal their vampiric nature in Twilight, and that part of it could've been an interesting take on vampire meets sun if instead of burning, the sunlight reveals the pure demon side of vampires by making them look like some sort of violent monster. But no. That's not it at all. It just looks like someone had too much fun playing arts and crafts. And to be honest, if I saw someone sparkling in the sun, I wouldn't think it's a vampire...maybe a fairy or a drag queen or something.... but NOT A VAMPIRE. Also (And it's not like I despise vampire romances or anything. it's just a random thought) but why would a vampire love a human? You'd just smell their blood the whole time. Wouldn't that be like looking at a hamburger and thinking "Hey, sexy!"

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

AGhra — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 05:51:38 -0500

That is the best comparison I have heard in a while. Yeah, I am definitely against hamburger-human relationships. No hamburger-rights here. But you're so right. Why would you love something you want to eat, in a sexual way? I just don't see it. Then there is the fact that in Twilight the main character has the same emotion-span as an actual hamburger, but that is a whole 'nother rant. I have begun despising the romances to be honest. at least all of these modern ones. Especially since they're all teenagers and frankly, teenagers dating 60 year old men (or older...), no matter HOW attractive they are.. It's a teeny tiny bit creepy. Just.. always. Though I find myself not hating Buffy's vampire romances. It might be a little hypocritical, but I don't care. I love Buffy.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

em_hum — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 08:40:06 -0500

In the book I wrote, vampires are another evolutionary branch of the family tree. They are older than us, and astonishingly smart -- for a creature. But there is nothing paranormal, demonic or sexy about them (even though people try to fit them into certain molds). I sort of took all the ways people think they can "tame" the wild and made them pay for it. ;)

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

Nasa — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 13:44:41 -0500

There’s really only one main vampire in my story. I’m trying to keep him somewhat traditional (but not in the ravening, bloated corpse wrapped in its own graveclothes way) although it gets a little confusing as he spends most of the story manifesting as a ghost (IE, a soul freed from a dead body and trapped in one place). TL;DR VERSION AHOY: *vis-à-vis blood; It’s more a case of psychic vampirism then rar, blood, omnomnom. They drain life force from a victim; usually resulting in anemia-like symptoms that worsen the longer the victim is fed on. The life force is what this kind of vampires actually need, most just find blood the easiest way to get it. *Powers also weaken the longer they go without feeding. If they go too long without feeding they also enter a hibernation state. They can stay like this indefinitely as long as there is nobody within feeding distance. If they have a chance for a snack, they wake up totally feral and ready to eat the first thing that crosses their path. The “soul” can detach from the “body” and become a ghost to try and feed if the body is rendered immobile. *Can’t cross running water. They have to be invited in to cross a threshold, don’t reflect in mirrors, and occasionally don’t cast shadows. They have no heartbeat or need to breathe. They have a weakness to iron or steel, despite the iron in blood. I’m not sure what that implies. *Stakes of iron or certain woods will slow them down a lot or incapacitate them, piercing or cutting out the heart will kill them, decapitation will kill them, prolonged exposure to the sun will weaken them to the point of eventual death, religious symbols will severely injure certain ones, (Crosses won’t work on an atheist or, say, a Jewish vampire, but their own religious symbols will). They have to have at least some of their grave dirt with them or their powers weaken the farther they are from their grave. Bullets to the head or the heart will kill them if they are made of the right components. *They’re stronger and faster then humans, can’t shapeshift, but can confuse and delude humans as well as try to compel them to obey. They have very sensitive senses, especially scent (which means that while it doesn’t kill them or anything, they really REALLY hate garlic because of the strong smell). They also tend to be a bit on the obsessive side, if there is something like rice or beans spilled they have a strong compulsion to stop and count it all out, which makes them easy to distract sometimes. [/ramble]

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

Honeybadger12345 — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 14:20:24 -0500

That's kind of why I don't completely despise them. Buffy is one of my favorite TV. Anyway, it is true that its slightly creepy if a vampire is dating a teenage girl when they're often like a hundred years old. Whatever their physical appearance is, they're still mentally older. I'm not saying it's weird if they even think a younger person is physically attractive, but actually dating them? That's called one thing, and it isn't love. It's pedophilia. Therefore, in my story I'm trying hard to address his issue. Nearly all of my major vampire characters will have a problem with mentally maturing (but in different forms), yet retaining a younger physical appearance. And NO ONE will be dating a human. After all, if vampires are so old, why would they even want the toy in their happy meal?

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

AGhra — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 15:50:45 -0500

But then again, Buffy was much more mature about her relationships than, for example, Bella was. I am only going to have one love story, or like, a hint of a love story, and it'll be set about 25 years before my novel starts. They'll have fallen in love before the man is infected so there is really no age issue at all there. I just don't get it. I don't. If they looked their age, for example the way Dracula looked like at first in the Coppola version, people would not think it was romantic. It would only, and really only, be creepy. In every single way.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

sininlinens — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 18:27:22 -0500

I'm writing a collection of short stories, all with vampire main characters. Some are vicious and love who they are, some are self-loathing and full of guilt, and others are turned against their will to serve a greedy purpose. All my stories are tied together by The Meddler, a kind of ancient evil that spins the fates to manipulate all of my characters to suit her needs. So far my vampires all drink human blood, some more willingly than others. They are killed in traditional ways, and they are nocturnal with no need for sleep. Only one of my stories has a happy ending.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

crookedHalo — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 19:12:53 -0500

I love vampires... but my dilemma is whether I want my MC to be a vampire or an angel... I'm not sure. I'm still in the brainstorming process. What I did come up with so far, my vampire is old and tired and he want to be angel, but his thirst for blood and vengeance overshadows his good deeds, which are needed to gain entry to the counsel of angels in order to transform into a spiritual entity. Yet he is masquerading under false pretense to conquer Heaven and give life to the undead beyond the boundaries of the dark. I don't know.... it could go in a whole different direction.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

VampireAngel13 — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 21:34:19 -0500

I've been dealing with vampires for more than a decade now, so lemme see if I can recall all my "rules" They drink blood. They need less of it as they age, it should be human (for nutritional value) but can be animal, and my vampires have a blood substitute in the form of a pill (like I am legend). They don't die if they don't drink blood but eventually they starve and turn into a feral-a physically twisted horror almost like a zombie. Only worse. Sunlight kills. Think of it like a hyper-allergy to vitamin d or something XD they can be awake during the day (like humans, you sleep when you can) but it's more convenient to sleep when you can't go out. Rainy days are their friends. My vamps are predators, much like a big cat. They hunt so they are faster and stronger than their prey. They're night hunters (cause no sun) so their night vision is excellent. Stake must be wooden, must be through the heart. Allergy to silver, holy items (blessed) but not garlic. They eat food because it's tasty and being my main characters it would boring if they didn't. They also have sex. And like it. There's no becoming instantly beautiful when they turn, you look the same, just paler. My vampires are dead. No breathing (though they can if they do it, there's just no need) no heart beating. Blood circulates due to what makes them vampires. It's its own organ, it flows by itself. Therefore they can bleed out, it just doesn't kill them which brings me too They're immortal: no aging, no natural dying but they can be killed. Sun, stake (lol I typed steak-not so lethal to vampires XD), fire, beheading. I'm sure there could be more, but I can't think of any... They can choose to be good or bad. Humans can and vampires were once human... No special powers. They generally live in small family groups with one master. "To make you a vampire they have to suck your blood. And then you have to suck their blood. It's like a whole big sucking thing. Mostly they're just gonna kill you." (of course you all know where that came from) I'm more into the game now than this lol so I'll stop now. I basically created my own myth from snippets of everything I've read/watched over the years. Currently they live in my graphic novel...for Nano I'm visiting the zombie apocalypse that creates the post-apocalyptic world they live in for the gn. The government hires the vampires to kill zombies and rescue humans.Because who better to send into a horde of flesh craving zombies than a bunch of killing machines who are immune to the zombie virus due to already being dead? Go Cards!

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

imaginepageant — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 22:44:54 -0500

Oh, thank you! Maybe I should keep them as weak (well... as not-supernatural) as they are, then. I'm mainly thinking about giving them faster speeds since it would help out the plot in certain places. Just have to figure out a way to keep it realistic...

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

Honeybadger12345 — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 13:52:28 -0500

Hehe...Buffy quote...

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

Celtic_Jewel — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 15:05:45 -0500

So after considering for ages which way my novel's going to go, I've now settled (I think) firmly in this forum... my vampires weren't going to feature in the novel all that much but now that seems to have changed. I haven't fully firmed the rules out yet so I'll leave them until they're clearer to me, but I know it's a murder mystery, and at the beginning the MCs aren't even sure if vampires are involved or if it's just a particularly crazy serial killer. Although I like The Vampire Diaries and Buffy, I'm a bit of a vampire newbie, reading and writing wise. Anyway, it was good to see the mix of ways people have interpreted vampires for themselves. Emma :)

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

amaltheaa — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 15:06:35 -0500

Apparently I've thought this out way more than I originally thought, but yeah, I'm using vampires too. This is actually a plot I've had for about four years now that I just never got around to writing, and then lost all my notes for, so now I'm using the very basic skeleton of a plot that I remember to try and rebuild it and hopefully produce a good (maybe even better than the original) story. My vampires are able to walk in the sunlight, but it makes them incredibly weak and very nauseous, so that most avoid it when possible. Some choose to expose themselves to sunlight to build a resistance to this. They don't develop special abilities or even any super speed or strength, besides what their bodies slowly adapt to after being on the hunt so long. Because most of my vampires live in wild settings, they do have to learn pretty quickly how to take down their opponents, whether it's through pure (acquired) physical strength, or by outsmarting them. Basically, all of my vampires' skills are learned or earned through experience. If they can't take down their opponents, and if they can't run away when it's appropriate, they won't survive. I do think that my vampires can handle more physical damage than regular humans, so I guess that would be a "skill" that they developed, but that's more because of the way they're "made." I didn't actually have any kind of a like creation method for vampires until I came to this thread and op said something about it and I was like "oh yeah that's a thing," but then I thought about it more and, while it's not totally concrete or anything, it's a start that I might scrap before it gets to that point of my novel. Since vampires are essentially another type of undead creature, my thought process was basically "necromancy gone wrong" (and this can apply to any undeads that might happen in my novel, really). The ideal of necromancy is that you can raise a person from death, and they'll probably turn out, for the most part, human. But necromancy strikes me as something that would be kind of, you know, very difficult, so it would take a lot of time, and a lot of practice to get it right, and if you mess it up, you still do get something, just that thing isn't human. I haven't exactly worked out how they become vampires instead of just your everyday zombie, but like I said, it's an idea in progress. Pretty sure it's going to have to do with the blood though, since there's another way to make vampires. They can also be made by other vampires. I don't have this completely thought out either, but I know it's more than just a vampire bite. It'll probably have to do with some kind of blood transfer, which is why this method is used less often - most vampires don't care enough to try and change anyone else. My vampires will also have their human memories and remember what it was like to be a human. Some will hate this, because most humans hated or at least feared vampires, but others will love it - mostly the poor, because they're in a position of power for the first time and that feels good. While most of my vampires aren't exactly civilized, there are some who do turn out to be "good." Those ones are a little bit more rare, because once you've turned vampire, pretty much everyone hates you, and being on the receiving end of so much hate would proooobably piss off most people and give them a kind of, you know, pessimistic view of things. Dying also contributed to that kind of dark outlook because, well, you're dead. Those are my vampires in general. As for my main vampire, she's more of the cruel type. Not that she like enjoys torturing her victims or anything, but basically that she's not really merciful or sympathetic. She's very selfish and stubborn, she complains a lot when things don't go her way, but she won't mind even travelling with humans if it's beneficial for her (as is the case in my story). She's a relatively young vampire, meaning that she's been a vampire less than 50 years. She believes in always getting her revenge when she feels wronged, regardless of whether or not she really was wronged. Because she's young and powerful, she hasn't matured enough to develop an ability to think and question before acting, which comes back to hurt her later. She, like my other vampires, is only as beautiful as she was in life - pretty, but a little bit plain or forgettable in this case. And, uh, I'm kind of writing this on break at school, where it's crowded and there are a lot of people, so that's all I can remember about her off the top of my head. (My notes on her, unfortunately, were lost, while I found my notes on vampires in general, which is why it was so much easier to write an essay and a half about them.) Did not think I had this much thought out, but when I have to explain what I mean to other people, it does come out to a much more lengthy version of my quarter-page of handwritten notes to myself :|

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

Angayasse — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 16:02:23 -0500

Glad to find this forum topic:) Me too, vampires, VtM style. However, this is by no means fanfiction, as I have only borrowed the rules (they at White Wolf would love me for doing that) and twisted all to fit my concept. The main things remain, though - dirty Sabbat, Camarilla, clans, etc. The idea originated in 1999 - and since then it is written. The writing was quite chaotic until this year, when i have finally settled down almost everything and left the in medias res part, which is ready, to beginning to write down everything from the beginning. So the challenge for me is to write the 28th, 29th and so on, chapters here.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

imaginepageant — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 09:54:05 -0500

[quote]Blood circulates due to what makes them vampires. It's its own organ, it flows by itself.[/quote] Thank you, thank you, thank you! I've been trying to figure out a way to have my vampires' hearts not beat, yet their blood still flow. This is exactly what I was looking for but couldn't put into words.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

Aeon of Ice — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 21:30:15 -0500

There are vampires in mine, as well as numerous other supernatural creatures. I'm going mroe the "Vampire Lestat" approach. Ruthless muderers but still humanoid enough to not be utterly repulsive. But they're essentially old, bitter, and ruthless. just the way i like them lol

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

Aneith — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 08:31:55 -0500

Not this year, but I do have some vampires in other stories. They are re-alive rather than undead. Basically, they died as a human and came back to life as a demon that drinks blood. They do look like corpses in the sunlight though. It probably has something to do with the fact that they lose their powers in the sun. They have blue and orange morality at best. Most of them have very few morals if any. The ones that do (these would be the ones that don't kill people) tend to get hunted down by the others and killed. Reasons for this are because the other vampires think they're annoying and/or because it's only a matter of time before the "veggie" vampires could go nuts and kill everyone around them. When they are first turned, vampires have the same morality they had as humans. The more they act like a vampire, the less human their morality becomes. This rule goes for dhampirs too. There are very few angsty vampires because they die either by suicide or by other vampires killing them. The vampires who do date humans do so as a way to lure in prey. Like serial killers.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

cindy9712 — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 14:44:46 -0500

I have vampires in my story. I always try to avoid them, not wanting to be a victim of the extreme commercialization. But they are impossible to resist! I just can't. They make great characters, and due to their long life span, there's a lot to write about. My favorite TV series is Vampire Diaries, and that has definitely affected my story. But I try not to plagiarize anything. Here are their "specs": - Can walk in the sunlight if they wear a special piece of jewellry which has a spell put upon it. The vampire society has a witch that works for them, making these rings, necklaces or bracelets. Since it is against the law to turn humans into vampires, these rings does not have to be made very often. A these pieces of jewellry has the crest of the Council imprinted in it. - All vampires know The Council. Think about it as the Ministry of Magic in the Harry Potter series. The Council has set up laws that all vampires must obey, or they will be killed. - Which means, they can die. To kill a vampire you must drive something made of wood through it. It doesn't have to be a stake and it doesn't have to be through the heart, but if you let it stay in for a few minutes the vampire will die. There are many cases where a vampire get a branch driven into their stomach, but they can usually pull it out. It hurts, but doesn't kill until after a few minutes. - They can flip the switch on their humanity. Most of them choose to, while other, a minority, don't. My MMC is one of those that hasn't, while his brother did it as soon as he became a vampire. Having all your emotions heightened is hard, so most vampires just turn it off, making them true killers, hunting eternally. - Super speed and super strength? Yes. They are hunters, and the element of surprise is vital. Maybe not "lift a car" strength, but enough to hang two blood drained bodies over their shoulders and throw them in the creek. And if you have to surprise, you also have to move fast. Swisch, swosch and they are gone. - They feed on human blood, obviously. Like we take nutrition from food, they take it from blood. So. That's it. -

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

ladygem — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 17:51:15 -0500

My vampires are pretty much sociopaths. They are not capable of love or empathy or any positive emotion at all. My villain happens to become obsessed with one of my main characters. This is the closest he can come to love. Like sociopaths, they can be very charming when they need to be, which is helped by a mild mind control ability. Their powers and weaknesses are heavily tied to humans perception of what a vampire should be. This means, that after meeting said main character, who is naive and a fan of Twilight, my vampire begins to sparkle, much to his annoyance, and much to my protagonist's (who is a vampire hunter) amusement. I haven't thought much in the way of a specific origin for them yet, but demons were involved, as per all evil supernatural beings in my story's universe.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

ajswartzy — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 23:29:17 -0500

I decided on a story that is mostly about vampires, which is new for me. I'm still working out some kinks but so far They do have powers, heightened senses and increased strength. Sun kills them (blinds them for a while too given the better sense of sight) and so will fire, decapitation and probably a stake. They don't have an organized form of leadership and what society there was once upon a time is in shambles and they have been hunter to the point where they would probably count as an endangered species. The main group of vampires that is featured in the story live in a group. There is about ten of them in one house and they look out for each other. They employ a couple of werewolves (a father/daughter team) who run errands and stuff during the day and in turn are kept in check during his transformations. They feed on animal blood mostly.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

annabelle2024 — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 00:59:50 -0500

My story has vampires, and they are all bad. In fact they are trying to take over the world. The first vampire was royalty in Romainia. He employed a dark mage to gain immortality and through a spell he was turned vampire. And we all know that most deals like this requires sacrafice. Blood drinking to sustain life and death by sunlight, stake through heart, decapiation, and fire are the price. My vampires have super strength, speed, and heal quickly. They can entrance their victims, and create illusions around themselves. No shapeshifting though, or flying. No sparkles. There is a romance between a vampire and my FMC, but the vampire has ulterior motives for starting the relationship, and my FMC doesn't know he's a vampire until later in the story.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

carebear_82 — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 10:38:28 -0500

My vamps are traditional. As in they DON'T sparkle. They have some traditional abilities mixed in with a few ideas of my own. I've been writing about vamps since I was a kid so I've come up with a lot over the years. In my novel, I'll have a few other supernatural creatures as well. I have 3 short stories published with these characters, so I'm excited to write a novel with them along with a few new faces. I found a perfect dare in the dares thread I'm nabbing for my novel, which is "have a vampire who faints at the sight of blood". I think this will add some fun and comedy to the story.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

Edward Ouelette — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 18:19:57 -0500

Last year there were a few vampire characters in my story and they wound up hijacking the plot, so this year I decided to just write a full-blown vampire novel. I've always tended more towards the vampires-as-metaphor-for-sociopathy end of the spectrum, because who doesn't like a pretty, charming, yet loathable character. The actual basis for vampirism (scientific/magical/whatever) tends to change a lot for me... but this year it's going to be rather Christian. Vampires likened to demons, fallen angels, they're burned by crosses and the name of God and all that. The story starts out with a guy making a rather Faustian deal with the main vampire, and I kind of plotted the whole thing around the nine levels of Dante's Hell... so I thought it was appropriate to go with the religious theme.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

marissabreanna — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 23:14:08 -0500

So, I've just read through this whole thread. Everyone has such interesting ideas! My NaNo novel this year is going to be the first in a series. I didn't intend for that to happen, but since I already have a plot for a second and third book... *shrug* There will be other supes in my novel, but the focus is on vampires. I've thought a lot about their origins. The first vampire will have been the daughter of Hades and Persephone. She leaves the Underworld to live on Earth, but can only survive by drinking the blood of humans. She falls in love with a human man and feeds him her blood. He's terrified, runs away, trips, breaks his neck and comes back as the first "modern" vampire. (I don't know if anyone has used Greek mythology in their vamp history, but I thought it would be more fun (for me) than the illness or scientific route.) Traits: *super speed *enhanced vision, hearing, sense of smell and reflexes *have to drink blood *enhanced beauty (but only slightly...they won't be perfect or flawless unless they were as humans) *each vampire has his or her own specific psychic/supernatural ability Abilities will vary from vampire to vampire. They'll be either good or evil...but most will probably be the latter. I really want the series to be gritty and dark. Miscellaneous: *Can walk in the sunlight *Silver, garlic, coffins, etc. are myths *Their blood heals *Can be killed by: stake through the heart, decapitation, werewolf bite, or burning *Cannot procreate or sparkle *A vampire is created by the human dying with the vampire's blood in his or her system I've still got some things to flesh out, like whether I'll have any sort of Elders or laws. Hmm...

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

bkwrm79 — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 07:03:25 -0500

There are never enough vampires, and while there are surges in popularity, I don't think there's ever a time when they're unpopular. So my story has vampires, plenty of them, including the main female character (who appears in my notes as MVFC). I'm basing them on the modern mythology - sexy (usually), powerful, sometimes capable of incredible cruelty. I'm hoping to explore the ramifications of eternal life and eternal youth a bit. Without them getting all "woe is me, everyone else gets old and then dies," or on the other hand ignoring the cost entirely.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

vampyre_smiles — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 16:23:58 -0500

I think I've decided that while my vampires won't be hideous, they won't be gorgeous either. More magnetic or hypnotizing. Like the person who seems handsome or pretty because of their presence. Still debating how they're created, if they can procreate, but powers and weaknesses are set.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

imaginepageant — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 16:27:36 -0500

Would you mind if I used your idea of blood brothels and blood dealers? I'd been thinking of a similar concept - humans who willingly give their blood to their vampire "lovers" - but couldn't think of a good term for it, and I love blood brothel. As for blood dealers, I like the idea of there being a whole underground black market for blood, and that would fit well with the style of my story.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

Newfable — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 10:52:02 -0500

I promised myself a long time ago that I’d never write anything in it with vampires in it. I’m learning for the first time that any promise a writer makes with themselves is only worth the paper it’s written on, though the writer will probably edit it later and send the promise off for publication. God help me. I’m attempting to write a romantic comedy of sorts, and I’m going old school. Vampires trace themselves back to magical blood practices of sorts from good ol’ Dracula, wherein the magic was transferred through the blood of victims. Early vampires formed covens and such, and had ranks determined by when you were turned and what “generation” of vampire you were. Over time, and which gradual changes in society, they stopped caring, and the idea stopped altogether. Nowadays, vampires form small familial communities; a vampire is still part of their original family (if they’re still around), and the person that turned their victim usually welcomes them into their small community. Usually, goths or vampire fans take the darkness and brooding thing too far; they’re mocked relentlessly. Vampires don’t burn in sunlight, but do grow extremely lethargic. The more they cover up, the more they can resist these effects, but no one’s really immune to it. That’s just UV rays though, so as long as a vampire doesn’t have to go outside, they most likely won’t. I love the idea of vampires as predators of necessity, though I haven’t seen a portrayal I like. I’m not sure what device to use that would make this change since Dracula (evolution just sounds silly to me), but vampires have, like everything else on the planet, adapted to their surroundings and to their survival. One example is the stereotypical “hot vampire”. Attracting prey would be a tool for a predator, and since the prey are humans, it makes sense that a vampire would be attractive to get what they need. I’m leaning more towards natural, uncontrollable pheromones excreted by vampires that, for certain people, would find said vampire (even if they were a 1) an 11. I’m not sure if I should make this complexly uncontrollable, though it’d be a great device to generate lots of comedy. A man walking up to a male vampire in a club, comparing him to a Greek God? God no, I’m straight, but I’m hungry as hell, so why not? I’m also looking to wives’ tales and mythology to generate some interesting situations, like vampires being unable to enter a house unless they’re invited to do so. Garlic? They love it, a bit too much maybe.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

Wizard101 — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 17:03:38 -0500

I'm writing a novel this year entitled "The Vampire Detective Agency" based in London. The premise is that Vampires and Humans co-exist, but are seperated by the British Goverment. The Vampires sleep during the day in caskettes and come out at night, when the Humans are forced into their homes by the Police. During the night the Vampires work in factories and do construction work and are paid in Blood Blags. The Plot revolves around the Detective agency of the Vampire world, who solve crimes within the Vampire community, but are also often used by the Goverment to solve cases where a Vampire manages to attack a Human. The lead character is an anti-vampire extremist who gets bitten at the beggining of the Story, who joins the agency in the hunt for his own killer. It's about him coming to terms with his new identity, trying to find the killer, and getting over his racism. I'm using a very basic type of Vampire in my novel. That is, no super abilities or senses, they can't turn into bats, and they dont sparkle. These things are all seen as prejudice stereotypes. They're infertile, and reproduce in the traditional Vampire way. They drink the blood from the blood bags, but quite a few remember how blood from the vein taste's, which is what causes the murders. The first vamps appeared in the 18th Century, the segregation methods were only implemented in the 80s by the US goverment, and other some goverments followed the example (i.e the British). So yeah, theres the basics, but they're a few more details i need to iron out.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

sweetblood1222 — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 19:17:52 -0500

I'm doing vampires this year!! I have no explaination for them, scientific or supernatural...I mean, they're...I don't really know. I have my ideas planned out though, to make them different... -the sun is fine. no effect. i have no reason for this other than i don't want to deal with the sun being an issue. -if an object like a stake or something is sharp, made of a pure metallic element (like silver, but could be any other pure metal substance) and doused in another vampire's venom it can kill a vampire. that and another vampire's bite are the only things that can kill these vampires -permeable skin; can be cut, scraped, scratched, no bruising or bledding, venom heals abrasions relatively quickly (dependent on size of wound and amount of foreign venom in the wound), can scar, scars can be visible to the human eye. -need blood to survive (the eye color changes [fuck i'm sorry but it IS a good indicator!!] to red when the vampire has killed a living being for the blood, but is a murky brown-red when the blood was obtained without killing the creature [blood banks? controlled drinking from a live host]) -Venom is different in potency between genders. Female venom is FAR more potent than male venom. It's very easy for a female to envenomate and create new vampires, male vampires have to try very hard to create a new vampire. Most "bite and runs" are female vampires trying to drink without killing and accidentally injecting some venom. -an unbreakable bond is created between the creator vampire and the new vampire. The bond varies between each pair, but vary from trust and amicable companionship to love and adoration to creating acquaintances where there were enemies. This bond is why some vampires become crazy and resentful because they're the products of "bite and runs" It creates intense feelings of hatred and abandonment on the new vampire's part and incredible guilt on the part of the creator vampire. In some cases the two vampires can sense the location of where the other is. Sound too crazy? oh well...I'd do it anyways ^_^

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

vampyre_smiles — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 21:22:00 -0500

I like many of your ideas. Especially that females are in a sense more powerful. Yes, a male could turn a victim, but they'd have to try. That's a nice detail. ^,-,^

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

besasama — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 02:05:05 -0500

This whole mess (by which I mean my involvement in NaNoWriMo) started when I told a friend about a dream I had had. For some reason, for several years now, nearly all of my dreams have had vampires in them. I've been hunter, hunted, pet, friend, enemy...I had a dream about trying on dresses in roller skates, and there was a vampire who worked in the dress shop. Go figure. Anyway, one of these dreams was classic (read cliche) vampire horror stuff, with a young woman being strapped to a chair while her blood was extracted to feed her newly-risen father. Except she was thoroughly entranced, and so didn't mind. And she's Victorian. When I told my friend this dream, she said, "You should write that. It would sell." What a horrible reason to write something! Really, imagine doing something creative for money! I mean - wait, it's possible to get paid for this? So against my better judgment, I'm writing Victorian vampires. I've been reading up on Victorian England, and will hopefully not make a complete fool of myself with the history. I've got a lot of plot worked out. I feel like the current direction in vampire "literature" is that they are not so different from us, not just because they might be sensitive and caring, but because we are also quite monstrous. I also have this rant about people writing creatures that do not age and die as monsters, so that we the readers and writers can accept our own situation of aging and dying. Now, of course, you see more and more stories where the vampire is not really any more (nor less) a monster than a human is, and I think this is partly because we want to end discrimination and such, and partly because we would really like science to conquer aging and death, and no longer want to accept them as part of our nature. See? Literary value! Maybe. There are still some things I'm trying to iron out. I know I want them to have mind powers, mostly just because the hypnotic allure thing gives me butterflies the same way it did when I was a teenager. I mean, because they want to be able to lure unsuspecting prey, and it's only natural that if they can take the prey without a struggle, they will. Yeah. That's it. They will also be stronger and faster, preternaturally so, but not god-like. I always thought vampires ought to have tapeta lucida, the things that make eyeshine in nocturnal animals, because all the other nocturnal predators have them. However, I don't know how to make it useful in a story that can't have flashlights. Is a watchman's lantern strong enough to show eyeshine if the watchman comes across, say, a cat in the dark? And I want some other ways to recognize them. I don't know how I feel about mirrors and photographs. I've always thought the whole "soulless monsters are abominations before God, so they don't have reflections" thing was silly. There's a bit in Mosaic Law that says clothing of mixed fibers is an abomination, but you don't see any vampire stories where people in mixed fibers are naked in their reflections, now do you? I'm also not very keen on reactions to holy water, crosses and the like. Many of them will be sleeping off their transformations and maybe even rising on the hallowed ground in which they were buried, with crosses and angels and such all over the place. How could that work if they can't enter hallowed ground, or tolerate the presence of holy symbols? Besides, my vampires are not *soulless* monsters, just the regular kind, same as us. But I need some clear way for the hunter to recognize vampires. They will heal very rapidly from most wounds. Burns are slowest to heal, though still faster than burns on human flesh, and something in wood also slows the healing process, which is part of why a stake through the heart is effective. The hunter will use a lot of wooden weapons, and coat anything metal in preparations made from trees. Decapitation, staking, and burning will be the methods of killing, with cutting apart and burning the pieces being preferred by the discriminating hunter, assuming he has time. I've always felt it was good advice, when in doubt of how to destroy something/one, to cut off the head and burn the pieces. Pretty universally effective. Their senses are extra sensitive, allowing them to better detect their prey, especially at night. However, it also contributes to their problems with sunlight. I think that a very newly risen vampire will avoid sunlight entirely, and burn (not to ash, but 2nd and 3rd degree) very quickly. Even an old, powerful vampire will prefer to avoid it, partly because of sunburns, to which they are always more susceptible than the palest humans, and partly because the intense sensory experience harms their concentration, similar to the way overstimulation affects people with certain ASDs. There may also be something mystical to the way sunlight weakens their abilities. They are also not fond of strong smells or loud noises, and while they can eat or drink anything they like, it holds little interest for them. They need blood. Any mammal will sustain them briefly, but human is far better than any other. Plus it tastes better, and is more fun to hunt. I haven't decided what happens in the long run if they don't get it. In the short term, getting low on blood results in powerful thirst, feeling short of breath (they breathe and have heartbeats), hunger like a hypoglycemic with low blood sugar (a terrifying phenomenon, if you've ever been between a hypoglycemic and his/her meal), and excitement of the sympathetic nervous system, leading to irritability and desperation at best, animal savagery at worst. The more "civilized" vampires do their best to feed regularly, to avoid experiencing this bloodlust, though younger sorts struggling with their identity may try to hold out, then regret it. Deprivation may also be a punishment. Lila, the head vamp of the force hoping to insinuate itself into English society, takes an average of a pint per week. Requirements vary depending on age, and use of vampiric speed, strength, and telepathy requires a price in blood, as does rapid healing of wounds, so a more active (or recently injured) vampire will need more blood than does his genteel leader. I’m not sure of their origins, but I don’t think they are themselves, and it’s not really important to the story. The hunter will probably rant about demons being involved. Also they have the same sort of superiority complex, and possibly a touch of “obligation to shepherd lesser races” toward humans that Victorian white men, on average, had regarding non-whites. Also, there is something that runs in the main character’s family, on her mother’s side, that makes Lila want them for her – shoot, what am I calling a group of vampires? Seethe? Coven? I don’t really like either of those. What else do people use for that? I could also use some help figuring out how he recognizes vampires, since they (for the most part) like to blend into human society, and don’t look all that different. Their skin is a bit colder (I think homeostasis could be more efficiently maintained, in England at least, at a slightly lower temperature), they’re generally paler (but they come from varying backgrounds, so even though they’re paler than they were as humans, they might not be all that pale if they started out pretty brown), they don’t get sick or show signs of normal flora (pimples), and of course if you catch one drinking blood, using coercive telepathy, or being exceptionally strong and/or fast, that would give them away. Still, I would like to have some sort of litmus test for him to use to distinguish friend from foe. It could even be a silly and/or inhumane one, along the lines of “throw the witch in the pond to see if she floats,” since that would be right up this guy’s alley, but it would be nice if it were also something that wouldn’t be obvious to people who didn’t know what they were seeing. That is, I find it compelling to have the hunter recognizing and testing the vampire in public, in a way that the vampire may or may not notice (usually will, but could pretend not to) but the unsuspecting humans nearby would generally not (so stabbing with a conventional weapon and watching for rapid healing would be out of the question, at least in public). So yeah. Not cliché, campy, or contrived. At all. Not even a little. Honest (with fingers crossed behind my back).

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

besasama — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 02:06:45 -0500

Oh, and turning a new vamp involves blood exchange, and usually involves a ritual to bind the newbie - er, fledgling - to a Master for safety's sake (and because the sires want power over their fledglings), though that is not required to make them rise.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

Dragonwings — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 12:48:15 -0500

Mine will be more traditional (no sparkles). Although I will have a vampire who is allergic to garlic (he's the reason the whole myth with garlic got started). That's played for humor and he's one of the good guys.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

unlaced opheliac — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 23:37:01 -0500

Vampires here too. ALSO non sparkly. Wow if we each had a penny everytime that was mentioned in this thread, eh? I am focusing on the human characteristics of vamps. OXYMORON, I KNOW!!!! My protag is supe outcast searching to find her nitch in an otherwise cursed existence. When two mysterious strangers show up and hand her that very opportunity on a silver platter, she jumps at it. Of course nothing is ever as good as it seems and armed with her weapon of choice...sarcasm. ..she cuts a path through betrayal, lies, truth, heartache, lust and her very own father on the way out of her biggest mess to date.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

TEEJSTER77 — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 00:04:35 -0500

This may seem odd, however, it's not completely unheard of. Vorarephilia is a somewhat common "cannibalism fetish." While it may seem strange, there are actually people who get a sexual attraction out of the idea of eating someone or being eaten. Armin Meiwes got worldwide attention in a vorarephilia case, for which he is now serving a life sentence. It's a neat reference point for people who are writing about Vampires, Werewolves, or any other type of creature that feeds off of human flesh if they need added motivation. It's worth looking up. The more you know!

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

StregaAradia — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 08:17:21 -0500

It seems that I, like so many others this year, have chosen to write about vampires. And, also like so many others, have no wish for the word 'sparkle' to be mentioned anywhere around my poor, beleagured Lysander. I'm going for the traditional, Dracula-esque rules of vampirism here. My lot can be killed by: wooden stake to the heart (has to be wood), lack of sustenance, having their head cut off, and prolonged exposure to sunlight. They can be inconvenienced/wounded by: symbols of faith (as long as they correspond to the faith of the holder), garlic, salt, iron (the effect is far, far lessened for steel), silver, running water and good old-fashioned beatings. They can't cross thresholds without invitation, they can't utter religious cadences or enter consecrated buildings at all. They must sleep in earth from their own country. They can survive on the blood of animals, but that's like saying that humans can survive on sugar water alone - we can, but it's not a good idea for long periods of time, and if someone held out a burger we'd jump for it. Times vary from vamp to vamp, but in general they have to feed at least once a month; traditionally on the night of the Dark Moon. They are very compulsive creatures, and most have some form or other of OCD - counting, sorting, organising and little rituals are part of their routine. To create a vampire, a sire has to drink the blood of a fledgeling past the point of death but not drain them completely, and it is usually voluntary; vampires gather either in covens or clans (the first sort are not bound by blood ties, the second sort are), and as a general rule these number around 13. ...I...I didn't realise how much I knew about my vampires until I started writing this. Thanks, guys!

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

oddiegurl1267 — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 00:38:09 -0500

Okay my vamps for one of my novels are a group of civilized psi and sang vampires, They don't drink human blood, except for one that has a donor on the side. They drink synthetic blood that they themselves manufacture, and animal blood is a last resort. Since they don't have a dependency in blood like other vamps they hold more humanistic features, and tolerate the sun alot better. They are evolved and learned how to live among mortals through they don't have any interaction with them. They all have the same powers except for two one is a clairvoyant and the other a medium. They have sperated themselves from the vampire society and the govermering power that ruled over them so are more lke a rouge coven. The other one i haven't decided yet

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

La Reine — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 01:35:56 -0500

My vampires will because they have sensitive skin and eyes that are only adjusted to survive at night in cool temperatures, and that their bodies corrode like decaying meat when they're left out in the sun. Which doesn't quite explain the horrific burning, but I figure I can use a little artistic license for that!

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

La Reine — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 01:42:00 -0500

Hee, I'm going to cheat and copy-paste my comment from the ideas thread: "My idea came to me one day when I was thinking about just how much someone's body would have to change if they were turned into a vampire - regrowing all that teeth and skin, reforming their bones, and muscles, and eyes. I feel like there's a painful, bloody process there with a lot of body horror that I haven't seen explored much. I also had an idea in mind of a vampire being punished by having their hand lopped off and destroyed, so they would be forced to find a hand from a human to chop off and reattach to their wrist (which, suspending your disbelief and assuming a creature could be capable of naturally reattaching their hand, I'd imagine one from an entirely different being would never work nearly as well). So, I decided I had to eventually write about this particularly barbaric, almost Frankenstein-esque brand of vampires with a natural instinct for maiming, dismembering, and/or killing weaker members of their kind."

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

SammyWrae — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 13:47:12 -0500

My Vampires are pretty much like typical Vampires, but the world they inhabit is slightly different. They burst in to flames when exposed to direct sunlight, don't like crosses, garlic, holy water or wooden stakes, do like blood, blood and more blood. However, the world the story is set in branches off after World War One, when The Walsingham Institute developed two important products:- The first was a synthetic copy of human blood, called The Substitute. It is entirely indistinguishable from real human blood, and has more or less destroyed the need for Vampires to prey on humans (Mortals) against their will. So Vampires and Mortals now live side by side, and work side by side, and play side by side, all in perfect peace. The second was the WSB Pill - "Walsingham Sunblock Pill". It provides perfect protection from the sun for 12 hours at a time, meaning that Vampires can wander around in daylight without bursting in to flames. Which, again, aides with the living, working and playing in peace. So while my Vampires are normal, typical Vampires, there is less bloodshed and murder and mayhem than you'd normally find.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

AUSTERE — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 14:18:18 -0500

A vampire will appear in my novel; he's already having a novel written about him (although it's taken awhile to just get 16k words, sadly). Even so, he's the typical vampire, along with his vampire other. He burns in the sun, he sleeps in a coffin, he does have seduction abilities, and has to drink human blood in order to stay 'alive'. He only comes when invited in, but he can be very tricky about it and they can invite him without necessarily knowing they invited him in. If he steps out into the sunlight, he burns to death. He doesn't have any awesome powers other than the extra strength/speed/sight bit. I wanted to go with a more Stoker vampire without turning into bats and adding religious symbols into my writing. I don't think Dracula can go inside a church, but my vampire can. While he's generally repulsed with the idea of a God because he wants to be God himself, he has this love-hate (mostly hate) relationship with the church. He cannot enter anointed places--it literally burns him like the sun. So no crossing oil/salt that's been blessed and surrounds the entrance of a building. So if he's trapped in the area with salt around him, he can't get away. The same with holy water, it'll burn him. Crosses not so much because they're instruments of torture and he can get by with them. Upside down crosses are generally his favorite anyway. The way he can be killed is by being burnt / being beheaded and then burnt. And my vampire is actually ugly, or at least one side of his face is along with his abdomen from where he was tortured before becoming a vampire. I didn't want to make him really attractive, but he has an attractive aura about him that usually lures his victims in unless he finds that they are helpless and goes aheads and kills them anyway. I definitely wanted to go with the more gritty vampire that was selfish to survive and had very low thoughts of mortals. :3

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

PatriciaLouise — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 14:29:53 -0500

Writing the first in a four part novel series (which will also have two spin-off-ish novels to follow the four) that feature vampires that definitely don't sparkle. My origin is definitely the supernatural for my vampires, and they have the speed and strength and vision. They don't have any other of the powers that can be sometimes associated with vampires--like flying or turn into a bat or what not. Instead, they have a chemical in their breath that they can choose to release that's a mild halucingen (that's totally misspelled) that they use to manipulate the minds of their victims.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

NikkiiN — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 15:28:56 -0500

My vampires are essentially normal vampires; strength/speed/healing/sense are better and heightened, they can't go out in sunlight, they view humans as little more than walking meals so tend to be more predatory, there's that tricky hypnotic ability. Some have a mild physic ability, depending on their latent abilities from when they were alive. They don't have aversions to cross, garlic or holy water though and they can't fly or turn into bats etc. Garlic simply irritates their noses due to heightened sense of smell.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

silverthorne — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 20:31:03 -0500

No sparkling here. Their condition is a combination of science and mythology; it works like a virus, one that can sink into the DNA itself, but is powered and directed by a supernatural force--one which the church believes is demonic. Only way to kill them is by the combination of stake-behead-burn in the sun, with only wood or silver being an effective material for the staking and beheading part. Forget a step, and the vampire will eventually regenerate and come back even angrier than before. Abilities are the standard: super strength, hyper senses, fast regeneration of wounds, extreme speed, limited flight and mind reading and manipulation. No shapeshifting, though. And they are brutal. Smart, manipulative, able to blend in well with humans, but once they have their victim caught, it's a free for all; it's not uncommon for a vampire feeding sight to be strewn with bloodied remains and bits of blood and flesh everywhere.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

DavidConrad — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 04:26:59 -0500

Vampires. Here's a thought. Vampires don't have souls. People do. People die, and sometimes their soul sticks around, and they become a ghost. Vampires kill people, and sometimes they turn one of their victims into a soulless vampire. Could a vampire kill someone, and turn that person('s body) into a soulless, nightstalking, bloodsucking, undead creature of the shadows, and yet that person's soul remains on Earth as a ghost? Could you get BOTH a ghost and a vampire, out of the same incident? The same person's death? Which would be the "real" person? What would happen if the ghost ever met up with the vampire? Just a thought. Take it and run with it, if you please.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

Harmonious — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 04:46:07 -0500

My character has Vampire elements. But she lives in a world where the supernatural races, ie vampires werewolves and the likes don't really exist, if at all. How did she become like she is? A centuries old family curse gone wrong, a loophole found and she is the way she is struggling to come to terms with it. She will have super strength, super speed, advanced hearing and sight. and she sparkles... HAHAHA i'm just kidding... no sparklies :)

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

-valkyrie- — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 07:34:09 -0500

My "vampire" is not a vampire at all, she is just a mentally ill human who thinks she is a vampire. She avoids sunlight, fears crosses (but neither sun nor crosses harm her), sleeps all days, stays awake all night and thirsts for blood (and refuses to eat normal food, which causes drastic weight losses). She actually drinks blood, but she has to vomit if she drinks too much (as humans don't tolerate drinking much blood) - perhaps she will even kill someone to get blood, let's see where my not-so-well-developed plot takes me ... So, I don't know if that counts. At least she is convinced that she is a vampire. Oh, and she sometimes hallucinates of other vampires, but they exist only in her mind - don't know if they count as vampires. But at least none of them glitters ^^

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

sewerrat — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 08:03:40 -0500

No sparkles for me! I did, however, need my vamps to be able to walk in sunlight, so I've decided that their eyes will go freaky and glow a bit in direct sunlight (which can be covered up by a good ol' pair of sunglasses. I also decided that drinking animal blood was a no-no. Whether they steal it from the hospital or suck it from the exposed throats of virgins, my vampires are feeding on 100% human blood. Apart from that, I didn't have anything spectacularly original or uncommon. I also decided that if you don't die from a vampire bite immediately or within three days, you turn.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

Icedevimon13 — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 12:07:15 -0500

It is so irritating how half the repliers here have to defend their stories and concepts of vampires by stating outright that they don't sparkle... <_< Mine vary. They're as versatile as humans and are closely linked to them biologically, which is why a vampire can infect a human with vampirism and rewrite the DNA in their bodies. It's a dangerous process and is not always survivable, especially if the infected human is allergic to the vampire's venom. Vampires live to between 100 and 300 years old, then die. Some live to 500, but it is rare. Kresniks are vampires born of two vampires and live far longer than that. They also have more abilities and magical power. Vampires alone do not have super speed or senses, but they are all heightened. Sun can burn them, but sun can burn humans too. Vampires just burn more easily. They are allergic to pure silver and some other metals unique to my world. They don't fear religious symbols. There's more, but there's so much information it's really kind of hard to just lump it into one post.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

Icedevimon13 — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 14:01:57 -0500

It's also irritating that I can't figure out if it's possible to edit posts here... lol. I sort of miss the old forum interface. Just wanted to say I don't hate or look down on anyone making those statements. It only now realize that it comes off way harsh compared to what I intended. All I meant by it is that there's nothing wrong with someone having a new and innovative way of looking at vampires. Meyer's sparkling may not have been popular, but it was *certainly* innovative.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

Ktbeel — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 14:47:38 -0500

Yes, I noticed how many people remarked on their vampires' lack of sparkliness. Heh. Well, love them or hate them, Meyer's vampires have a bit of an iconic presence in the genre now. My vampires also don't sparkle or have angst, nor are they ruthless killers. I approach my vampires as people who happen to be vampires. They have human emotions and insecurities. They need human blood to live, but don't need to drain their victims dry or kill them. It's not necessary and leaving a trail of bodies is a bit conspicuous. They have the power of "thrall" to put their victims under hypnosis (kind of) when they feed. They also have strength, speed and more acute senses. They live like humans for the most part. They are sensitive to the sun, but it doesn't kill them. Fire, a stake through the heart, or beheading will.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

parisvam — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 16:17:12 -0500

I have two competing novel ideas this year. One is a vampire novel, which I've started. It more resembles literary fiction than "genre" or "mainstream-style" vampire novels. To get it right would require a ton of research which I haven't done yet, which is holding me back. I won't be able to write it during NaNoWriMo if I did research concurrently--too time consuming. I'm worrying about how it will pan out without benefiting from research in advance. My vampire novel is a contemporary modern day one and it's for adult audiences (NOT YA!). The main characters are adult.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

VampireAngel13 — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 16:38:44 -0500

I actually agree with you on the sparkling thing. When I read the first twilight book way back in the day I had an open mind (this was before it blew up to insanity and I went in knowing nothing about it) and kind of thought it was an interesting and different way to portray vampires. It is in no way my cup of tea, and it's completely impractical for a predator to stand out that much (I mean come on, in the wild predatory animals are usually camouflaged so they can't be seen easily by their prey. Otherwise they'd starve. But I go off track.) BUT the glittervamps are not the reason to hate Twilight. Hate it because it's written terribly and has characters that have less appeal than wet cardboard. And don't even get me started on the whole "I MUST HAVE A BOYFRIEND OR LIFE ISNT WORTH LIVING AT 16" crap. Or the fact that she totally ripped off every vampire book, movie and tv show on the planet all while insisting she'd never read or watched any of them before EVER. Right. I should go now. Oh but before I do, I would like to ad that my vampires do have angst. Lots of it. And I'm proud that they do dammit!! Humans have angst, my cat has angst, why not vampires? I'm sure they worry about where their next meal is coming from from time to time. Just sayin. XD

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

besasama — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 04:10:09 -0500

I could use help with some details, but all this talk of Twilight has me distracted...Ok, slightly off-topic anecdote first. As I mentioned in my previous post, I have had a lot of dreams about vampires. This came up with my psychiatrist (I'm clinically depressed) once, and she asked, with a very suspicious tone, "You don't read Twilight, do you?" I blinked. I never would have suspected her of an anti-supernatural, or even anti-horror, bias. "Well, sure I read [past tense] them. Thought they were hilarious. Don't think they were supposed to be." With obvious relief, she said, "Oh, good! I hate how much influence those books are having on young women today. Bella and Edward model terrible relationship skills. They're teaching people to be codependent!" XD Ok, back to topic. I need to bounce some ideas off people: I need a way for my hunter to recognize vampires, maybe even some test he can perform, without attracting too much attention from innocent bystanders. My vampires are not susceptible to holy water or symbols (they rise in consecrated graveyards, for crying out loud), and while they burn easily in sunlight, I'm talking more like red and blistery, not so much ash. They are impervious to cold weather, but of course they would take pains to hide that in public. They have tapeta lucida (eyeshine) like other nocturnal predators, but my story takes place in Victorian England, so he's not going to have a flashlight to shine in their eyes. They have reflections, and show up in photographs, so that's out. They get paler than they were as humans when they turn, but some started out pretty brown, and so didn't end up pasty white. They heal within minutes from wounds (except those made with wood or fire), but he would get in trouble if he went around cutting people. Their skin is somewhat cooler than ours, but not corpse cold. They don't age, but he can hardly wait around for years to find out. So, in short, I don't know how he'll tell for sure, unless he waits to catch them feeding...blarg! Also, what do you call a group of vampires? Seethe, like in Sookie Stackhouse? Coven, like so many bad horror movies? They mostly call themselves "family", so I'll stick with that until I get something better. But what will the HUNTER call a group of vampires? Nest? Colony? Blarg! Help would be appreciated.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

Icedevimon13 — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 04:35:55 -0500

Well, in my story, the group of vampires who fled the hunters call themselves a colony. I suppose something akin to "clan" could work as well. I think it really depends how close to one another they are. A group could be deeply connected or loosely connected. I went with colony because the vampires live together close like that because they have to, not because they are particularly endeared toward one another. As for detecting measures, my vampires are allergic, to various degrees, certain metals. Pure silver is one, and there are others which block their magical and telekinetic abilities. Perhaps there could be some sort of chemical compound that reacts to the make-up of the vampire body, or has a particular response to particles or cells from the vampire's skin. It wouldn't have to touch them, just be in close proximity or something like that.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

-valkyrie- — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 06:04:44 -0500

You'r right when you said it is a innovative way of looking at vampires, but sparkling vampires are not my cup of tea. In my opinion it makes them too cute and fairy-like while I imagine then darker and more dangerous. But when I said that no one sprakles in my story it was rather a joke than defending my story. I don't think anyone has to defend his story because of his way of interpreting and depicting vampires, there are different ways (for example: sometimes sunlight kills immediately, sometimes it only weakens vampires, sometimes it has no influece at all and sometimes it makes them sparkle and glitter) of doing that but that's ok.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

VampireAngel13 — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 08:48:48 -0500

Your vampires are a little similar to mine! :D But I don't have any hunters in my NaNo novel (one ex hunter, oh duh two, but they're both vampires so they don't count) so I don't have those issues. Plus I do have the aversion to holy/blessed items, because that is one of my favorite vampy myths. As for not having a flashlight, what about a plain old torch? That wouldn't be very practical though. And how did you light fire in Victorian England anyway?? I do most of my stuff about 50yrs in the future to avoid issues like that XD I call my groups covens. It's easy, and has kind of creepy vibe as opposed to more romanticized things like kiss or even house. They all have a mark on them somewhere that is unique to each coven and master (no powers or anything, my masters are usually just the most violent)...mostly a tattoo or a scar (they do scar if it's the right kind of instrument - just ask my MMC). I have some who have random tatts all over their bodies that make no sense because they're centuries old and have migrated to different covens. It's hell to draw D: I don't know what I was thinking.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

Alex_Staniforth — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 17:11:04 -0500

@besasama Do they breathe? Because if not then not breathing during winter (and the winters were very cold in Victorian Britain) is a dead give away owing to the lack of mist from the mouth. My own vampires are pretty ultra-traditional in most ways. They can walk in the daylight but they are nocturnal, so sluggish in daytime as we are at night, and their powers are weak in the daytime (they cannot heal, for example). They all have super-strength, super-speed, heightened senses, a mystic allure (not the same as being attractive, necessarily) and the ability to disguise themselves (some better than others, but most can make themselves look older and therefore get away with surviving in modern times when you are being photographed all the time and often need ID). All of that is as long as they feed and it is night-time. If they do not drink blood (preferably human blood) then they still survive but they have no powers and since that means they can't heal either they're in some ways weaker than humans if they don't feed. The very powerful have learnt to change shape into a bat, wolf or even mist and can even survive their final destruction in some cases. They also might end up with Renfield characters tagging onto them - sometimes human beings they meet regularly (to feed off or not) fall under their spell and become obsessed with, and devoted to, them. They can't control who falls for them in this way and to some it never happens. Likewise they can't really control who turns. To turn into a vampire always requires a person's death but beyond that there are things that only make it more likely, not certain. If they have fallen under a vampire's spell it is more likely, if they have been fed from regularly it is more likely, if they were responsible for the deaths of one or more people in life it is more likely, if their death is violent it is more likely. Even if all those criteria are met, however, there can be no certainty that a dead person will rise again as a vampire. The vast majority of the time, people fed on by vampires just die when their time comes. As you might have gathered, this is mystical - totally and utterly. I am making no attempt to explain this scientifically so they are walking corpses. They do not breathe (except to speak), their blood is a kind of thick, viscous liquid that does not flow (though can be squeezed out of wounds) and their heart does not beat. As such they can only really be destroyed by decapitation or by suffering so much harm that their bodies are a wreck (burning might be a way of achieving that, but not the only way - in theory someone could beat a vampire to death if their arms didn't get tired first). Even then the very old and powerful may reform. By the way, I particularly liked the idea of the vampire that *does* sparkle because some people expect him to - I love the idea that they are part creatures of imagination and as such are what we think they are. Class.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

besasama — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 05:15:38 -0500

They do breathe, but thank you for the suggestion. I think I'll play with the idea of chemical detection. I have an idea...thank you! -Besa

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

imaginepageant — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 08:09:35 -0500

Oh wow, I like that. You could tell the story from both perspectives and than have it be a "SURPRISE! Same people" reveal. And then the soul could merge back with the body and be the first in a new breed of vampires that will be strong enough to TAKE OVER THE WORLD. I am so adding this to my plot stash.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

imaginepageant — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 08:16:05 -0500

[quote=VampireAngel13] BUT the glittervamps are not the reason to hate Twilight. Hate it because it's written terribly and has characters that have less appeal than wet cardboard. [/quote] Seconded. I actually quite like some of the ideas behind Twilight. I just think it was badly written literature.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

imaginepageant — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 08:30:50 -0500

Could the vampires give off a scent - for instance, from pheromones? It could be subtle enough not to be overtly noticed by common people, but something hunters can be trained to recognize. I call my vampire groups a coven. My novel is set in the near future and is going to be more sci-fi and high-tech than vampire stories usually are, so I wanted to use the word coven to give the vampires a bit of a traditional romantic tone.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

VampireAngel13 — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 08:50:15 -0500

:O That's a fantastic idea!! My vampires actually do have a pheromone scent going on...it calms people a little when they're feeding, and makes them a little more attractive to humans. My MC's is so strong normal humans can smell it (he smells like yummy foods - tasty :D ) and it does weird things to different people...they either hate him on sight (he gets beat up a lot) or are so attracted to him they mistake it for love (he gets laid a lot too). I don't really deal with any of this in my NaNo novel, but it's really important in my graphic novel (or will be if I ever get that far. Curse you, full-time job!! But thank you for paying the rent!!)...I never thought to use it as a way to determine who is vampy or not! My hunters do use thermal imaging tech when they need too, but most of the vampires (who aren't the main characters) in the GN are ferals and you spot them on sight...but again, future. Though the actual full story does being in the 19th century...so I need other methods of tracking vampires!

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

Edge of Sanity — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 16:00:59 -0500

I've actually dumped my orginal plotline to go with a vampire idea I've had for a long time but never actually written. My vampires are traditional blood sucking, non- sparkling, above usual human capabilities- type of vampires. There are actually no humans in my novel, well there is, but only for a chapter or so. A realm of vampires ajecent to the human realm is divided by an ancient barrier. Once a month the vampires are allowed to summon humans for a blood feast. The vampire leaders (one for each of my five territories) are the ones who have the powers to summon the humans. One selfish leader though wants to break the barrier and overtake the human realm, but she needs the power of the other four vampire leaders. In an attempt to gain their power she starts a war and slaughters each leader which in turn allows her to obtain their "bloodlet" (I'm picturing a reletively small blood red, crystal pendent). The powers within the crystals sense her poor intentions and as a final act of defiance transport themselves to the human realm. For centuries she searches for them and at last the riencarnates reveal themselves (they start as human but when she calls back the crystals they sort of activate themselves making the human turn into a vampire)

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

MadEddy — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 18:22:16 -0500

I'm doing vampires, too. I just don't know much about them yet, except that they can be created by either other vampires or necromancers, they're very territorial, and the collective noun for them is a rookery. Also, Atlanta has the biggest rookery of vampires in the southeastern United States. That's about all I know. I should probably figure out the rest, but my protagonist hasn't even found the necromancer yet, so I've got a little time.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

Fyrephere — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 02:52:27 -0500

Yes, Vore. Reading their convo made me think of that too...

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

Fyrephere — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 03:11:20 -0500

Agreed, I like that. Sort of reminds me of my most recent attempt at (non vampire-related) fanfiction, where I'm messing around with rebirth and multiple personalities. It could be quite the brain/reason vs soul/faith debate.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

hereticsunite — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 20:57:55 -0500

Hurray for dhampirs! I love this legend (an old one in which gypsies believed that vampires could have sex with women and produce offspring called dhampirs, who were extremely talented at detecting and destroying vampires). Even if this isn't what your dhampirs are like, I appreciate the fact that you've at least heard of them!

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

hereticsunite — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 21:19:21 -0500

I love it! Vampires taking on traits they are perceived to have--hence, the sparkling. How clever, and how annoying for the vampire!

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

SamVan — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 12:50:52 -0600

My vampires are products of an existentialist world, rather than a religious one, but in other ways are very typical: crave human blood; super strong; sharpened senses; die by be-headings, stake through the heart and sunlight; can't have their image captured in any way-- which frequently leads to them being fairly insane. An earlier story, using the same world and characters, was based largely on the idea that vampires are in existentialist hell, ala Sartre's "No Exit." The main vampire character believes that there is a scientific explanation for vampirisim, but that humans are not advanced enough to find it yet. The vampires live discreetly in the modern world, fearing that if their existence were ever widely known they would be exterminated or, at the very least, severely inconvenienced. There is very little formal organization amongst them: stronger vampires tell weaker ones what to do.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

iluvmychis — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 07:27:07 -0600

Dhampirs here too! There are a number of twists and turns that will come out of my story eventually but it is almost entirely supernatural based. There are vampires that are known to exist by the human world but are the lethal predator type yet also somewhat misunderstood in a way. There are witches in the story as well and one very nightmarish organization that is out to destroy vampires using the dhampirs. The dhampirs have been "collected" and programmed to do their bidding.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

DeCarabas — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 08:39:12 -0600

My vampires are conceptual. They are minds bound to dead bodies without souls, so they have uter control of their own bodies, being able to perform wondrous acts of speed and strength. They can regulate their weight, as to seemingly weight nothing at all, in order to jump high, but they can't really fly. Their senses are heightened, allright, and they are really strong, but they can'1t control minds or any other stuff. They have, however, such a big affinity with the darkness that they can be stealthy as hell, only being seen when wanting to, or through other supernatural means. About dying, they die of the sun, of stakes, fire and beheading, but will not flicker in front of said "holy" relics, unless someone really faithfull, say, a priest who believes feverishly in god, tries to use it against them. Garlic is more like something thei're allergic to, rather than something that repels them, and their eyes go entirely black when using their powers or in the sight of blood. They have a complex hierarchy amongst themselves, with camarillas and more camarillas full of Master Vampires that owe favors to each other, something really political. They are also very territorial, and fight frequently with Werewolves. They like to prey on Fae blood (specifically, Changelings, the main chars in my novel), seen as it is the only thing that gives them a high, but very few vampires know about this "drug", and won't share, since the numbers of changelings are very few. Also, they can sort of absorb abilities and some powers from the blood they take, and taking another vampire's blood will only make them stronger.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

g.cook2013 — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 16:47:02 -0600

My vampires absolutely do not sparkle. Sunlight burns them to ash. They can survive on animal blood, but they receive the best nourishment from human blood. Most of them take blood from a consenting blood donor in small amounts so they don't have to go out and kill a human every time they need to feed. My vampires live in a reality that is quite opposite from Earth. Many facets of their existence are very different from that of humans, particularly that they live in more of a harmony with nature. Also, they can bring humans from Earth into the vampire world, usually for the purpose of feeding or creating new vampires. My vampires use a lot of elemental magic. Since their skin never breaks (except when it comes in contact with what is known as a Holy Blade) they use magic to attack and kill each other. Another characteristic of vampires is that they are not necessarily good or evil. The need for blood is constant in them, but they can choose whether to take it gently from a blood donor or go out and slay an innocent human to get it. My MC starts out as a human, but about halfway through she is transformed and becomes a vampire. Transformation can only be performed by a vampire that is a minimum of 500 years old, and there is an entire ceremony for a transformation. If the ceremony is either done improperly or not at all, the resultant vampire will be much weaker and will have very limited magical powers. I'm thinking of creating another race of vampires for my sequel (who will feed on psychic energy rather than blood) but I won't list all their characteristics here. I've already typed enough :P

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

Midnight Rider — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 22:36:21 -0600

I've got some ideas going for my own novel involving vampires, but I haven't even begun to write it yet. The way things work in my story, the sun doesn't kill them, it just saps most of the strength and power. By night though, they're badass doods capable of ****ing you up in the worst way. Their existence isn't widely known, but they've left their marks on human history and have made both friends and enemies. In particular, there's an (initially) unknown group of well-armed humans that have dedicated their lives toward hunting them, and are a serious threat. Vampire are the main focus, but I also plan to include a range of mythological creatures that can be every bit as deadly as vampires. So far, I have no explanation for their existence, but I think I want it to have something to do with some kind of balance of powers between Heaven and Hell.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

auroraborialis — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 15:29:32 -0600

That's really cool! I want to read that novel. I have been looking for really good vampire storys since third grade. Stephanie Meyer does not make that list. But it sounds like you might!

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

auroraborialis — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 15:32:32 -0600

Awesome! Please tell me they don't have any guilty feelings.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

auroraborialis — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 15:36:26 -0600

I agree with both of you, but I'll add a bit more. I love love love vampires. I just want to see someone eat someone else. But if it was my boyfriend? 911 please.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

Roka — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 09:24:35 -0600

I was really bored, so just randomly I thought, "How about I write a vampire story!". I just kind of jumped in with hardly any planning, but so far it's turning out that a group of people taking over the world tried to send out a virus that made people kind of like super humans but the virus didn't work on the people they were testing it on, and in fact it spread out into the city where a group of people end up getting it. The virus had some problems though, such as it required people to crave blood and that was the only way they could become stronger. Although I might be adding things or something, basically they can see the difference between another human and a vampire. A human has a pinkish glow around them while vampires have a grayer pink. Vampires have to drink blood on a weekly basis or else they die, so on the first week of the virus a lot of people died because either they became vampires and suicided because they didn't want to drink blood OR they killed people in order to drink blood. The only thing showing that someone is a vampire to humans is the eyes. A vampire has normal eyes at first, but once a vampire drinks a healthy diet of blood their eyes will turn pink. If a vampire is really drunk on blood, the eyes get redder and redder until they glow incredibly brightly. The more blood a vampire has, the more powerful. A vampire with pale pink eyes is just slightly stronger than a human being. Vampires can see in the dark, and just for fun I made their weakness onions. Some vampires have powers, but it's generally hard to find them and some come with consequences. The main character who was recently turned into a vampire by the virus always hears voices in her head, especially when she's around a lot of people. Sometimes it's alright, while other times it hurts a lot. At least until she drinks blood, then she can control it a bit more. Later she'll be able to use master it and send the whispers into her enemy's minds once she finds out she has the ability to. It can be a strong weapon, but it kind of makes her go crazy at the moment. Then the other character I have can read minds, but he can only read sincere thoughts. Like if someone is trying to kill them or not, or if another character likes or hates him. Then there's this one character who died in a few chapters from a vampire hunter who has been a vampire all her life. I'm not sure much about the details of that, but I'm sure there are children born with defects that make them vampires or something!

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

Webgoji — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 12:41:06 -0600

In my next novel, there will be vampires, werewolves and "the Vargr". For the vampires I'm going OLD school. Vampires are undead. They are corpses animated by an evil spirit. They don't have fangs, don't sparkle, none of that. They can go out in daylight like any dead body. However, being dead their eyes don't change to block out the light so they get blinded (like walking out of a dark closet into the bright daylight). Ergo, they are nocturnal. They have to drink blood because the evil spirit possessing the body needs a contaminated life-source to remain in the body. Now, since they don't have fangs, they basically just have to tear open a wound with their normal teeth or use some kind of weapon. To make a vampire is complicated for them. They have to find someone that is very weak-willed. That way, their spirit will bail out of the body quickly when they die. The pack of vampires attack their victim and drain them of their blood. As the victim is dying, they perform a blood ritual to summon the evil spirit that will possess the body. The moment the victim dies, the evil spirit moves in and they arise as a vampire. Appearance-wise, they are pale, dessicated and corpse-like with long, stringy white hair. Their eyes are likewise dead with no color, just pale, cloudy irises and such. So Webgoji, what's the difference between them and a zombie? Intelligence. They are highly intelligent and require blood to remain in their body (i.e. stay alive-ish). They work alongside the werewolves to find victims, supporting the werewolves financially while the werewolves provide security for them. They are strong, but not insanely. They are no faster than a normal person and can't change shape.

Re: Vampires, vampires, vampires!

BlueFeatherMuse — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 18:05:42 -0600

While I'm not doing anything near to the sparkling crap, (I won't even get started on the Twilight vampire topic of else we'd all be here for days reading my angry rant) I AM doing something a little bit out of the ordinary. The people in my novel are vampire-like, but without having the official title of "vampire". They do drink human blood, but only because the water is filled with a disease that killed off pretty much the whole world, and they do all of their hunting at night. They have super-human strength, but only because the environment they live in requires them to be extra strong in order to survive. So they have vampire characteristics, but aren't officially vampires. :)