Vampires & The Rules
The vampire rules as we know them tend to vary by author. And hey, part of the beauty of being an author is being able to create your own world and your own rules. When it comes to vampires, the rules have been bent and altered considerably. I have my own rules and stick to them. I don’t change them from one vampire book to another.
Sunlight: It’s a no-no. There is no walking in the daylight for my vampires. If they walk in the sun, they can kiss their undead asses goodbye. Of course, there are some authors that do have day walking vamps or those that can go in the sun with a special ring ala Stefan and Damon. But no, I follow most of the classic vampire rules. And that means no sunlight.
Human food: Not in my world. I see many shows and books that portray vampires as being able to eat human food. I don’t think so. They have passed through human death and are now reliant on blood to survive. Therefore, how would a dead digestive system process human food? I can accept it when watching something like Buffy and Spike is chowing down on chicken wings but in my world, the only food for my vampires is the humans.
Coffins: I like the coffin dwelling vampires of most classic tales. I can’t imagine a horror genre vampire sleeping anywhere else. However, in my urban fantasy and romance, my vampires sleep in beds. To me it’s a little more realistic to sleep in a big cozy bed with fluffy blankets in a room safely sealed off from the sun. And it makes love scenes go a lot smoother.
Stakes: A stake in the heart will kill any vampire I write. Of course fire and beheading will too but there is something about the stake that I like. A good stabbing anywhere else though is just a painful inconvenience. It’s not enough to kill.
Garlic: This is one classic vampire rule that I do not use. It’s just too silly for me. It’s pretty much the same as using wolfsbane against werewolves (which I also do not use in my books) and I can appreciate it’s use when reading other people’s work but in mine, these types of items are absent.
Shapeshifting: My vampires do not shapeshift. Most vampires I’ve read over the past ten years don’t. And I like it that way. They die in one body and that’s the body they wear indefinitely. No turning into a bat or a wolf. Not in my world.
Crosses: This is another rule that I enjoy in horror but I don’t use in my fiction. I prefer my vampires to be able to walk right into a church or touch a cross without any effect. Being burned by a cross is something that indicated a vampire is evil or has no soul. My vampires are pretty damn evil but they have souls. The no soul thing got really sticky with Buffy’s Angel and Spike and though it worked for that world, it doesn’t work for mine.
So, have I missed anything? What rules do you believe are a must in vampire fiction? And what rules can you live without? Feedback is appreciated.
Posted on June 13, 2010, in Blog. Bookmark the permalink. 12 Comments.
For me, vampires should suffer ill from the sun-death (yeah, they’re already dead, I know!) if they’re in it too long. They should not eat food or drink anything but blood. I agree a stake through the heart, beheading or burning should kill one. I kind of like the getting burned with holy water or a cross thing, but that’s just me. I do demand consistency in the rules set up by the author for her world. Can’t stand it if Vampire X can walk about in the noonday sun in book one, but blisters and smokes in the sun in book three.
Interesting post!
Oh, yay, someone I can converse with on this.
Though I have to say, our rules/beliefs vary on some areas…
I don’t think vampires are dead beings walking about. I just think they are more of an advanced species of the human race. Faster, stronger, immortal with certain “upgrades” and needs that make them a higher breed than us lowly little mortals. lol. My thinking on this is based on the sexual fantasies many have about them. How can you have sex with a vampire, a male vampire if he is “dead.” Because don’t they need blood flow down south in order to get an erection? And doesn’t the heart have to pump in order to make your blood flow?
Garlic/holy water: I agree with you on the whole garlic thing. Way too silly. I think holy water being splashed in their faces is also silly. Unless you want to go with the myth that they are demonic or soulless. Then, I guess that as well as crosses would work. But I myself don’t think they are demonic or soulless. {well, not unless they worship the devil and sold him their soul.}
Sunlight/Human food: I think vampires can, if they must, go into the sun. Though they tend to avoid it since your heart works harder in the sun to keep your body at a comfortable temperature. The harder your heart has to work the more blood that flows faster through your body and the more nutrition you have to consume in order to keep it in check. So I think they can eat mortal food as well, they just prefer not to. I mean why waste the energy cooking and chewing if you can just bite and suck and get the same dang thing your body needs to survive? lol.
Coffins: only the demented ones sleep in coffins. LOL.
Shape-shifting: Well, I don’t think they can turn into mist. I don’t even know where the whole wolf thing came from and that makes no sense to me, werewolves turn into wolves, not vamps. Lets keep it this way… Bats however.. well I like bats and that would be neat.
Stakes: Well yeah. Let me stab you in the heart with a stake. I bet you’ll die too. LOL. And though the whole bursting into dust would make clean up a lot easier it just makes no sense to me, I don’t even know how one would turn to dust if stabbed. So, nope if you stake them, behead them, or roast them like a pig over a spit you get either a bloody mess or a charred corpse.
No reflections in the mirror/pictures : My theory is, if you can see them so can the dang camera. And why, if you can see them just by looking at them, would you not be able to see them in the mirror right next to you?
Eternal beauty : Who wouldn’t want this? So, I like to think this would actually happen. I mean I don’t want to get turned at 60 and go through life looking like an old wrinkled saddle bag. LOL.
So… my vampires are based more on logic rather than mythology on most areas. Not as exciting or frightening but I like them. I also tend to like the neck chompers over the synthetic and bagged blood drinkers. Though I use all three in my own stories.
I don’t think vampires are dead beings either, I think they have died a human death and are beyond it. As for the mirrors, damn I forgot to put that in my post lol. I knew I was forgetting something. I think they have a reflection too. And the synthetic blood…is something I am strongly against. It’s just my thing. There is no fake blood in my world. I sure as hell wouldn’t be eating a synthetic apple. Lol!
Thanks for the comment. Very awesome. I appreciate your input.
Carol– “For me, vampires should suffer ill from the sun-death (yeah, they’re already dead, I know!) if they’re in it too long. They should not eat food or drink anything but blood. ”
Oh, this is my motto too.
For me, Arys Knight personifies the word VAMPIRE. He’s dangerous, intelligent, ruthless, and oh so sexy.
gem
I may be biased but I have to agree with you there Gem. Thanks for checking out my post.
Oh I second the dangerous, intelligent, ruthless, and oh so sexy vampires. Nothing gets my little heart a pattering more than a grumpy vampire who doesn’t think twice about chomping on someone’s neck.
Hmm…I agree with you on all except the sunlight. By the time I remembered it, my story was half-written. lol. So, because of my own initial laziness, it’s allowed in my vamp worlds. *shrug*
Very cool, Trina. As it happens, I am writing my first paranormal vamp novel. I decided I wanted my vamps to be as…er…human as possible. So…
1. While they can’t stay out for any length of time in the sun, it doesn’t kill them immediately. Like a burst of flame or anything. The sun damages them but they can heal from it if they have enough blood.
2. Agree, no food. Just blood.
3. Agree, holy water, crosses, holy ground, garlic has no effect.
4. Mine have preternatural senses: can hear, see, smell better than humans.
5. Mine don’t sleep in coffins, either.
6. Mine don’t consider themselves dead, just changed.
7. To change someone into a vampire, a venom must be injected. And it takes many bites for enough venom to start the change. Either one vampire bites you several times or several bite you at once.
8. Yeah, stake through the heart, decapitation will kill.
9. No shapeshifting, flying, etc.
10. Mine don’t have to kill to survive.
I’m about halfway through the book. It’s really fun, but I keep getting slowed down by trying to remember what they can and can’t do. lol!
I think I broke all these rules except the going out in the sunshine one. However, my “vamps” scoff at being called vampires because they don’t consider themselves to be anything like that. They do have intolerance to the sun which only affects the males. It makes it so much fun to have a male pacing his sun-proofed room in total fear because his mate is outside during the day and he can’t do a darn thing to go out and save her.
I don’t know if fanged, blood-sucking people are always considered vampires or not. I wouldn’t classify my novels as vampire, more vampire-themed simply because I love the biting and bonding that occurs between lovers when they share blood.
Then again, I didn’t even allow my females any vamp traits. I guess I just took all the rules and turned them upside down.
I have a hard time with the soulless thing, glad to see I’m not the only one!
Very interesting post Trina, I liked seeing the different paranormal authors chiming in.
Christa
i basicly am one lol i like being able to just drift off from my boing life and becoming my other side a while
i think they can survive in sunlight just sparly(as seen in twilight)
they dont nedd human blodd they can go off of animal blood stakes holy water crosses and all that ,mmbo jumbo are worthless the only way they can die is by another vamp or a were wolf they habve nothing to do with satan and there houses are just ike any other human like being there heart isnt pumping there dead but there soul stay in their bodies because of the vampire venom also anyone may be turned into a vamp they will be turned into a vamp with eternal beutiy like cripples make walk and fat people get skinny they dont consider them selves dead just changed there kinda dead they are super trong fat and can heear see and smell very good they also may devolop special powers like being evn fater than other vamps ior reading minds or seeing the future another possilbe power is they can shield vamps and mortals from other vampires special powers they will only tell sseleted mortals there vamps like the people they love but it will result in them most likely having to change them in to vamps newborn vamps are stronger at first there powers get more and more powerful opon ageing and half vamps half mortal (in twilightt renesme is half nad half) will still need human needs like eating food they can feed on blood and they need to breathe blodd runs through them and they have a heart beat but they have all the specialtys of being a vamp im just starting my first eveer vamp novel