What is/isn't a vampire to you?

[Torrasque]

I don't want to know what a vampire is in a certain book you read, or a game you played, or a movie you saw. I want to know what you think a vampire is.
For example, lets say you happened to see someone at midnight in the street, and you knew they were a vampire (somehow).
What would they look like? Pale skin or normal?
How deadly would sun be to them? Instant death or a slow burn?
What else would they be weak to? Crosses, garlic, silver, stakes through the heart, etc.
Would they be alive or dead? The whole walking corpse thing with no pulse, or very much alive?
What about immortality? Really long lived or completely immortal?
What about healing? Rapid healing or slow healing?
How strong would they be? Really fucking strong like in Blade or complete pussies like in Underworld? What about speed and reflexes?
What role does blood play in it's life? How much does it need and how frequently?

And anything else I missed.
I basically want to get an understanding of what people think a vampire is really like. Go ahead and use examples, but don't answer every question with "the vampires from Bram Stoker", that is just boring.
Also, I am pretty sure we can all agree that everything in Twilight can be disregarded.
If for example, you think vampires die instantly from sunlight and think the whole "ouch that kind of stings" thing is bullshit, go ahead and say why! Like anything, I want to know why you think certain things about vampires make sense and why others are complete nonsense.

As always, only answer as many of the questions as you like.

 

[Korenith]

Honestly I'm pretty happy for writers to do what they want with Vampires or any other Myths that take their fancy so long as they've got a good reason for changing things. That being said I think my favourite interpretation was Brian Lumley's Necroscope series because as far as their personalities were concerned the Vampires were basically human beings with all the usual inhibitions of empathy and possession of a conscience taken away. All the lusts and desires they had as humans were just magnified to extreme levels and then they were given rapid healing, partial transformation abilities, super strength and immortality. Lumley also got rid of the crosses bullshit which I've always hated but kept the garlic and silver as a sort of allergic reaction.

 

[Jonluw]

The only qualification in my mind for someone to be a vampire is that they rely on blood for sustenance.
(No, people drinking blood out of choice do not count. It must be necessary for their survival and or health.)

I still have an idea of how I picture a vampire ideally:
Pale
Fangs
Graceful
Intelligent
Aristocratic
Dresses in a cape or 18th century fashion
Is harmed by sunlight (Not instant death, but a very low tolerance)
Immortal being
Has no reflection
Weak to garlic

 

[darth.pixie]

To me, the regular vampire is somewhat similar to those from WoD. Pale, yes, slow burn to younger vamps, instant death for old ones. No weakness to crosses, garlic or silver, still live after the stake but barely. Corpse. Immortal but not invincible. Slow healing if over time, faster if feeding, stronger than humans but with limits. Pretty fast.

Basically an improved human.

And blood - to quote Smilin' Jack "Blood! Its your new leg of lamb, your new champagne, your new fucking heroin!" Depends how quickly you burn it.

That's basically my favourite type of vampire. They make the most sense, to me, with a balance of supernatural logic and normal one.

 

[Scarim Coral]

The way I picture a vampire in general is-

Pale skin.
Somthing with the eyes (either deadly or alluring).
Big fangs or their fang can grow out.
Can possible turn into a bat like beast (a few media had used this) or semi transform mainly the face (Buffy).
Being able to transform into animal like bat, rats or wolf (thank you Bram Stoker).
No reflection in the mirror.
Doesn't nessecary have to sleep in a coffin, heck they may even bury into the earth to avoid the sun.
Crosses, garlic or holy water sometimes work.
They are immortal.
Sunlight or impalement into the heart will kill it forever.

 

[Asita]

1) Sucks Blood (duh)
2) Does not technically belong to the world of the living
3) Appearance reflects that to one degree or another. There is some leeway here regarding interpretation and how pronounced it must be, and I am perfectly willing to allow the idea of a well-fed vampire being all but indistinguishable from a mortal.
4) Sunlight should be somehow detrimental. This can take the form of sunlight being lethal, physically painful or simply reducing their overall ability passively.
5) As far as abilities...I'm easy with regards to that so long as they physically remain noticeably inferior to kryptonians (read: No, a vampire should NOT play chicken with a 16-wheeler and win). Mystical abilities get a bit more leeway.
6) Above all else, a vampire should feel dangerous. That is the very heart and soul of vampire lore. Can the characters be sympathetic? Sure. But that danger aspect must remain despite our sympathies. The moment the author allows you to forget that a vampire is a predator and you are its prey is the moment that that characterization fails. If a given vampiric character can make you forget that they need to drink human blood to survive, you no longer have a vampiric character but a character with token vampiric tendencies tacked on for the sheer sake of saying 'oh by the way, this is a vampire'.

 

[Wintermoot]

1. aristocratic
2. talks with a eastern European accent.
3. weak to sunlight
4. doesn't like garlic/crosses and possibly silver.
5. chased and killed again and again by the Belmont family.
6. sucks blood especially virgin blood
7. pale skin and red eyes.
8. sleeps in a coffin
9. lives in a castle
10. immortal unless killed

 

[Mathak]

For me, vampires drink human blood. None of that shit about cow blood or cloned blood, it's not the actual physical blood they need, but more the life-force (or whatever) in it, and only actual living human blood provides that.

Also, they're monsters. Not tragic cursed humans, not awesome ass-kicking badasses. Monsters. Completely inhuman, incapable of feeling things like love or joy. They might try to hide that, and act all aristocratic or romantic, but that's just a mask for convenience. The only thing a vampire and human have in common are the same basic form and their human memories, that's it.

 

[C F]

A typically sentient long-lasting undead being that leeches the life force (usually in the form of blood) from others. They've also got to be stake-able, they must be horribly damaged by sunlight (other intense light sources optional), they cannot cross moving rivers, garlic must naturally repel them, Holy symbols must naturally weaken them, they must have a personal coffin for rejuvenation, and they cannot enter a house for the first time unless invited. Basically everything Dracula established.

The definite length of the lifespan/nobility aspect/superpowers are all optional, but they usually last a very long while, and use their time to hone their reflexes and accrue power, wealth, and status.

 

[Esotera]

Eastern European look, tall, white, highly intelligent, surfacing only at night, sustained on the blood of others, generally without morals.

Screw Twilight and anything else that deviates from this path, I hate it.

 

[Blobpie]

Skinale
Exposure to sun: Kills them slowly, as well has heavily dampening their abilities
Weakness:Silver, Blessed objects, sun
State of life: undead
State of mortality: immortal (only as long as they drink blood)
Rate of healing: Faster than normal, but still need time to regenerate particularly crippling wounds
Strength: Stronger than a human, but not super human
Speed and reflexes: Almost superhuman
Role of blood: Need it to live

 

[BENZOOKA]

A vampire is a bloodsucking pale monster with a couple of sharp that doesn't like garlic, silver, sun and other things. It can't be seen on mirrors and it is clearly evil, even though it can have intelligent conversations.

 

[DarkRyter]

Gentleman of African descent, garbed in fine clothing.

Does not suck blood, instead opting to SCRAAAPE and LIIIICK.

 

[Rekrul]

My first thought was "the vampires from Bram Stoker"

But actually I like the spectrum of vampires in the media, although I always find it refreshing when they are daywalkers and don't burn in sunlight (but also don't sparkle!)

 

[Rowan93]

What would they look like? From pale enough to mistake for a corpse, to ordinary white-person-without-a-tan pale.

How deadly would sun be to them? A little bit more deadly than it is to the average ginger, but not by all that much.

What else would they be weak to? Stake through the heart, inevitably, garlic, holy water and crucifixes would just be things they're very averse to and could power through if they're like the vampire equivalent of Courage Wolf or whatever.

Would they be alive or dead? Deceased.

What about immortality? How can what is already dead die again?

What about healing? They wouldn't be able to heal from injuries, because they have no pulse and their unliving cells can't grow. But they'd somehow still be a threat, because I still don't actually have a mental picture of a vampire ceasing to be a threat once it's lost a few limbs.
I suppose it would be able to heal if and when it drinks blood, but only at a rate about a magnitude faster than a human (plus being able to reattach missing limbs, again if it's drinking blood to power that.

How strong would they be? Superhuman, not sure to what degree.

What about speed and reflexes? Superhuman reflexes and speed, but nothing like the Twilight Saga vampires' crazy Flash powers.

What role does blood play in it's life? Allows it to heal from injuries, and is the only thing it can actually consume - it's always thirsty/starving and can't swallow normal food or water.

I made up half of that on the spot because the question was there. With vampires I would assume as little as I can apart from "thing that might kill me, RUN".

 

[TheRightToArmBears]

Drinks blood, only comes out at night for whatever reason, is immortal and capable of being superhuman (I guess it might be to do with how much blood they've drunk). That's really it, there are a few things, like whether or not they're really 'alive' that I'd prefer in certain ways, but I'm not that bothered about.

 

[GigaHz]

snip

1. Pale Skin from having no natural blood flow (or being undead), only feeding off others blood for sustenance. Cold to the touch as well.
2. The sun would burn their skin in a slow but incredibly painful manner. They would become engulfed after 2 minutes of being in natural sunlight unless they find sufficient shadow.
3. Steak through the heart and silver bullets, sure, but I always thought crosses and garlic were kind of stupid. Maybe have those as a superstitious but inconsequential phobia for vampires.
4. Like a corpse but more competent, dignified, and functional than a zombie. A healthy looking vampire just doesn't look menacing at all.
5. Being that they are undead, I'd say that they aren't quite immortal. Their bodies might completely degrade overtime, unless their body somehow changes and ages. I'd say a lifetime of a few hundred years, a millennium tops.
6. Healing speed may depend on age and when last fed. I'd say relatively fast for younger vampires and fairly slow for older ones. They would probably need to refeed to make up for the energy spent.
7. Vampires have mythically been said to have the strength of ten men. What with all the things they are capable of, I would expect that they would have to have remarkable strength and speed.
8. I'd say that a nightly feeding of blood is a bit unrealistic, as towns would literally be sucked dry and the population would become unsustainable. But I'd say a feeding on a single human could last the vampire a full week. It could also be replaced with animal blood if the vampire in question would choose to space out their killings. The disadvantage being that animal blood doesn't taste as good as human blood.

I do believe that if vampires were to exist, there would be good and bad ones. The main variable being those who have the willpower to control their bloodlust and seek alternatives, or those who simply don't care and choose to be selfish/reckless.

 

[Mr Dizazta]

I prefer the Vampires in the Blade series. IMO they had the right mix of predator and aristocrat. Not to mention the Reapers are straight up frightening.