vampires in general?

Question

anything you may know about them anything at all even if u know how supposedly garlic wards them off..
how to kill them, vamp legends fangs wings? anything

thanks

and also good websites

and some recommended books besides twilight and new moon

Answer 1

I'ld just like to add that the stake is supposed to be through the belly according to the eastern european custom. Bram Stoker made it the heart in his book since he thought this would make for nicer writing, but it is incorrect. The stake was ment not so much to induce to popular torpor or destruction, but to keep them in their graves.

Folklore also states that riding a naked virgin around over the graveyard is supposed to keep them from rising. Again popularised by Bram Stoker as vampires drinking only virgin blood.

The idea of seductive powers and eternal youth he stole from an eastern european noble woman who performed rituals together with her ladies in waiting bathing themselves in the blood of young girls to maintain their youth. (They were killed by enraged populace btw)

Garlic in eastern european culture is thought to ward of diseases not vampires.

Protective amulets are and were worn to ward of various evils, mostly these were consacrated to the saint the wearer is named after and is not necessarily a cross.

Many animals are considered to be evil in European culture, wolves, bears, boar, bats, snakes, rats, cats. I guess medeaval europeans aren't really animal lovers that way. Just about any harmful or nocturnal beast was considered to be an agent of the devil. At the height of the inquisition even apples were suspect let alone people drinking apple cider.

In modern eastern Europe there is a resurfacing urban legend type interest in vampires. These are meant to be people sucking life force in the shape of life energies especially during sleep of the victim. This of course does occur feeding the vampire mythos.

Han Ko Bicknese

Answer 2

There are a million and one different legends surrounding vamps. They change depending on what region of the world you're in. Bram Stoker believed that just like any other nocturnal creature, the vamp could be exposed to daylight, but its powers were weak. While most everyone else says that they're too evil to exist under the sun. (Must suck for any vamps that lived in alaska). Garlic is said to deter them....I'm not sure where that comes from other than that it is used as a purifier. The usual killing method is a wooden stake through the heart, cut off the head, then burn the body. (In that order). Staking usually puts them into a sort of stasis so you still need to separate the head from the body then burn the body so it can't regenerate itself.

There are several good books, Bram Stoker's Dracula being at the top of the list. Anne Rice wrote several, starting with Interview with the Vampire....good book, somewhat crappy movie.

Real life people that some of our vamp legends are based on: Vlad Tepes (also called Vlad the Impailer) of Romania. Countess Elizabeth Bathroy, I believe she was also eastern european. Those are the ones I can think of at the moment, but there are a ton more. My brain just isn't working properly at the moment. While I am not even close to being an expert, I do know a few things. If you have any questions, just ask.

Answer 3

Vampire mythology (if we're talking about the opera cape wearing, turn into a bat, no reflection vampire) weaknesses mostly came from puritan superstition. If a "bad person" died (a murderer, 7th son of a 7th son, etc) and anything bad happened in town, then they would dig up the supposed vampire. The vampire would be laying in his/her coffin, long nails and teeth and blood around the mouth! The village elders would impale the vampire through the heart, and sometimes the body would bellow and/or spit out blood. Dead vampire.

When someone would die in the old days (at least in the rural villages where superstition reigned), they didn't embalm them most of the time. When they would dig up the body, the gums would recede (making teeth look longer) and nails and hair would grow a little bit. Since people tend to rot from the inside out, the bacteria would form a gas pocket in the chest of the body (and blood from decomposition would collect around the mouth). When impaled with a stake, the explosion of the gas would make air leave the body rapidly (making the bellow, and the blood).

Answer 4

^ Vampires can't see their reflection in the mirror. Cross's are supposed to keep them away, holy water will burn them.
For a vamp to create another vamp they must first drink the blood of the intended until they are almost dead and then the person must drink the vamps blood.

Author Anne Rice has written quite a few books on vampires, I enjoyed reading Interview with a Vampire or you can watch the movie.

Please check out the site below they will give you more info.

Answer 5

All my info on vampires I got from Ann Rice, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. These people really researched the make believe world of the vampire. According to the stories; wood through the heart kills, removing their head kills, crosses/crusifixes and holy water can hurt/burn them. Sunlight can burn them alive.

There are actual real people who think they are vampires. Some will actually want to taste your blood, others say they can steal your energy from you. These people are not playing with a full deck. Stay away from them.

Answer 6

Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings that subsist on human and/or animal lifeforce. In most cases, they are reanimated corpses who feed by draining and consuming the blood of living beings. In folklore, the term usually refers to the blood-drinking humans of Eastern European legends, but the term is often applied to similar legendary creatures from other regions and cultures. The characteristics of vampires vary widely among these different traditions. Some cultures also have stories of non-human vampires, including real animals such as bats, dogs, spiders, and mythical creatures such as the chupacabra.

Vampires are a frequent subject of fictional books and films, although fictional vampires are often attributed traits distinct from those of folkloric vampires.

Vampirism is the practice of drinking blood from a person or animal. In folklore and popular culture, the term refers to a belief that one can gain supernatural powers by drinking human blood. The historical practice of vampirism can generally be considered a more specific and less commonly occurring form of cannibalism. The consumption of another's blood (or flesh) has been used as a tactic of psychological warfare intended to terrorize the enemy, and can be used to reflect various spiritual beliefs.

In zoology and botany, the term vampirism is used in reference to leeches, mosquitos, mistletoe, vampire bats, and other organisms that subsist on the bodily fluids of others

Answer 7

Supposedly, the first vampire was Cain, who was the first man who ever committed murder. God tried to get him to repent, but Cain refused. God then damned Cain, saying he would live only in darkness, away from the light of God (as well as the sun) and eat only ash. This is only one legend.

Bram Stokers version of Dracula is taken from a real person in history, though he was cruel and a bit mad, I doubt he was an actual vampire. Stoker got his idea to make Vlad Teppish, or Valdamir Dracul (son of the dragon) into a vampire because he was known to dine among the impaled bodies around his castle, even to dip his bread into their blood. He also famously slew everyone at a dinner part, all of them guest which he invited.

Traditionally, when the folklore of vampires started they were hideous creatures, the nosferatu. They were not the stunning and beautiful creatures popularised by people like Anne Rice. They were often depicted as bald, white grey skin, and resembling zombies. through out time, cultures changed them and gave them powers of seduction, which made them poular and sought after by those who wished to have pwers and to be seductive themselves.

If you have any specific questions, please feel free to email me.

I also suggest you look up Elizobeth bathory, countess of Hungary. She was a real person who also helped to popularise vampirism.

Answer 8

really the best place to get info on them is a to research them on the internet b get a book however i can tell you what i know, vampire fangs depending on the size and usage could be used in the making of a wolfs bane tonic, not just wolfs bane and water thats just weak, light, holy water, garlic and silver can rid a vampire of its life force, werewolves can also take them out (not easily i have to say) if you should cross the path of on do yourself a favor don't say bite me (that last one was just a joke)

Answer 9

I personally don't believe in vamps - in any form - but I do love to read! Here are a couple of links to romance novelists that I like. With Christine's site, check out the Dark series. Though she has written others that deal with witchcraft (and I love them all), the Dark series deals with vamps.

Happy Reading!

Answer 10

Buffy