Vampire

The Vampire, by Philip Burne-Jones, 1897

A vampire is an undead creature in legends and stories. The first vampire stories were told in Eastern Europe, but much of how modern people see vampires was created by Bram Stoker in the famous novel, Dracula. Few people believe that vampires are real, but they are still very popular in movies, television, and books.

Vampires were once people but have a supernatural curse. Some vampires must drink blood to survive. They do this by biting people or animals on the neck with their two long fangs. People who are killed by having their blood drunk by vampires may also become vampires. Others can live off the life energy of people. In many stories, vampires can change into other animals, usually bats, though also wolves, cats or rats.

Depending on the story, vampires may have some or all of these characteristics:

  • They cannot go out in sunlight, so they sleep during the day.
  • They can only be killed in certain ways:
    • being beheaded
    • having a stake driven through their heart
    • or being sprayed or washed with vervain
    • being set on fire
  • They can be weakened by crosses or other religious symbols, garlic, holy water, and silver.
  • They cannot cross the ocean unless they are in a coffin surrounded by soil from their homeland.
  • If vampires click their fingers they can disappear in the blink of an eye.
  • If a bag of rice, grain, seeds or other similar substance is spilled on the ground, a vampire will have to count every grain.
  • They have no reflection in glass, mirrors, or other things.
  • Vampires have photographic memory.
  • Vampires are cold blooded.
  • They can survive at the deepest point of the ocean.

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