Vampire 101

Like the werewolf, the vampire's mythology has been eclipsed by pop culture.

For starters, sunlight does not destroy vampires. the vampire of myth had no problem with daylight. Neither did Dracula for that matter. While he did sleep in a coffin during the day, he is able to go out in sunlight, but his powers are limited. There are other famous vampires such as Lord Ruthven, Varney the Vampire, and Carmilla that were active during daytime too -- although they do prefer the night. In fact, vampires didn't even start dying by sunlight until 1922 in the silent film Nosferatu.

The crucifix, another mainstay of vampire pop culture, has no roots in vampire mythology either. It wasn't introduced until the novel Dracula.

Stakes, however, do play a part in traditional vampire myth. They was usually made of hawthorn, aspen, oak, or juniper and were used to pin the vampire in its grave, traditionally through the heart. However, the stomach or in the back was supposed to have been just as effective. The stake didn't kill the vampire alone though. After it was pinned in its coffin, the vampire was either burned or the head was severed and garlic was stuffed in its mouth.

So yes, garlic also has a place in vampire myth. It wasn't just protection against vampires though but witches and demons too. It was worn around the neck and hung in a house. It was rubbed around doors, windows, and chimneys. Even livestock were rubbed with garlic in order to protect them from vampires.

Creating a vampire had nothing to do with a bite either. Someone could become a vampire through a number of ways such as an animal, usually either a dog or cat, jumping over their grave or if they died from a wound that wasn't treated with boiling water.

Vampires in mythology weren't pale, skinny and sexy either. They were dressed in their funeral shrouds and bloated and red-faced. Dracula wasn't even the first vampire with sex appeal either. See Lord Ruthven, in The Vampyre by John Polidori, who was based upon the poet Lord Byron -- Mr. Mad, Bad, and Dangerous to Know.

Last but not least, vampires could be living as well as dead. These vampires were usually born with some deformity like a caul, a membrane of amniotic fluid, covering their head or possessing a full set of teeth or a spine that resembled a tail. They were said to prey on other living people using magic, such as the evil eye or psychic attack. In Romanian lore, a pregnant woman who does not eat salt risks giving birth to a living vampire. the seventh son of a seventh son or the seventh daughter or a seventh daughter was also destined to be a vampire as well.

I did my best to eschew vampire pop culture cliches when creating the vampire citizens of Welcome to Harmony and its follow-ups. In fact, I steered clear of vampire myth as well and tried to come up with my own version, more or less.

My vampires (Nikolas, Julian, Patrick, and Rolfe -- More will be introduced in the upcoming Bloodline.) are bloodsuckers, but they feed specifically on a victim's life force, for which blood happens to be the vessel. They're living dead. The life force they ingest keeps them in a state of pseudo life -- keeping their organs and other systems functioning.

They can live a long time. Nikolas is somewhere between 500 and 600 years old (I mean, let's face it, wouldn't you lose track at some point or at least stop counting?). The downside to this is if you are turned into a vampire at a young age, you'll stay that way until you die -- something Julian and Patrick both have to deal with in Welcome to Harmony and later in Bloodline. Garlic and crucifixes have no effect on them either. To kill them, they must be decapitated or their heart must be punctured (which if you think about it, will kill just about anything).

They're more serpent like, a nod to a lesser known story by Bram Stoker, The Garden of Evil aka Lair of the White Worm. When they turn a human, they inject a venom into them that kills them but brings them back as a vampire. They also have a natural charm, similar to the way some snakes mesmerize their prey before killing them.

They also morph too. I couldn't resist adding that little touch. They can appear normal, in order to fit in with humans, but when they attack the fangs come out, along with black talons and red orbs for eyes.

That's all for now. Next week, I'll be back with -- Dracula's Influences.