#Vampire Lore

[farvann]

Thiiiiiinking about my vampires again and I think that their appearance is definitely affected by if they're well fed or not AND especially if the blood is fresh and "live". Live blood invigorates them and brings life back to them, making their features appear a bit more normal. Pupils more circular instead of slits, skin less pale, ears and even fangs less pointy. A vampire who has no trouble regularly feeding off live prey has a way more advantage of blending in with humans, making them even more dangerous.

[weirdpolis]

The further we get in the Dracula Daily, and the more I realize all of the discrepancies between the Original Text and every single one of its adaptations, the more I think there must be some weird vampire quirk at work here. Some spell, or a curse, that prevents the faithfull translation of the original story. Some combination of "Vampires don't have reflections in the mirrors, and their likeness cannot be captured on film or photograph" and "victims cannot speak directly about the Vampire because they are put under their spell or in a trance". I have not yet figured out all the details of how this peculiar vampire quirk works, and wheter the wild mistranslation of the "Dracula" onto Islandic language also occured under this spell, but you must agree with me, that it's weird it happened this many times.

[vyvilha]

fun facts about ukrainian vampires (opyr)

• opyri can be of two origins: born and made. made opyri are made by witches, who can smear a baby with blood of a man who went to sleep without praying, thus making the child an opyr.

• opyri have two souls. when opyr dies, only one soul goes to the otherworld. this is why they continue living after death. they aren't immortal though, and only live post-death for seven years. you can presume the person who died was an opyr and will return later if right after their death was a great storm.

• they are very merry fellas and are known to sing, dance and play musical instruments. you can see them partying if you go to the village border at midnight. they also can be spotted smoking a pipe while laying in their coffin.

• opyr can turn into variety of different things: a child, a white or a black dog, a cat, a wolf, a horseman.

• if someone sneezes and you don't respond with "bless you" such person can become an easy target for opyr.

• to get rid of the opyr, you must take them into your arms and carry them across the town or village three times. classical stake to the heart works too.

[anney-baker]

I really hope that the concept of a vampire familiar will become more popular even after the end of WWDITS.

Vampire familiar as a position brings so much to the character just right off the bat. The calm attitude towards gore and death-related things, the regular participation in the assisted murder (with the constant possibility of them being caught and arrested looming over their head), the mental gymnastics they do to exist between the human and the supernatural worlds, their flexible mental lists separating humans into the "out of bounds" and "possible victims" categories, them "trying on" vampire behavior to prepare for their new life and becoming more inhumane while staying human...

It creates a morally grey personality that is egually if not more unhinged that the one of a vampire and therefore quite captivating to readers/viewers. And anyway, who doesn't love the insanely tense boss/employee master/slave relationship between a familiar and a vampire?😏

[brunettesheartbaldursgate]

[fuccboitroy]

I hope that if vampires are real, and I’m ever turned into one, that the garlic thing is a myth. Because I add like a metric ton of garlic to almost everything I eat.

[emoevilboyblog]

this is so trve…. /|^;-;^/|(^+.+^)

[nyxwhispers]

poor astarion missing out on the bloody fun inside

[heretherebedork]

I love this vampire and his vampire lore so much and his tiny idiot babyness and how absolutely gaybie he is.

Baby boy and most beloved.

[ev-belknap]

Ok but I feel like using Nandor and Laszlo as your sample group to test vampire lore is wrong actually because I too will count anything you will give me to count, that’s just being neurodivergent.

[the-fae-tricked-me]

If I ever became a vampire I would immediately start dressing up like I was from the Victorian era unironically

[restless-historian]

the og Eastern European vampires lore for yall

The modern image of a vampire originates from Slavic beliefs, with the original Ukrainian term being "Упир" (upyr). These beliefs revolve around two types of deceased individuals: those at peace in the afterlife and those lingering between realms.

Upyrs were thought to be people who practiced sorcery, were excommunicated from the church, cursed, or unbaptized children, as well as victims of violent deaths. In folk beliefs, upyrs emerged from graves at night, primarily to drink the blood of the living, spread disease, and kill livestock, retreating back to their graves by morning's light. It was believed they possessed two souls, with the "pure" soul departing the body upon death, leaving the "unclean" soul behind.

protec yourself

Various Slavic folk methods were employed to deal with upyrs. Following the superstitions, potential upyrs were buried deeply with stones atop their graves, facedown so they would "bite the ground." Poppy seeds were often scattered in the coffin, while a sickle or scythe was positioned to sever the head should the ghoul rise. A pebble or coin was placed under the tongue, hands tied behind the back, and the most common prevention was driving an aspen stake through the head or heart. Additionally, upyrs were believed to fear crosses and garlic.

actually I`ve been taught this my by grandpa fr

so yeah pretty accurate for chopping them heads, amc

[marimayscarlett]

Hi hallo 👋

Please please please!!! Gush about Vampire!Richard!!! That new photo we got on Sunday was so incredibly sexy and I love hearing your thoughts about Richard!!

Thank yooouuuu ❤️❤️

Hi 👋🏼 (writing prompts incoming I'll never use since well. I'm not a writer yet I have too much imagination for my own good)

Thanks a lot for this ask! A while ago, I got a similar one which got lost on the way into my drafts, so I'm glad I get a second chance to delve into my made up lore for my beloved elderly vampire lord 🦇 So very subjective and personal imaginary facts about vampire!Richard incoming:

Vampire!Richard is an everlasting part of my obsession over him, and 'I'm still alive' really changed my brain chemistry further more in that regard - before it was mostly Völkerball!vampire!Richard, who ruled over my darkest fantasies, drawing me ever deeper into his spell:

In this version, he is in my mind a slightly arrogant but so charming, self-assured young vampire, recklessly spirited and hardly containable, propelled by success, hungry for more - and he fundamentally sees mostly the positive aspects in his immortal existence, which he savors to the fullest extent.

However, at times he falls into melancholic phases, reminiscing about his mortal life and pondering what might have become of him had he not fallen into the clutches of eternal existence.

And yet, I have to admit, with the release of “I'm still alive”, my attention was definitely turned to the senior vampire lord, who immediately captivated me.

Here, Richard strikes me as an educated and worldly gentleman who has a sense of restlessness about him. He appears to have a great demeanor, is confident in himself and knows how charmingly he has to approach people to get what he wants, and yet he carries a certain melancholy with him, some thoughts and memories never seem to quite leave him and which hint at a troubled past. Although he is no longer subconsciously searching for the ultimate sense of immortal life like the young vampire!Richard, he still doesn't seem to be entirely at peace with his past and himself.

Since my brain won't shut up and I had wonderful support by @dandysnob in the quest of working out some thoughts on a background story for elderly vampire lord!Richard a possible origin story for him - of course based entirely subjective on our fantasies around the topic of vampires in general and Richard in this role speficically:

He was born in the late Middle Ages/early Renaissance (around the late fifteenth century) into a fairly well-off, but not overly wealthy family in the northern region of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation - so he had a good start in life, but had to make something of himself to succeed in life.

His ambitious and inquisitive character enabled him to make a name for himself as an intelligent and knowledgable scholar, particularly in the field of art, rare artifacts and, to a certain extent, music research (music was part of the 'septen artes liberales', a canon of seven subjects of study which was very important during which were very important in antiquity and the Middle Ages).

On one of his travels, which led him to the region of Transylvania in Romania due to research on architecture and paintings, something happened that would change Richard's life forever - something he wouldn't have expected at the age of about 50. On the way back from a day trip to the Prejmer fortified church (Church Fortified by Tartlau), his carriage was ambushed on the road through the forest - Richard himself doesn't know exactly what happened, but he woke up after what seemed like a long period of unconsciousness and hasn't been the same since. The changes were gradual - daylight began to blind him unbearably, he became more irritable, had an unbearable hunger, suddenly much sharper senses, and an inexplicable desire to go for the jugular of his fellow human beings.

The following years and decades were difficult for Richard. He distanced himself more and more from his fellow beings and began, through research, to slowly but surely discover what had happened to him. Humanity had less and less space in his life; the vampiric nature gave him a feeling of omnipotence and a hunger that made him completely ruthless towards human life. He deliberately embarked on many journeys to conceal the fact that he no longer aged and to disguise his consumption of humans as a source of sustenance. Changing names became commonplace, and at every university where he began as a scholar, he provided a new name. Thus, he traveled extensively throughout the world, learning more and more about the dark hidden world. Despite the immortality and invulnerability he now enjoyed, Richard was internally torn - on one hand, he managed to keep his private escapades under covers and presented himself outwardly as a distinguished scholar; on the other hand, he missed human life with its true emotions and loved ones deeply.

In the 19th century, he arrived in Victorian London and found his way into high society, moving in similar circles to Lord Byron and his companions. He had always sworn two things to himself: firstly, never to let serious feelings for anyone else arise, as it simply did not fit his lifestyle, and secondly, never to seek victims whose deaths would arouse suspicion - so no woman from the nobility or a similar standing. Until one day, he fell in love with a young woman who was just as enamored with ancient objects, art, and music as he was. Even though he knew this could have no future, he could not resist and courted her, with great success - until one night (she knew of his dark secret and yet loved him deeply) he lost control and accidentally weakened his beloved so much with his thirst for blood that she died in his arms. In her final breaths, she appealed to his humanity, urging him to see that life offers so much if only he allows it.

This experience tore him apart internally, yet it also gave him back the willpower he had lacked for over 300 years. Once again, he swore to leave behind the matter of feelings and emotional relationships, and to exercise more caution, moderation, and compassion - as much as possible as a vampire. After the experience in London with his beloved, he naturally had to leave that place and became restless once again. After further travels, he eventually landed in 21st century New York, where the cultural sector thrived with museums, theaters, film, and music, alongside a flourishing supernatural underworld. Outwardly, he was a successful art dealer, a generous patron of musicians and opera houses, and an expert for museums; secretly, he quickly became known as the most influential and powerful vampire in the city, one best not crossed - a rise akin to Scarface, yet far more sophisticated.

Here we are now - an accomplished man with a successful career, centuries of experience behind him, yet he's filled with melancholy, partial bitterness, constantly struggling with his fate. Whether he will ever find complete fulfillment and happiness again...

a possible continuation can be found in the second part.

[justporo]

Listen, very important question...

Do vampire's get morning wood or no?

If they fed the night before, just in general?

I need to know - for entirely scientific reasons of course.

[belle-keys]

Vampires being Southern confederates in the American pop culture tradition makes so much sense to me logically. Not saying that I don't believe it's propaganda, because it absolutely is. But planter vampires and confederate vampires (Jasper, Damon, Lestat, Louis, Bill Compton) make a lot of sense in the American context, as much as aristocratic and “Old World” vampires make sense in the British context.

If vampires are inherently Gothic, then vampires must symbolize and personify the vestiges of a long-gone past – one which only simmers to life from far below the surface when it’s time to reveal the horrors, or the romance, of what is usually an oft-forgotten history. In 19th-century Britain, through vampire short stories and novellas, and later Dracula, vampires evoked the (misunderstood and misappropriated) time of the Goths. This, in turn, brought to readers’ minds images of towering castles, the superstition of Eastern Europe, and the so-called barbarism of the Old World, that which was made to appear antiquated in its monstrosity and secret imperialist desires. (*sarcastic voice*) The Old World was so at odds with enlightened, modern, industrializing Britain! It’s no wonder that vampires in British literature took the forms of counts, noblemen, and princes – they were the conspiring, powerful leaders of the Old World, or the medieval world, or some forgotten pre-Industrial feudal world.

And if we are to apply this concept of what vampires should represent for the United States, it only makes perfect sense that vampires would be planters and confederates. Slavers, planters, and confederate fighters also evoke the Old America, conjuring images of Southern chivalry, the great Antebellum, and the humble pioneers of this free nation of God and goodness and prosperity! And then the confederates got their ass beat really bad. And they could only hold on to these romantic images of that former “honour and glory” through propagation of the Lost Cause myth. What better vehicle to wield this romanticisation of, yunno, the defense of chattel slavery than through vampire softbois?! Immortal beings who symbolize the survival and resilience of the Antebellum South through time. Why don’t we make them hot guys who were just protecting the South in our pop culture? Sure. If the vestiges of America’s long-gone past are slavery and genocide and, uh, chivalric Southern honour, then vampires do a pretty effective job of reminding us of this horrifying/romantic (you choose here) history. Spoiler alert: it’s horrifying.

[lucianinsanity-only-art]

Vampire Zine is here!!!!

You can read it on my website Creature Journaling. Also directly on the Vampire Research page.

You can also download it as a pdf on my Ko-Fi. También en Español. You can take it for free or pay me anything you decide to!

Check my Mermaid Zine too!!!