Folk Lore an More...
Vampires, at least to me, are the most mystical, beautiful, and mysterious of all mythical creatures. Their existence, whose beginning is unknown, is eternal. However, eternity here is considered as a plague, a curse, instead of a merit. Their only need is that blood, the primal essence of any living creature. Living in eternal night, for the sun is also their destroyer, these powerful creatures rule the darkness.Folklore:
Many people have different theories according to their origins... Some say they are the offspring of Caine, the first murderer, killer of his own brother; and therefore each one carries Caine's curse: to live in darkness, to eat ashes and drink blood, and mainly, the fact that Death will never come for you. They are the primal undead, still capable of maintaining a physical body in perfect shape. Another unknown fact, is if vampires are either weakened or repelled by holy objects: be they crosses or holy water. Another destroyer is, of course, the stake through the heart; which in some Vampire Lore merely sets the vampire in a state of torpor, or paralytic unconsciousness. However, the most popular Vampire Lore declares that a stake through the heart will kill a Vampire. Honestly, I still haven't met a vampire, but when I do, I'll be sure to ask him or her.
Other sources indicate the origins of vampires to the great Count Dracula. It is important to note the true facts upon which this theory is based upon... First of all, there REALLY was a Count Dracula, whose true name was Vlad Tepes. Also known as Vlad the Impaler, he was a Wallachian Prince who ruled Transylvania from 1448 to 1476. Transylvania, for those who like trivia, means "The Land Beyond the Forest"; and was a Romanian Province. Now, it is divided between southern Hungary and northern Romania. Vlad was known as the Impaler because he liked to impale his victims alive on long stakes and watch them die. He was known to do some pretty atrocious acts like: inviting beggars to his castle for dinner, then setting the dinner room on fire with all the beggars inside. Also, it is said that he murdered 600 merchants because they were too rich. In any case, Vlad was taken by Bram Stoker, which used him as the protagonist for his novel: "Dracula". Little did Stoker know how much his novel would affect the course of human events.
In European Folklore, Vampires were the restless spirits of the dead, particularly dead witches, murderers, thiefs and suicides. These rose from their graves at night to feed upon the blood of the living, their only sustenance. Because of these legends, many a time the councils of small villages all over Europe invoked meetings to go to the graveyards, and exhumate (or dig up) recent graves or graves believed to contain vampires, and stake them through the hearts. It is interesting to note why people really believed they were vampires... you see, when someone staked a dead body, the body would move, as a reflex, and would make a humming sound. In some cases, bodies opened their mouths and let out groans; and in most cases, as a reflex also, the bodies opened their eyes. I'm sure if you would have been there, over two centruries ago, without any knowledge of science, you would have believed these were vampires. However, true vampires, if there are any ( and I hope so), are smarter (hopefully) than a dead body with a lust for blood.
An interesting Lore was recently created by White Wolf, Inc. for their game: "Vampire:The Masquerade" ; which contains a more likely story, origin and ideology about vampires, also a much more interesting one. Here, vampires are divided among clans, each clan being presided by an AntiDiluvian, or one of the children of Caine.
Supposedly, there are 13 clans, each one having different disciplines, powers, and abilities. These Clans, whose leader gives name to the clan, and a brief description are given below....But , I have found that are actually more than 25 for some reason or another they have been hidden, an kept in the land of the forgotten by the other clans. An when one takes into consideration the Caitiff," known as the Clan less" There truely is no way of really ever knowing just how many there are.
They are Vampire-Wizards. Powerful and united, they are the most mistrusted clan of them all. They have learned how to use their vampiric blood to enhance their magical abilities and have created a series of incredibly powerful rituals for their benefit; ranging from boiling the blood of anyone they touch to a ritual which allows them to walk freely out in the sun and even catch a suntan. Their power is so that they made themselves vampires; in other words, no vampire embraced them.
Toreador
These are the Vampire Artists. Their primal purpose is to create and protect art. They are beautiful, and are probably the clan which most relates to mankind.
These are the Vampire Politicians, always meddling with leadership and trying to take control of everything.
These are the reckless Vampires. Their basic want, after blood, is freedom and having fun. Usually they ride bikes and most love leather.
These are the crazy Vampires. They believe that only through madness can the truth and enlightenment be obtained. They are awfully funny, and make great companions. However, some are not as crazy as they might want you to believe.
These are the shapeshifting Vampires. The ability to morph their bodies, basically changing organs or turning themselves into animals, primarily huge bats or wolves. These are the vampires who have the closest relationships tp animals. In fact, one of their abilities is to talk to animals. I myself have always wondered what those damn dogs are always saying when they bark.
These are the deformed, bald-headed and horribly looking vampires. They almost always stick to the shadows, and live in sewers. They are the Vampire Spies, since they are experts at keeping themselves hidden. Ruthless, yet sentimental, they are a powerful bunch of vampires desperately seeking plastic surgery.
These vampires have the power to control and manipulate shadows. They are quite powerful and feared by many.
These vampires are physically unstable. Their bodies are in constant morphing, almost always deformed into some pretty odd forms. Their minds are almost always as unstable as their bodies, yet they always seem to have a purpose.
These vampires are chaotic and reckless. They thrive in doing evil things and usually hang out around pagans, satanists, and anything that has a perverted, evil side to it.
These are basically the Mobsters in the Vampire World. They are intelligent, smart, ruthless and cunning. Little is known about them.
These vampires are the Healers. They have a third eye on their forehead, and they can only drink the blood of those who give it willfully. They are also the ones who truly believe in Goodness. According to legend, Tremere himself drank the blood of Salubri, turning himself into a vampire. These vampires are also the ones who truly believe in Golconda (or Vampire Enlightenment) where a vampire's need for blood is no more
These vampires are even more hideously deformed than the Nosferatu, because they are not merely deformed, they are decayed. There bodies didi not stop rotting when they became vampires, therefore, they continue to rot. Their primal discipline is to decay anything else they touch, and cause things to rot. They usually prefer to hide themselves, but come out a lot more than the Nosferatu do. Also, they are known to have originated in Caribbean, primarily Haiti.
These vampires, however, have formed larger groups by combining their clans for a greater purpose. Those who believe in the Masquerade (a belief that vampires and humans CAN co-exist and that vampires can live in the human world as humans), have created the Camarilla,. The clans who belong to the Camarilla are: Tremere, Venture, Toreador, Brujah, Malkavian, Nosferatu and Gangrel. Another belief is that of no belief at all, where you, as a vampire, do whatever you want. These are called the Anarchs, and are composed of members of any clan who wish to be free and spontaneous. Another belief is that vampires should BE VAMPIRES and let the humans know they are vampires. These believe that being a vampire is power, and should be encouraged, as well as a vampiresque behavior. These believers in pure and outright Vampirism are known as the
