Introduction To Real Vampires
Disclaimer: The following article is written from an observer's point of view. I am not a vampire, nor am I a seeker and I do not participate in the vampiric community. All opinions featured here are wholey my own, and are not based on any bias knowledge of the real vampires. I have gathered this information from real vampire website, support groups, meetings and whatnot. I have taken most of my findings and complied them on this section of Elysium. In terms of traits and whatnot, I have not taken anything I have not witnessed myself and put on this page. All things compiled here are things I have witnessed and had no other explination for. I hold no judgement on the vampiric community, and I am unbiased in this. Thank you for reading my disclaimer.
"Attention seeking fools who want to feel special. They choose this term because they think it will make them or define them. It's like whiney snot nosed angsty teens who think they know it all, and then decide to term themselves as vampires because it is 'cool' or 'in.'
So a real vampire? Basically, a real vampire is a woman who marries a guy for his cash to leech him of his money. Another kind of vampire is one who might leech off someone without giving in return. Bascially, a vampire is a leech from society, not this cruddy blood drinking/energy draining BS others seem to think it is.
Grow up people and wake up to what you really are, another human in this world trying to get by, so cheer the **** up and get on with stuff." -- M.C. Jomar, from Urban Dictionary
"Those who feed on energy. There are two types: psi (also known as pranic) and blood (also known as sanguine). A person can be both. Sanguine vamps take in energy through blood, they get their blood from donors; who are ready, willing and have been tested for diseases and such in the blood...psi vamps pull energy out of people and into themselves, through visualization. We are not immortal, we are not dead, garlic does not hurt us anymore than it hurts you, the sun can't kill us; but for some it is irritating (extremely for me) and anybody can be killed with a stake...duh." --Kaycee, from Urban Dictionary
"Things that suck your blood, or drink it, anyway. Most people think that it's cool and all sorts of weird shit like that. I personally think that it's messed up and stupid. For other messed up and stupid things, see cybersex." --Cory, from Urban Dictionary
There are very many opinions to what a real vampire is. There are those 'seekers' who think of them as these beautiful creatures that haunt the darkness, stalking prey from night to night to sustain their own bodies. There are those who say vampires are a subspecies of humanity, and others who say vampires are humans with abnormal needs. There are even those that classify vampires as a species of otherkin, but--then again--there are also those who say vampires are normal, with just a slight twist on the word. There are infinite amounts of misconception when it comes to real vampires. What are they? Who are they? Why do they exist? How do they exist? What makes a vampire a vampire?
The questions can go on forever, and not all of them have or even require an answer. They have been asked since the word 'vampire' emerged in human vocabulary. They have been obsessed over, fought over, pulled apart and tossed around. In the end, people are left with their own theories and opinions concerning vampires.
I went in search of these answers for several years, reading up on them on the internet, talking to them, going to meetings and such. I am here to tell you what I have found during this search, that is, if I may add, on-going even till today.
There are no other terms for these people, other than the popular 'vampire,' which is misleading in many ways. I will use this word because most of the public knows it. If I were to use any other, it would take extra time to explain what that word is pertaining to the person that holds it as a lable.
What is a real vampire?
A vampire is an individual who has unusual requirements in order to keep up a healthy physical and mental condition. They require this through a viable energy source, such as blood or the energy produced by the human body, or any living organism. These requirements cannot be avoided, but are as vital to them as it is to everyone to eat. For some odd reason, this requirement happens to be blood, or energy. They are still people, though.
Who are Vampires?
They can be anyone. They are people, and diverse. They come from all walks of life, all ethnic backgrounds and all beliefs. Being a vampire doesn't mean your of a white ethnicity. You can be black and a vampire, asian and a vampire, native american and a vampire. A vampire is still a person, regardless of their needs to survive.
Traits of Real Vampires
The following are a list of traits I have compiled into one source. They are what I have observed most frequently among vampires. There may be more, but this is just a short list. There are also traits here that are more for sanguinarians rather than psi-vamps.
- A need for blood or energy to survive: When it comes to sanguinarians, you ABSOLUTELY CANNOT be sanguinarian without needing blood to survive. It just can't happen. It is the same for psi-vamps. In their case, they will usually need crowds and such to give them food.
- Sensitivity to sunlight: They won't burn to cinders in two minutes, but they do tend to burn easier than the average person. Their skin is more sensitive than the average persons'.
- Good night vision: I noticed a tendency of sanguinarians to not be able to see as well in bright lights as a normal person, but they do have good night vision. They don't have cat eyes, where the night lights up like the fourth of July, but their night vision is better than average, unless they need glasses or something.
- Nocturnal: They are nocturnal. I am not sure what it is about the night, but it brings them alive. It charges them, for whatever reason. I guess it would have to be pegged to sensitivity.
- Faster than average: They cannot outrun a horse, or win an Olympic race right off the bat, but their bodies do tend to be quicker than an average person's, with training of course. They do tend to be better at it than your normal person.
- Agile: They're more adept at it, but it is a matter of training, but they do tend to be more agile than your average person, sometimes. There are those instances where the vampire hit the snickers bag too often.
- Good Reflexes: They do tend to respond quicker. It can differ, due to biological differences between vampires. This is something I tested myself.
- Strong: They tend to be stronger then they look. They won't lift a truck, but they can be considered strong.
- Hightened Senses: Their senses to tend to be more sensitive than normal.
- Pale complexion: Sangs do tend to be pale. While this doesn't apply for everyone, there are those that are. This trait is more for the sanguinarians rather than the psi-vamps.
- Cold-Blooded: I have yet to meet a vampire than can substitute as a walking heater. They tend to be cool to the touch (or luke warm, depending on if you're colder than they are in winter weather). As I have said before, this is more for sanguinarians rather than psi-vamps.
- Younger Appearing: When I say this, I mean they can appear younger than their true age. I am not sure why this is, but it is something I have observed among them.
Psi-Vamp Unique Traits
Traits Vampires DO NOT have (And will never have)
- Aversion to holy objects or holy ground
- Ill reactions to garlic
- Ill reaction to silver
- Inability to cross flowing water
- Being a walking corpse
- Being immortal
- Burning to a crisp in the sun
- Always being unearthingly beautiful
- In terms of women, always having big breast
- Always wearing black
- Not being able to eat food (They DO eat regular food, everyone!!!)
- Being apart of 'clans'
- Needing their native soil to sleep in
- Inability to function during the day
- Inability to enter a home without permission
- Being evil as a common trait (there are bad people who are vampires, but they're not all evil.)
- Being demons
- Killing people for their blood
- Being able to fly of their own power
- Being able to shapeshift
- Being killed only with a wooden stake (ANYBODY can die if you stake them through the heart. It's just common sense, everybody.)
- They're all children obsessed with death and black clothing
- Have mental illness
- Have a disease
- Do not need blood and just have an addiction
- Being unable to have children (Unless there's another medical complication)
- Being unable to eat normal food.
- Being unable to recognize each other
- Being able to cure their vampirism
Types of Vampires
In my observations of vampires, I have come to the conclusion that there are only three types, no matter what others may say. The types of vampires are catagorized, by me, as to what they take their 'food' from. When thought through, there are only three types from there.
There are your sanguines, or sanguinarians, who feed on blood exclusively. There are your psi-vamps or soul-snatchers, who feed on energy exclusively. Then there are your hybrids, you can feed on both blood and energy.
In terms of psychic vampires, there are two types: Intentional and Unintentional. The intentional vampire usually does it for a power rush, the feeling of being supieror or any other personal reason. They are a scary bunch and often have no consideration for another's health. They arn't careful with who they feed on at times, and they don't even require the energy to live. The unintentional psychic vampires are those that do it without realizing it, or realize it and require the energy. If they aware of what they are, they are often careful of who they feed on and try to control their feeding. They don't do it for a power rush. They do it for the same reason we all eat a meal each day---they need it to remain alive and healthy.
Vampires and Feeding
Vampires are not like your creatures from legends. They don't hunt for their 'victims' so they can drain them dry. Vampires take substance from donors, people who volenteer and are willing to allow the vampire to feed, whether it's blood or energy. Those who hunt are people who are fakers, delusional, or very rude and unhealthy. When a person donates blood to a vampire, they are usually tested to make sure they are disease free, or they can be a close friend or family member who they know are clean. If a person has a disease, then they are not usually donors to a vampire, because vampires can still catch normal human diseases, such as HIV or any other such disease, harmful or not. If it is energy, then those can be either aware or unaware, but psi-vampires can be effected by the energy they take in, so they are usually particular on who they feed on. When a sang feeds, it's called blood-letting. When a psi feeds, it's simply called feeding, or leeching, but feeding is more of a polite term.
The donor, for either sang or psi, have a special arrangement and relationship with the vampire. They are entrusted with that vampire's safty, identity and health, as is the vampire trusted with the donor's safty, identity and health. The relationship between vampire and donor requires alot of trust and understanding by both parties. Between both parties, discreetness has to be practiced in order to keep both parties safe, because the world still isn't safe for those who are different, or considered different. There can be an intimacy within this arrangement, but that's up to the vampire and the donor as to what kind of arrangement both parties are comfortable with.
Trust must form between both parties, because it can be hard for vampires to stop feeding, even for psi-vampires. On the part of the donor, they must trust the vampire not to hurt them, and the same goes for the vampire. Both parties have to build a trust that the other will not hurt them and that what they are doing is completely safe. These arrangements are not easy to form, but when they are, the rights of both parties must always be respected. It must be made sure that neither party is abused in any way. The wishes of either party has to be taken into consideration and communication must occur between vampire and donor. A good relationship between vampire and donor has a certain level of trust, understanding, discreetness and respect.
The rewards both parties recieve is big, even though it seems minor to some. The vampire can live without the Hunger for another period of time, while the donor knows that she/he has relieved pain, suffering and torment from another individual.
When sanguinarians feed, they can either take the blood directly from the donor, or take the blood by way of syringe and feed that way, or some other method. The safty of the donor is always taken into consideration during this process. The vampire has to maintain control and know when to stop, or when the donor says it is enough. All cuts, if there are some, are taken care of, throughly sanatized and bandaged to prevent infection. If they are using a syringe, it is always new and not a used one. It is always obtained through a trusted source and all precautions are taken. If a sanguinarian feeds their own blood to their donor, they will not be able to make that individual a vampire if the donor isn't already a latent vampire themselves.
(A latent vampire is someone who is a vampire, but their vampiric nature has not awakened in them yet. It may never awaken, and they can stay latent vampires till the day they die, but it can also awaken at any time. The trigger for this awakening is currently unknown to me. What I am sure of, though, is that a person without that element--the latent vampire--within them cannot be turned, as far as I know.)
When a psi-vamp feeds, they can take the energy from specific people, crowds, attention, disputes, sex or any other action, organism and so on that produces energy. If the vampire is feeding from a crowd, they may or may not have a filtering system. Even though it is energy, it can still be dirty. Since these type of vampires take the energy source of others to keep themselves going, they are forced to have this forgein energy through their own systems, so they can be effected by it. While they can recieve a feeding high, a period of hightened experience and euphoria, they can also experience an alteration in personality and such through this energy. If the vampire is feeding off of mental energy, then the energy of the mentally ill is not usable. If the vampire is feeding off of one person, then they shouldn't feed from children, pregnant women, women who are on their periods (because of the loss of vitamins and such in their bodies, they need energy to replenish themselves) and sick people. (I may have forgotten a few.) It must NEVER be the case that a psi-vampire feeds from one person at all, because they do run the risk of going to far. If a psi-vampire feeds from on individual too much and too often, they can damage that person's own system so they are forced to take substance themselves as a psi-vampire. This is how a psi-vamp creates another such as itself, but this is a cruel deed, even if the individual wanted it. It is akin to giving a person cancer, diabetes or any other disease. While vampirism is not a disease, it does require a person to live a life they are not used to, cannot understand if they have not lived it, and shouldn't be given at all. Being a vampire is not easy, and those that seek it usually have issues. Being a vampire is not going to make their problems go away, but it will only add to them. All vampires must understand this at all times.
The feeding of vampires is much more glorified on television and does not depict the reality of a real vampire. They don't come sweeping down on their prey and mesmerizing them into letting them feed. They do not all have fangs, and they cannot control the free will of another. It is not glorious and 'cool.' It is not exciting, but rather mundane and can become dull and repititious if you have to do this every few nights or more frequently for the rest of your life. It is not somethign that comes and goes. It is for life.
The Hunger and The Beast
In the vampire community, there are two terms that are widely used to describe the need for blood/energy or the state of that need. The two terms used are 'The Hunger' and 'The Beast.' While The Beast is simply know as 'The Beast,' The Hunger can be known as 'The Thirst' or 'The Need.' These are the two terms that every vampire, no matter the age, learn of. It isn't something any of them can escape from. The definitions of the two terms are layed out in the Sanguinarian Terminology & Lingo page on the website Sanguinarius.org:
- The desire to feed, also identified as the Thirst or the Need. The Hunger is both a psychological and physical sensation. Physically, it manifests as an intense hunger or thirst -- but is not satisfied by food or drink. Psychologically, a vampire in the throes of the Hunger feels agitated and empowered at the same time. Pulse, heart rate, blood pressure, and sometimes even body temperature, increase in anticipation of the act of feeding. (See also "feeding", the "Thirst", the "Need".)
- The primal, instinctive, animalistic, bestial nature of a frustrated or desperate vampire, where he or she gets really evil-minded and aggressive and wants to just go berserk, rip people and things apart for the pure "fun" of it, and feed violently. It's destructive and cold, and if you don't control it, then you will be under its control. This is different from just "vamping out" but that is when it's most likely to manifest."
While I am not sure if the effects for both differ from vampire to vampire, I do know, from what I have been told, that neither is enjoyable or a walk in the park. At times, it can be brutal, mind breaking, devastating and exhausting. The effects of ignoring the need for substance can be damageing, so vampires tend to try and avoid that by feeding when they need to. The effects of this neglect are slightly different between sanguinarians and psi, I have noticed. While I am sure that it comes from their different needs, the basic effects remain the same.
From my own observations (No, I didn't force a vampire not to feed. That is sick and mean. I happen to know a few who don't enjoy what they are, so they were experimenting to see how long they could go without feeding.), I noticed that a vampire gets sickly, very lethargic and weak. There is one point where their skin becomes pale, like a person gets when they have a sever flu, and they become colder to the touch. Their bodies seem to begin to break down slowly, and I have seen it get to the point where the vampire does loose weight, and then it can progress from there. I have been told that vampires can die from this, but I've not seen it myself, and I refused to allow any vampire I know to go that far.
The effects differ from sanguinarians and psi, because when a psi reaches that state, they have a very strong need to be around people, in a crowd. They become erratic, and the mood swings can be violent and strong. They can have tempers or just be very emotional (such as weeping). (The emotional part differs from psi to psi. It depends on how the person reacts to such a situation.) They begin feeding automatically, draining anyone close to them to the point where the person being drained becomes very weak. Their bodies go into a survival mode, and it seems that the brain takes over, searching for anyway to survive. The vampire, at that point, seems to no longer have control of feeding, and they don't have control until they reach a state where they are at least partially healthy, and then then can stop it themselves, but, before that, the brain does whatever it can to stay alive. It is not abnormal, considering that the brain of a normal human does the same thing. It is a known fact that the body/brain will do all it can to survive a crisis. In drowing victims, the brain begins to shut down all functions to preserve oxygen. It starts from the feet and works it's way up as the conditions worsen.
In terms of their needs, sanguinarians can be much more frightening than a psi can. While psi need their 'food' as much as sanguinarians do, it's the difference in the need, the behavior and the levels the need can reach that makes a sang more frightening than a psi when they hunger. The effects are similar to psi, but the behavior can be more escalated due to the fact that blood isn't that readily available. When the need starts to grow in them, the sanguinarian's thoughts become focused on blood, like an addiction that they absolutly cannot escape. They become desparate as the need grows, and seeing blood or smelling it escalates this need for it. They become primal, instinctive, animalistic--a single focused need disguised as a person. They fall into a survival mode, and even the sight or smell of blood can drive them insane. For some reason, even their own blood doesn't sate the need, it only takes the tiniest edge off of it. As it progresses, the sanguinarian becomes weak, and his emotions go with it. They become unpredictable, and depression can take hold. Their emotions go on a roller coaster, as do their behavoir. They can become sick (headaches, vomiting...etc) and it's at that point that they slowly grow weaker. After a certain point, when the sang becomes weaker and weaker, the brain will do everything it can to survive, as it always does. As it is with psis, I don't know what lays beyond that point. I've never seen it go that far.
In terms of psis and sangs, there is not lighter state when it comes to feeding. They are both equally bad for the vampire. There is no such thing as 'one is better than the other,' because they arn't that different to be able to say such a thing. The effects are the same, and a vampire will always have a need for blood or energy. It's not something they can escape.
Vampiric Awakening
In the Vampire community, a individual must go through a phase called awakening, a peroid of time where the vampiric nature begins to emerge. It is during this time that the vampire begins to gain their vampiric needs and sensitivities. The awakening typically comes with puberty, where the hormones are at their highest. While the ages do vary, the large majority of vampires experience this awakening between the ages of 14-26, give or take a few years. It is very rare that an adult over their mid-twenties will awaken, because of the fact that the awakening does come during puberty.
While the Otherkin also use the word 'awakening,' it is not like vampire's awakening. An awakening in the Otherkin community beings with a realization that one is different, followed by a clarity and reevaluation of their lives, questioning themselves and the world around them. In the vampire community, the individual isn't reevaluating their lives or realizing they are different. They realize that they are becoming different, not that they are already different and have been that way since the time of their birth. A vampire doesn't experience the same things an Otherkin would, such as the phantom limb sensation, or speaking another language previously unknown, or the natural gift for psi and majick. It is not something that is apart of the vampire awakening.
It is basically just the onslaught of the vampire hunger, sensitivities and traits. It has nothing to do with anything else (beliefs, life, soul...etc) other that. While it can cause other things to happen, such as the belief in majick, psi or causing the vampire to be more spiritual, it is not apart of the awakening itself.
(If you are seeking answers to whether or not you are awakening, please be aware that nobody on the internet can help you. They can tell you of their own experiences, but nobody can truly tell you what you are. Please be careful.)
The Embrace (AKA Turning)
(If you noticed, the title of this section is linked to another website. Please read it. It is written by a real vampire, and is probably much better than anything I can write.
To begin: What is 'The Embrace' or 'Turning?'
The Embrace is the process of making a regular human into a vampire. It can also be the process of inducing an awakening on a latent vampire. (A latent vampire is a person that is already a vampire, but the vampiric nature hasn't awakened yet.) One of those is possible, and the other might as well be impossible.
When a vampire feeds their blood to a latent vampire, it induces the awakening. As far as I know, it is relatively painless and works just as if the awakening happened on it's own. There are instances where the individual was not aware that they were already vampires, so they say the were turned into vampires, but, in truth, it was simply a forced awakening. It has been done to people, and it's not impossible at all. Any contact of an awakened vampire's blood with a latent vampire by taste or injection (I am not sure of this one. I have never tested it.) can cause an awakening.
However, the turning of a normal person into a vampire is impossible, or might as well be. It can be fatal to both parties, and not just anyone can turn them. If the vampire is too strong, they will kill the human. If the vampire is too weak, the effects will wear off. While morbid and sick, the best example is trying to run a mountain over a person without damaging them or killing them. It simply isn't possible. It is not widely spoken of by the vampires, and what little rumors there are say that the process can kill both vampire and human. It is not worth it. It does not give the perks of what being a true vampire gives a person. It's more like a living hell rather than a thrilling experience.
From what I can tell and have seen, the turning wouldn't even be complete, because the individual was not born that way. Whatever is within a vampire to make them that way is greatly diluted within the non-vampiric individual, so it's as if they are normal, with only the slightest changes. I have done research and I have no idea what is acutally passed on from the vampire to the person they are turning. The one thing I have noticed is that those who have been turned often times are not happy with what they decided to do, and can be damaged by it perminently.
There are very many beliefs and opinions on how the turning of a normal person is done. There is nothing that is concrete, other than the fact that it won't make your problems go away, and you don't get rich off being a vampire.
Vampires and Psychic Abilities
During a vampire's awakeing, that person usually does develope some sort of psychic abilities, often times the same abilities that Otherkin have: Telepathy, (Sometimes) Telekinesis, Empathy and so on. There is also the issue of heightened sense and physical strength that comes with the awakening, but it's not psi. There are other abilities, such as pyrokinesis, but vampires do devlope psychic abilities, varying in degrees. These abilities are usually suited to their predator natures.
There are instances where the vampire is already psychic and the awakening just strengthen those gifts, and there are also instances where vampirse loose the psi abilities they had and may/maynot acuquire others. There are also instances where the vampire doesn't acquire any sort of psi ability. It does vary from person to person, but the vampire will typcially have some sort of psi ability.
I don't consider this a trait of vampirism, but it does seem to go hand in hand, from my experience. As with psychic abilities, it does have it's ups and downs. It's not always a great thing, but you have to expect that with all things.
Vampire Hierarchies
In my research, I have tried to uncover the origins of the hierarchy rumor, and I have yet to pinpoint the origins, but what I did discover was the fact that these 'royals' and 'pure-bloods' are not as real as people seem to think they are. There is no ruling council in the vampire community, and there is no royalty. What I have uncovered with the hierarchy myth (and I do use that word because I have found it to be just that) is that the people who would use them are those who want to feel more superior to others.
While vampirism can run in families, it does not make you better than anyone else. A vampire is a vampire, just as a human is a human. I have uncovered groups, packs and whatnot that do seem to have a 'leader,' but he wasn't a royal or pure-blood, and the arrangement was something that was based on democracy, much like your normal group of friends; there is always someone at the center holding it all together.
Vampires are people. That shouldn't be overlooked at all.
Cause of Vampirism
I have searched for several years for the cause of vampirism. I have heard many theories, but they are only that--theories. There is no concrete evidence for what causes vampirism, and there may not be for several years. The different theories do have pros and cons to them, as well as believers in them. In this section, I'll go through the different theories I've found. I'll give the pros and cons of each as well as explain each theories. There are some that may sound good, but they are still theories and this should be kept in the forefront of the mind.
Vampire Gene:
I first encountered this theory at a vampire meeting in Hillcrest (an area of San Deigo, California). It basically means that there is a vampire gene that all vampires have to make them that way. It is hereditary, but, as all genes do, it can skip generations as well as remain dormat for many generations. If this were true, calling on my biology knowledge now, the gene would be recessive mostly, because a recessive gene would allow it to remain dormate for generations--in other words, allowing ten generations of a family to not be vampires while the eleventh generation turns out to be a vampire. If it were dominate, then it would travel through families, and maybe miss a person or two, but it would still be prominent with in the family characteristcs. A recessive gene would be a family of brown haired people having a red headed child. A dominant gene would be an entire family of red heads.
Pros: The theory would explain why vampires do have the differences they do, such as physiological differences, sensitivities and such(sensitivity to sunlight, ability to digest blood, etc). It would mean they're biologically different from humanity, but it does give a good argument.
Cons: It's not provable at this time. The work and the money it would take to single out the vampire gene isn't within reach of the vampire community at this time. If there is a gene, then that could also cause problems rather than solve them. It would bring up historical questions, scientific questions are rearrange humanity's idea of how evolution acutally occured. Vampires wouldn't be an entirely different species, but a sub species of humanity. I say this because vampires can breed with 'normal' people.
Vampire Soul:
The theory of the vampiric soul basically says that the vampire actually has a soul that is vampiric being housed in a human body. The vampiric soul remains dormat for the duration of the normal human changes, and when they do reach that age of puberty or whatnot, the other changes occur, awakening their vampiric nature. In this, it would make the vampire otherkin. For those who follow this belief, they do term themselves in that way. There are people who consider vampires otherkin, while others don't entertain those beliefs. It's a toss up because nobody really knows what that cause of vampirism is.
Pros: If one could say that the soul influences the body, then yes, it could be a possible explination for the physical differences seen in vampires. It could be explained as a means for the soul to inhabit the body--by changing it to fit itself.
Cons: The theory doesn't explain why vampirism has a tendency to run in families and it does not explain why some can be 'turned' to be vampires. While you could say the soul is attracted to suitable bodies, therefore would run in families, there are other factors that do not stand to reason, such as the 'turning,' if it does indeed exist.
Vampire Entity:
The theory here is an iffy one, at best. It basically says that the vampire is acutally a host to another entitiy, a parasitic entity using them as a host. While the host is perfectly healthy, baring any other medical problems, the entity itself needs to be fed. It changes the body for it to be suitable to be a predator, giving it the ability to hunt for prey. For those that believe in this, they say that vampirism is curable, but the theory has yet to be proven. For now, they say it is, in fact, curable, but it would be fatal to the host, as the host and the entity are one,and the cure could possibly kill both host and entity at once.
Pros: It could explain away the sensitivities, the physical differences and so on of the vampire. It could explain the lack of energy, possibly the need for blood, and the unusual hours. If it were true, it would be saying that the parasite's basic DNA is enough to alter the entire body to fit itself.
Cons: There is no explination for why the parasite chooses it's host, how it goes about to be in the host and why vampires usually wake up during their teenage years to their mid twenties. It also gives no explination for why it would run in families.
Vampire Virus:
This is basically saying that the vampire has a disease. It is the root of their entire vampiric nature. When the person catches this virus, it alters them, changing their bodies to suit itself.
Pros: Explains why it shows up in family lines, and can remain dormate for many years. It also explian why it would show up in teenage years to mid twenties. It also supports the genetic thoery, since these sorts of things can cause DNA mutations.
Cons: If it were indeed true, the virus would be more wide spread, and it could be contracted by non-vampires through fluid exchange and such. By the effects of the virus, it would have to be man-made and not natural, which would be left to explain how people of YEARS ago became vampires. The technology for that is not that old. It also wouldn't effect any two people the exact same way; it would change just a bit from person to person to accomidate for the different genetics of each individual. It also doesn't explain how vampires can recognize each other.
Damaged Energy Body/Normal Body:
This is basically saying that the vampire's energy body or physical body is damaged, and it is finding other ways to sustain itself.
Pros: The body is adaptable, and will find ways to preserve itself. While it is a long shot, it is possible that the body would resort back to it's ancestral ways in order to live, but the only difference would be the need for blood. It also explains psychic vampirism, and possibly why it runs in families, but doesn't necessarily show up.
Cons: It doesn't explain the vampire traits, nor does it truly explain why it remains dormate for so long. If it was in the energy body, it wouldn't take an upstart in the teen years and mid twenty years. It would be a steady thing, and would be curable by a simple energy healing and such.
Curse/Ritual:
This basically says that the vampire was cursed, in a majickal means, to being that way, or when through a ritual gone bad. I've not seen this widely spread through the net, but I have seen it.
Pros: It may explian vampire traits and the tendencies of vampires to find one another.
Cons: It doesn't explain the awakening ages, nor does it explain the tendencies it has to run in families. It has a weak base at best, and if it were true, there would be a cure. As far as I know, there is no curse or ritual that can last for the duration of a person's life. It can and will wear off.
These theories are not proven, and they are still theories, but there are those who are believers of one or two of them. These are ways for vampires to explain they they are the way they are, just as every human attempts to do every now and then.
A Vampiric Life: Overview
Being a vampire can be seen as wonderful and the perfection of life, having been glorified by authors such as Anne Rice and Laurel K. Hamilton, but it's nothing like you see in Hollywood or read in books. The reality of it isn't as glorious as people would have you think. There are your typical perks of it all, but there are also downsides as well. It is still life, and it will go as lives all go. They will differ and they will have they similarities.
All in all, it's a life and most people would say that it's better to have a life than none at all.