The Ultimate Vampire Resource and Directory

Vampires are one of the most popular supernatural creature and they appear in fiction quite often, However they are different in each incarnation but have similar traits to other vampires of that "era" lets start with folklore.

Folklore.

Vampires in folklore were depicted as the dead rising to visit relatives, lovers or to feed etc. but unlike the suave and powerful vampires we are familiar, these were monsters that were either ugly, weak or humorously had OCD as it is said that vampires would count every grain of sand or other similar substance before being able to continue hunting. Weaknesses vary but staking the corpse and decapitation were used to make sure that most corpse would not rise.

Books.
Vampires have become very popular due to books and while each has different "types' some share rules i.e Vampires get stronger with age or have heightened emotions and superhuman strength.

Dracula.
a very well known book written by Bram stoker and based on Vlad the impaler, in this book vampires could Shapeshift and hypnotize people. They had super-strength and speed, fly and control the elements.

Most or some books after this included these abilities to their respective vampires.


Movies and tv.
this is where vampires are mostly seen today and while different in each movie, they share certain aspects like "vampfaces" which nearly all vampires have such as those of the lost boys, fright night and buffy the vampire slayer.

Vampires have evolved from monsters such as count Orlok to handsome but still monstrous such as Dracula to handsome, charming and witty to those of the lost boys or fright night and finally to those seen today, in which they are broody, tormented and are usually in a romantic relationship with a human.

Vampire weaknesses have come and gone as well. in folklore, vampires were not killed by the sun and to my knowledge it didn't come around until the movie Nosferatu was released.

Count Orlok was depicted as ugly, monstrous vampire that stayed in the shadows and feared sunlight.

Dracula (hammer era)
Dracula in the old hammer films and before was depicted as a normal human looking vampire but was malevolent on the inside and he was very intimidating with his piercing stare and was in terms of personality, he was somewhat nihilistic, not caring about anything except surviving. he was often at odds with van helsing.

The 70/80s era.
Now this is when vampires became interesting...and actually have different personalities and goals other than feeding. there was also a lot of humor in these films

the best vampire movies around this time were Fright Night 1 and 2 ( can't recall when the second one was made) The Lost Boys and Near Dark.

The Lost Boys.
The Vampires of this film were anarchic punks clearly enjoying their immortal life, rather than just looking for their next meal they were trying to recruit the protagonist Michael into the family along with his brother and mother. Common powers of the vampires include flight,strength and speed and of course...the infamous Vamp-faces which have been commonly used (but slightly redesigned) in many films and tv shows such as buffy the vampire slayer.

Fright Night.
The vampires in these films had the basic strengths and weaknesses but could also shapeshift and had "vamp-faces"
the goal of the vampire antagonist in the film is not entire clear but after seeing amy, the girlfriend of the main protagonist. He desires to turn her as she looks exactly like someone he knew from many years ago. The Vampire, Jerry Dandridge, was not a rebellious punk like the lost boys nor a monster such as orlok but a charming, polite and seemingly normal human being.

Fright Night 2.
The Goal of the Vampire in this film is made clear when she tells charlie brewster that she plans to turn him so she could punish him for killing her brother jerry.

Near Dark.
the vampires here were nomadic and quite sociopathic, especially bill paxton's character. these vampires could actually be cured through blood transfusions

Interview with a Vampire.
a very good and well known film about a vampire telling his past and struggles with his thirst to the interviewer. the vampires in this film had all the common powers of vampires including flight but added some other stuff such as the age rule (vampires in most fiction get stronger with age) Fire gifts etc.
The Vampires blended in well with humanity, though their skin is said to be smooth like marble, have glass like nails and cannot cut their hair.

Blade.
Blade himself is a unique vampire or a hybrid to be exact as he has no vampire weaknesses except the thirst. Vampires here are spit into two groups. The Purebloods and the turned. Vampires still age in the blade universe but at a very slow rate.
crosses and holy water do not work.

Van Helsing.
Vampires in this movie are monstrous beings with wings and can extend their jaw in ways that are clearly inhuman. Dracula the main vampire who can also change into a demonic form can only be killed by a werewolf.

Underworld.
Vampires are depicted as living in covens and having a set of rules to follow. yet again the vampires have the basic powers and weaknesses but new ones are included such as the ability to know the memories of those they drink.

John carpenter's Vampires.
the vampires here are similar to those of near dark and 30 days of night as they don't speak and are extremely aggressive and blood thirsty, with the exception of their leader. their bite is infectious and makes a link between victim and vampire.

Present day.
vampire diaries, twilight, true blood etc.
these vampires have quite a lot in common with each other.
all protagonists are broody,tormented 100 year old vampires in love with a human woman and in the case of vampire diaries and twilight, the human woman is always in peril or needs protecting. so far these vampires are the ones currently seen today.

3O Days of Night.
a group of vampires arrive in Alaska to take advantage of the lasting darkness and feed on the town folk. most of the vampires in this film were nearly completely animalistic and slightly deformed (they had black eyes and the skin around they eyes and cheek was as if they face was stretch up or back) only their leader, Marlow seemed to look human with the exception of his black eyes, fangs and claws. he is killed when the protagonist injects himself with vampire blood and uses his vampire super strength to punch a hole through Marlow's skull.

Day-breakers.
the vampires in this film hunt and round up humans to feed on. if vampires don't feed then they degenerate into subsiders: aggressive bat-like creatures. Humans are captured and harvested in laboratory farms due to fact the plague wiped most of humanity out and vampires are in dire need of blood.

Fright night 2011
The vampires in these films are classic old school, they have modern vamp-faces but their behaviour is that of the 80's or early 90's vampires, According to peter vincent, jerry dandridge and those he turns belong to a very strong and rare breed of vampires, these species are earth dwellers, tribal in nature and are very strong and have a cruel method of feeding as they don't outright kill but keep their victims alive and imprisoned then feed on them whenever they feel like. crosses only work if one has faith, holy water is effective and so is sunlight, Stakes and decapitation also works.
if a vampire is staked with a blessed stake then the his or her victims become human again.


Vampires have evolved from monstrous predators to tragic beings who are victims of their thirst, they are now handsome when once they were hideous and their "evilness" usually depends on who the person was and how much control of their thirst they have. Vampires these days are sometimes just amoral and devious instead of bloodthirsty predators.