Editing Vampire literature (section)

==Traits of vampires in fiction==<!-- This section is linked from [[Vampire]] -->
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The traits of the literary vampire have evolved from the often repulsive figures of folklore. Fictional vampires can be romantic figures, often described as elegant and sexy (compare demons such as [[Succubus|succubi]] and [[Incubus|incubi]]). This is in stark contrast to the vampire of Eastern European folklore, which was a horrifying animated corpse. However, as in folklore, the literary vampire is sustained by drinking blood. They do not need other food, water, or even oxygen. They are sometimes portrayed as being unable to eat human food at all, forcing them to either avoid public dining or mime chewing and eating to deceive their mortal victims. The fictional vampire, however, often has a pale appearance rather than the dark or ruddy skin of folkloric vampires and their skin is cool to the touch. As in folklore, literary vampires can usually be warded off with [[garlic]] and symbols of the Christian faith, such as [[holy water]], a [[crucifix]], or a [[rosary]].

According to literary scholar [[Nina Auerbach]] in ''Our Vampires, Ourselves'', the influence of the moon was seen as dominant in the earliest examples of vampire literature:

{{Quote|For at least fifty years after Planche's Vampire, the moon was the central ingredient of vampire iconography; vampire's solitary and repetitive lives consisted of incessant deaths and – when the moon shone down on them – quivering rebirths. Ruthven, Varney and Raby need marriage and blood to replenish their vitality but they turn for renewed life to the moon...a corpse quivering to life under the moon's rays is the central image of midcentury vampire literature; fangs, penetration, sucking and staking are all peripheral to its lunar obsession.}}

Bram Stoker's ''Dracula'' was hugely influential in its depiction of vampire traits, some of which are described by the novel's vampire expert [[Abraham Van Helsing]]. 
Dracula has the ability to change his shape at will, his featured forms in the novel being that of a wolf, bat, mist and fog.  He can also crawl up and down the vertical external walls of his castle in the manner of a lizard.  One very famous trait that Stoker added is the inability to be seen in mirrors, which is not found in traditional Eastern European folklore, as Stoker combined the folklore of [[Jiangshi]] being terrified of their own reflection with the material fact of the silver backed mirrors of the time. Dracula also had protruding teeth, though was preceded in this by Varney the Vampire and Carmilla.
In Anne Rice's books, the vampires appear their best self of the age they were turned into a vampire; for instance, when Claudia was turned into a vampire, her golden curls became tight and voluminous, her skin turns a pale but smooth and clear, and rids her of the rotting disease. But it also seems like a curse as she retains her child-body for her entire vampire lifetime and any modifications on her body, such as even cutting her hair, grows it back to the same length as it was before.
A similar occurrence can be observed in the ''Twilight'' series - when Bella is turned into a vampire, her wounds heal, hair becomes healthy and shiny, her broken back and ribs get mended, the color comes back to her skin, and her sunken eyes, cheeks and skinny body return to a healthy state; in fact she is brought back to life from the brink of death by turning her into a vampire.

In the ''Dracula'' novel, the vampire hunter Van Helsing prescribes that a vampire be destroyed by a wooden stake (preferably made of [[white oak]]) through the heart, [[decapitation]], drowning, or incineration.  The vampire's head must be removed from its body, the mouth stuffed with [[garlic]] and holy water or relics, the body drawn and quartered, then burned and spread into the four winds, with the head buried on hallowed ground.  The destruction of the vampire Lucy follows the three-part process enjoined by Van Helsing (staking, decapitation, and garlic in the mouth). 

Traditional vampire folklore, followed by Stoker in ''Dracula'', does not usually hold that sunlight is fatal to vampires, though they are nocturnal.  It is also notable in the novel that Dracula can walk about in the daylight, in bright sunshine, though apparently in discomfort and without the ability to use most of his powers, like turning into mist or a bat.  He is still strong and fast enough to struggle with and escape from most of his male pursuers. Fatal exposure to sunlight of a vampire in their coffin dates at least as far back as ''The Story Of Yand Manor House'' (1898) by E. and H. Heron; such scenes in [[vampire films]] however, most especially 1922's ''[[Nosferatu]]'' and the closing scene of the 1958 film ''[[Dracula (1958 film)|Dracula]]'' in which Count Dracula is burnt by the sun, were very influential on later vampire fiction. For instance, Anne Rice's vampire Lestat and Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's Count Saint-Germain both avoid the lethal effects of daylight by staying closeted indoors during the day.<ref>Nina Auerbach (1981)'' Our Vampires, Ourselves'': 119&ndash;47.</ref>

A well-known set of special powers and weaknesses is commonly associated with vampires in contemporary fiction.  There is a tendency, however, for authors to pick and choose the ones they like, or find more realistic ones, and have their characters ridicule the rest as absurd. For example, in the movie ''[[Blade (1998 film)|Blade]]'', the vampire hunter [[Blade (comics)|Blade]] tells Karen Jenson what kills vampires (stakes, silver, and sunlight), and dismisses tactics seen in vampire movies (namely crosses and running water) as ineffective.<ref>''Blade'' Distributed by New Line Cinema (released August 21, 1998) ''About 49 minutes in, Blade gives Karen a quick "Vampire Anatomy 101" lesson in what kills vampires and what doesn't.''</ref> Some vampires can fly. This power may be supernatural levitation, or it may be connected to the vampire's shape-shifting ability.  Some traditions hold that a vampire cannot enter a house unless he or she is invited in. Generally, a vampire needs be invited in only once and then can come and go at will. [[Stephen King]]'s novel ''[[Salem's Lot]]'' explored an unusual direction with this myth in having one of the protagonists revoke a vampire's invitation to a house; the vampire was forced to flee the building immediately. This is also featured in the American TV series ''[[True Blood]]'', where Sookie withdraws her invitation on a number of occasions, causing vampires to be thrown out by supernatural forces. Also, in ''[[The Vampire Diaries]]'' when a newly turned vampire wakes up in a house that he was not invited into, he immediately flees.

Some tales maintain that vampires must return to a coffin or to their "native soil" before sunrise to take their rest safely. Others place native soil in their coffins, especially if they have relocated. Still other vampire stories, such as Le Fanu's ''[[Carmilla]]'', maintain that vampires must return to their coffins, but sleep in several inches of blood as opposed to soil. Vampires are generally held to be unable to bear children, though the concept of a "half vampire" and similar creatures does exist in folklore and in some modern fiction. Some fictional vampires are fascinated with counting, an idea derived from folk stories about vampires being compelled to stop and count any spilled grain that they find in their path.  The most famous fictional counting vampire is likely the [[Muppet]] character [[Count von Count]] on television's ''[[Sesame Street]]''. Other examples include a [[The X-Files (season 5)|fifth season]] episode of the ''[[X-Files]]'' titled ''[[Bad Blood (The X-Files)|Bad Blood]]'', and the [[Discworld]] novel, ''[[Carpe Jugulum]]'' by [[Terry Pratchett]]. Some modern fictional vampires are portrayed as having magical powers beyond those originally assigned by myth, typically also possessing the powers of a witch or seer. Such examples include [[Drusilla (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)|Drusilla]] from ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' (Drusilla was a seer before she was a vampire, and carried those powers into her undeath), and [[Olivia Nightshade]] from ''The Nightshade Chronicles''. Also, vampires from the ''Vampire Academy'' books, also known as the moroi, are skilled in elemental magic. Also, in the ''Twilight'' series, certain vampires appear to have special gifts like Edward (telepathy), Alice (visions), Bella (shielding), that are either supernatural or evolved from their own personalities like Victoria (survival instinct).

===Vampire hybrids===<!-- This section is linked from [[Paifu]] -->

{{Main|Dhampir}}
{{Main|List of fictional dhampirs}}

The [[dhampir]], the offspring of a vampire and a human known from Serbian folklore, has been popularized in recent fiction.