Twilight
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Vampires don't sparkle.
I'm not sure there's proof of where the first vampire legends began, as they are common in the lore of many cultures, including Native Americans, Chinese, European, and some African & South American countries...vampires are pretty universal it seems. I did a lot of research for my vampire novel, and I dont remember where the first written legend was, but they have been in the stories of the native people of just about every continent. I know, i just way upped the nerd factor of this thread. :)
Lena
The Superiors
Molly wrote: "Did you know Dracula was an actual person in history, not just made up (although embellished quite a bit)?"Vlad III was the son of the Dragon which was the name given to his father (Vlad II) who was the ruler of the area that was Transylvania (Wallachia at the time). To gain support of the Ottoman Empire, Vlad II had his 2 sons (Vlad and Radu) sent there to be collateral. His brother converted to Islam but Vlad II was having none of it. Although he eventually was put on the throne of Wallachia by the Ottomans after his father's death, he ultimately betrayed the Ottomans by declaring independence. When the Ottomans came to take it back, he gathered up the small army he had and proceeded to be the scariest bastards in the land. Although stories abound about his ability to torture, the most famous one was regarding taking a front guard of Ottoman soldiers and impaling them starting at the rear ending through the mouth on pikes. This scared the crap out of the rest of the Ottoman army and they retreated. That is how he became known as Vlad the Impaler, and he was called Dracula because he was the son of "the Dragon".
There are a few accounts of him sitting to eat at a table prepared for him ON THE BATTLEFIELD where he would dip his bread in the blood of his fallen enemies, starting that whole vampire business.
His tomb is empty and has been for some time, helping the legend.
He had a castle built in the mountains that was only accessible by one small dangerous road, just like the book.
He was really a miserable man, having been abandoned by his father for payment for an army, used as a puppet by the Ottomans, and constantly taking power, losing it, and digging his way back to power again all because he wanted his homeland to be free of outside influence.
Hows about that for a geek upgrade?
Count Dracula or Count Vlad Ţepeş, the former Romanian ruler was indeed real. But vampires are not real. The background was real but then it was developed into something fiction.
Roger wrote: "Molly wrote: "Did you know Dracula was an actual person in history, not just made up (although embellished quite a bit)?"Vlad III was the son of the Dragon which was the name given to his father ..."
Good job Roger, I nominate you geek of the month! :-)
That's a sad and terrible story, but fascinating all the same. So do you know if his victims were alive when he stuck the poles in them? Hopefully not, ouch! I have to say though, that's a very effective deterrent against enemies
I was just about to say that it had something to do with Vlad the Impaler, until I read Roger's post. But I didn't know all the details, Thanks Roger!
@Molly--yes, he did it while they were alive. that's how he killed them. Some other rulers adopted the practice later. AFter hearing that, you definitely dont really find sparkly vampires very scary! Lol...
Lena wrote: "@Molly--yes, he did it while they were alive. that's how he killed them. Some other rulers adopted the practice later. AFter hearing that, you definitely dont really find sparkly vampires very scar..."Holy s@!* what a terrible way to die!
That makes SM's vampires seem like kids playing dress-up or something, yeesh. Thanks Lena!
I just watched an episode of The Tudors (King Henry VIII) where he has someone killed that way...i was shuddering for days!
You know what confuses me? On Interview with the Vampire, all of the vampires have really long nails. It seems unlikely that all of the guys would have had those really long, perfect nails before they were turned, but how could they have grown them if they're supposed to remain in the exact state they were in when they were turned. Just seems strange...
I'm not sure, but I remember that Dracula also had long, dirty nails. I think since vampires are dead but the hair and nails of dead people grow until the body decomposes, that maybe their hair/nails still grow. Or maybe i just think that b/c that's how i made mine! Long nails kind of freak me out though! I'll look for that when i'm reading it.Lena Hillbrand
Lena wrote: "I'm not sure, but I remember that Dracula also had long, dirty nails. I think since vampires are dead but the hair and nails of dead people grow until the body decomposes, that maybe their hair/nai..."Thanks! I heard that the hair and nails of a dead person growing is a myth, but maybe I'm wrong. I read somewhere that because the skin shrivels up that it looks like they're growing, bit it's just the skin withdrawing from around the nails & hair that make them look longer. Pretty cool!
Maybe the long nails on a vampire was just something that Hollywood invented. Oops, wait a tick, did you just say that it was in the book "Interview" AR? Or was that just the movie? I read Interview but don't remember nails standing out. I was thinking that Hollywood added that in to kind of fit in to the myth that some vamires take the form of some animals, like wolves. Gives them that creepy claw like look.
Long nails are just creepy on men. Ewww
I can't remember what work of fiction I read it in, but I once read a book that had its vampires cutting the flesh of the victims with their finger nails then they would proceed to suck the blood from the wound - I can't remember why they didn't just bite the victim though :( Hopefully I'll be able to figure out what book it was as I remember I did enjoy reading it
Maybe they didnt have sharp teeth? "Real" vampires (and by that I mean freaky people who drink human blood, not anything literary) wouldnt have fangs. Lena
The Superiors
Lindis wrote: "Maybe the long nails on a vampire was just something that Hollywood invented. Oops, wait a tick, did you just say that it was in the book "Interview" AR? Or was that just the movie? I read Intervie..."Yep, it was Interview with the Vampire the movie, so you're right, Hollywood probably just embellished it to make them look scarier. And I too have read a few vampire books where they use their nails to cut open their victims (instead of using teeth), and I actually like that theory better. It seems more realistic, and I agree with Lena that "real" vampires wouldn't have fangs
Oo it may have been! Thanks for that :) I've been wracking my brain trying to remember where I read it lol
I know this is a silly question to ask, but I can't help it: Do you think vampires pee? I mean, you'd think they would with all of the fluids they take in....I'm quite curious about a vampire's bodily functions, as it never seems to get talked about.
I dont think they pee. I know in the true blood series, they dont have kitchens or toilets b/c they dont pee.Lena Hillbrand
The Superiors
@ Lena: I bet they pee. In the shower scene, Eric washed himself...and Sookie. There is no toilet scene at Fangtasia, but probably because it is not necessary.
REallY? I'm pretty sure she says they dont have toilets. doesnt she talk about having trouble at bill's b/c he has no toilet? are you saying eric peed on sookie? Lol...Lena Hillbrand
The Superiors
Lena wrote: "REallY? I'm pretty sure she says they dont have toilets. doesnt she talk about having trouble at bill's b/c he has no toilet? are you saying eric peed on sookie? Lol... "Hahaha....
I think it's said no kitchen. I have to check out my Dead Reckoning, which I hate to do since it was a let down.
Copy-paste from Dead Reckoning:He’d remodeled the kitchen and installed a hot tub to create sort of a spa area rather than a place to cook —which he didn’t need
----------------------
Sorry to make you reread...lol. So...no word on if they pee?
I did not re-read. Not worth it. Has an e-book. Search engine is awesome. Pee? I do not think so or remember the content of books 1 - 10. I guess it has only one specific purpose for vampires....
haha, yeah, i guess so! (see discussion on pregnancy earlier in this thread, lol)
At first, twilight fascinated me but when I discovered The Vampire Diaries, oh hell, forget Twilight Saga. :)
Hahaha....the pregnancy. There are so many fans bothered themselves finding and submitting 'scientific' reasons to that. Since it is only its romance that I loved from Twilight, I just ignored all the flaws in its fantasy.
Of course, vampires don't sparkles, what's wrong with their skin, are they made from diamonds?
Yeah, well...fantasy fans get really bothered by that stuff! She's not writing in the romance genre. If she wrote contemporary romance, no one would care at all if she made some medically impossible errors.
Nurlely wrote: "Lena wrote: "REallY? I'm pretty sure she says they dont have toilets. doesnt she talk about having trouble at bill's b/c he has no toilet? are you saying eric peed on sookie? Lol... "Hahaha....
I..."
I'm reading the first Sookie book right now, and Bill does have a Kitchen. Sookie describes it as "sparce"
She described his bathroom as "opulent" Then she goes on to describe all the bathing stuff. "I like to shower." Bill says. But so far she dosen't say anything about a toilet.
I have always believed that they don't pee.
The blood that they ingest is completely used, none of it is wasted. It's completely absorbed into the body. - I think I heard that somewhere. : )
I love my Kindle, I just typed in kitchen and it took me right there! he he he : )
Nurlely wrote: "@ Lena: I bet they pee. In the shower scene, Eric washed himself...and Sookie. There is no toilet scene at Fangtasia, but probably because it is not necessary."I would think that Fangtasia would have a bathroom, for public use. Humnans go in there all the time. : )
Boy this is weird. : )
Nurlely wrote: "Copy-paste from Dead Reckoning:He’d remodeled the kitchen and installed a hot tub to create sort of a spa area rather than a place to cook —which he didn’t need
----------------------"
Yep in Dead Until Dark, she said that he took out the pantry and part of the kitchen to make the bathroom bigger.
I think that Meyer had a cool idea to make them sparkle. After all, they aren't generic vamps. They are Meyer's vamps so she can do whatever she wants with them, and doesn't have to make them fit the generic vampire code.
Lindis wrote: "I would think that Fangtasia would have a bathroom, for public use. Humnans go in there all the time. : )Boy this is weird. : ) "
Oh...I forgot the human. And yes, this is getting weird.
I envy you. We do not have Kindle in Indonesia. So either buying the books, I have to read from my notebook. It is killing my eyes...:(
yes, fangtasia has a bathroom. someone is attacked there and possibly killed. BUT i think it's for humans. i dont think vampires have bodily processes, since they are dead. (except the whole baby thing...which we've talked about :)Lena Hillbrand
Hahaha...Yep. The skin is marble stone and they do not seem to pee but they can do whatever necessary for a reproduction process...:)
Basically it seems to me that whenever authors write a vampire book, they add whatever nonsensical thing they feel like to make the story. Like Amanda Hocking and there being 'one true partner' and whatever, and the blood being destined for each other. Only if you make up stuff like that does her story work...
You guys are awesome, I feel so much better now that other people have thought about vampires peeing as much as I have! I think I'm gonna Google "Do vampires pee" and see what comes up
Hey! i had an idea. MAYBE since vampires don't pee, but they injest all that liquid, that's where the fluid is replenished in order for them to release fluids during sex. Still doesnt explain the live sperm though. (Sorry, I can't help myself--the whole thing about vampires having children bugs me WAY more than the sparkles!)
Lena Hillbrand
If we are going to make suppositions about vampiric fluids, try this:Where do their eyes get the fluid to look glossy? If they are tears, why don't vampires cry clear tears instead of bloody ones?
Have you ever tried to speak without saliva? Seems as though these folks are doing a great job of it.
Blood is not an entirely liquid medium. There's all kinds of fats, sugars, platelets, and blood cells in there. Assuming they use the plasma to keep their skin supple, oil their joints, make the tears and saliva I was talking about, etc, what happens to the rest? I would postulate that vampires do indeed need to defecate, it is just that they have such a low intake that most of the liquid is burned off as sweat (vampiric pheromones have to travel on something) and the solid bits are just stored till they need to be removed. With the right digestion, that could be decades between bathroom breaks.
Or, we can assume that the vampire is able to release the smaller solids through the skin, explaining why vampiric lairs are always so dusty ;)
Gimme input!! Let's geekify vampires!
Roger, Believe me, I struggled with this a lot when I was writing my vampire novels. Should they be able to cry? pee? Sweat? ejaculate? salivate? it seems every writer just uses what they want. there is no 'proof' of what they do, and no consistency in the books. in some books, it seems like vampires are just stuffed with blood, sort of like...leeches, i guess, and when they are stabbed they sort of...explode. It seems they contain much more blood than an ordinary human. (in those same books, they cry bloody tears). i guess as long as a writer can BS an explanation for why they chose what they did, that's good enough! :)Lena Hillbrand
The Superiors
Roger wrote: "Have you ever tried to speak without saliva? Seems as though these folks are doing a great job of it..."On that note: Rememeber the final episode of Buffy Season 1?
When Angel says he can't revive Buffy because he has no breath?
Makes you wonder how that guy can be so vocal then...
Roger wrote: "If we are going to make suppositions about vampiric fluids, try this:Where do their eyes get the fluid to look glossy? If they are tears, why don't vampires cry clear tears instead of bloody one..."
Aha! THAT explains why vampires sparkle! It's so obvious, I can't believe we missed it!
So let's just say a vampire absorbs and processes all of the possible nutrients from the blood they've ingested over long a period of time, right? Like you said Roger, it could be decades between bathroom breaks with the right digestion. If they do indeed excrete small amounts of this waste byproduct through their skin, then one would think the 'leftovers' would be quite hard, almost calcified. So the vampire's sparkles are a result of the 'petrified' fecal matter that's been excreted through their skin over such very long period of time. A vampire's digestion is SO efficient, that rather than just wasting their waste (if that makes sense) they use it to harden their skin, which would thereby increase it's own defenses.
And just like a rock sparkles in the sunlight, so does their skin.
Yay or nay, what do you guys think?
Molly wrote: "If they do indeed excrete small amounts of this waste byproduct through their skin, then one would think the 'leftovers' would be quite hard, almost calcified. So the vampire's sparkles are a result of the 'petrified' fecal matter that's been excreted through their skin over such very long period of time. "How will that explain their hair? If the sweat is petrified, they might not have hair at all, after all the process. And the hair doesn't sparkle either. Or Vampires are excluded in that part, just like some exception in Stephenie's vampires...:)
i think the moment when edward came out and sparkle under the sun in Twilight 1st movie kind of comedic isn't it?...i think i giggled a bit at that scene
Good point about the hair, didn't think of that. But the hair wouldn't change or grow from when the vampire was first turned, so why would any build up affect it much? The skin is a very flat, porous surface compared to the scalp, which has the hair sticking out of it to help prevent a smooth, calcified build-up from succeeding like it does on plain skin. Or maybe they just use a powerful clarifying shampoo, like one with CLR cleaner in it! ;-)
Molly wrote: "Or maybe they just use a powerful clarifying shampoo, like one with CLR cleaner in it! ;-) "I suppose vampires are sweating there too, their heads. I suppose vamps hair is so strong that it could resist that strong extract passing the pores up there, yet so soft that Edward's hair did not hurt Bella's skin.
They must have used strong shampoo and extremely delicate conditioner for such kind of hair...;)
Roger wrote: "If we are going to make suppositions about vampiric fluids, try this:Where do their eyes get the fluid to look glossy? If they are tears, why don't vampires cry clear tears instead of bloody one..."
I have answered these questions in a previous post. At least for the vampires in Meyer's world. Look ahead if you want.
I would love to write a vampire or some sort of supernatural book someday. I even have a few ideas. I think that my vampires would be more like the ones in True Blood. They would have the usual human fluids. Now as far as "pee" I think that I'd just do what most authors do. Just say that they don't do it, and leave it at that. While it's an interesting subject to chat about, it's not something that's important in any story. The only thing I wouldn't have from True Blood vamps, is the "bleeds" and crying blood. Ewww.
However, I think it makes a powerful statement. Here is this evil creature of the undead, having these powerful emotions. Makes you think "Awww, poor sad vampire." But then the blood tears, reminds you "Woah there! He may be hurting right now, but he'd also love to eat me!" he he he.
Molly wrote: "Roger wrote: "If we are going to make suppositions about vampiric fluids, try this:Where do their eyes get the fluid to look glossy? If they are tears, why don't vampires cry clear tears instead..."
OMG LOL! SO, what your're saying is that the sparkles are really vampire poop!? Oooo, that really makes me wanna cuddle up to a vampire! he he he!
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I know, right? ..."
Hahaha. The movie just made the image worse for me. I mean...ugh. :o)