Vampire (Buffyverse)
Encyclopedia
Demon (Buffyverse)
In the fictional Buffyverse established by Buffy and Angel, a Demon is a kind of nonhuman life form separate from the animal kingdom.The definition raises complex issues. Roughly speaking, the series uses demon to describe any creature that isn't a god, robot, unmodified human, or standard...
which inhabits and animates a human corpse. In Fray
Fray
Fray is an eight-issue comic book limited series, a futuristic spin-off of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Written by Buffy creator Joss Whedon, the series follows a Slayer named Melaka Fray, a chosen one in a time where vampires are returning to the slums of New York City, and the...
, a Buffy comic book spin-off, vampires are also called lurks.
Description
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film)
Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a 1992 American action/comedy/horror film about a Valley girl cheerleader named Buffy who learns that it is her fate to hunt vampires. The original script for the film was written by Joss Whedon, who later created the darker and more acclaimed TV series of the same name...
movie. The non-canonical vampires are able to fly, look pale but relatively human, and don't crumble to dust when killed.
The canonical vampires, introduced in the first episode
Welcome to the Hellmouth
"Welcome to the Hellmouth" is the series premiere of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. This episode and "The Harvest" were originally aired as a two-part series premiere on The WB Television Network...
of the TV series, are explained as demons inhabiting human corpses; when the ancient demons known as the Old Ones were banished from Earth, the last one fed on a human and mixed their blood, creating the first vampire. This was later contradicted by Illyria who remarks that vampires existed during her time as an Old One, long before the rest were banished from the realm (though she may have been referring to the Turok-Han, a more primitive type of vampire). Vampires possess all the memories, skills, attributes, and qualities of their human predecessors, and much of their personalities, including any mental illnesses: Spike retained his love for his dying mother and Harmony her vain shallow valley girl
Valley girl
Valley Girl is a stereotype leveled at a socio-economic and ethnic class of American women who can be described as colloquial English-speaking and materialistic...
personality and her love for unicorns. In the case of Jesse McNally, he also maintained his lust for Cordelia and hatred for her social group. Darla comments to the newly turned Liam/Angelus that "what we were informs what we become" and after her resurrection as a human claims that the darkness he unleashed as Angelus was always in him (as a human), years before they met.
Vampires possess superhuman abilities such as enhanced strength, speed, endurance, agility, senses, and healing, all of which increase as they grow older. They also possess the ability to drain a human and/or other creature of every last drop of its blood in but a few seconds.
Like all vampires, those of the Buffyverse live on a diet of blood (preferably human, though that of other mammals will do). They prefer fresh blood and seem to dislike the taste of non-human blood (with the possible exception of otter); likewise, they are able by taste alone to determine what type of animal (human or otherwise) blood is from. They require no other food or drink, and although they can ingest it, they experience a much duller sense of taste. Prolonged deprivation of blood can impair a vampire's higher brain functions and they become "living skeletons", but lack of blood will not result in a vampire's death. They also do not need air, though they can breathe to speak or smoke, yet they cannot pass that breathe on to others via CPR. They are shown to be affected by various drugs and poisons.
Vampires can change at will between human appearance
Human disguise
A human disguise is a concept in computer science, fantasy, folklore, mythology, religion, literary tradition, iconography and science fiction whereby non-human beings such as aliens, angels, demons, gods, monsters, robots, Satan or shapeshifters are disguised to seem human.Stories have depicted...
and a monstrous form with a pronounced brow ridge, yellow eyes, and sharp teeth, though their ability to pose as humans is lost with extreme old age. They make a roaring sound when angered, much like lions or tigers. In human form, they can still be detected by their lack of heartbeat and body heat. They do not cast reflections, although they can be photographed and filmed. In "Earshot
Earshot (Buffy episode)
"Earshot" is the 18th episode of season three of the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer.-Plot synopsis:On patrol, Buffy runs into two demons that she fights, and succeeds in killing one of them. While the other escapes, the blood from the demon she killed gets absorbed into the back of her...
", it is revealed that their lack of reflections also extends to some aspects of their minds, rendering them largely immune to telepathy.
Vampires can be killed by beheading, fire, sunlight or other burning, or penetration of the heart by a wooden object. A vampire explodes in a cloud of dust when killed; the act of slaying a vampire is often referred to as "dusting". They heal quickly from most injuries, but do not regrow lost limbs and can acquire scars. Their flesh burns in direct sunlight, and on contact with blessed objects such as holy water
Holy water
Holy water is water that, in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Lutheranism, Oriental Orthodoxy, and some other churches, has been sanctified by a priest for the purpose of baptism, the blessing of persons, places, and objects; or as a means of repelling evil.The use for baptism and...
(which also can kill them when ingested), a Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
, recently consecrated ground or a cross
Cross
A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two lines or bars perpendicular to each other, dividing one or two of the lines in half. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally; if they run obliquely, the design is technically termed a saltire, although the arms of a saltire need not meet...
. They can enter consecrated buildings but appear to feel ill at ease. In the episode "The Wish" it is stated that vampires are attracted to bright colours and that they are said to dislike garlic
Garlic
Allium sativum, commonly known as garlic, is a species in the onion genus, Allium. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, and rakkyo. Dating back over 6,000 years, garlic is native to central Asia, and has long been a staple in the Mediterranean region, as well as a frequent...
(where it is shown in use as vampire repellent), although the truth and effectiveness of these claims are never explicitly shown.
They cannot enter a human residence without having been invited once by a living resident; however, once given, such an invitation is revocable only by a magic ritual. If all living residents die, vampires can also enter freely. Areas open to the public, as well as the homes of other vampires, demons, and non-humans, are not protected.
In order to reproduce, a vampire must drain a human being of much of their blood, before forcing them to drink some of the vampire's blood. This process is known as "siring", and the vampire who does so is referred to as the newborn vampire's "sire" (along with the vampire which sired the sire, etc.). Because of their partly human nature, vampires are considered impure by other demons, who sometimes call them "blood rats." The amount of time it takes for a new vampire to rise seems to vary; Buffy often kills vampires as they rise from their graves, but other vampires are seen to rise after only a few hours. There is no explanation given for this in the series. Sires often act as mentors to their 'children' and form small covens of related vampires for various purposes.
Vampires cannot normally reproduce sexually, but Jasmine manipulated events that allowed Angel and Darla to conceive
Fertilisation
Fertilisation is the fusion of gametes to produce a new organism. In animals, the process involves the fusion of an ovum with a sperm, which eventually leads to the development of an embryo...
a human son, Connor.
It is regularly established on the show that vampires do not have human souls, but, as mentioned by Giles in "The Harvest," the human corpse a vampire is born in is infected with a demon soul via vampiric blood, and therefore lack a conscience
Conscience
Conscience is an aptitude, faculty, intuition or judgment of the intellect that distinguishes right from wrong. Moral judgement may derive from values or norms...
. Angel and Spike, vampires who have their souls returned to them, are shown to feel remorse for their previous actions. However, soulless vampires are still capable of feeling human emotions such as love, though these tend to take twisted forms.
Variations of vampires are seen on both Buffy and Angel. In the Angel season two episode "Through the Looking Glass
Through the Looking Glass (Angel episode)
"Through the Looking Glass" is episode 21 of season 2 in the television show Angel. Written and directed by Tim Minear, it was originally broadcast on May 15, 2001 on the WB network. It is the second episode in a three-part arc....
", Angel and his team travel to a parallel world, Pylea. Here he is not harmed by sunlight, but when he attempts to take his "vamp face", he instead becomes a "Van-Tal" demon: green-skinned, spiny and bestial. This form is described by Wesley as the vampire (specifically the demon that creates the vampire) in its "purest form." While in this form, Angel lacks the ability to reason, possessing neither the compassion the soul gives him or the sadism he possesses as Angelus.
Buffy
Turok-Han
The Turok-Han vampires are fictional characters from Joss Whedon's TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. They appear in the 7th and final season of the series, making their first appearance in the episode "Never Leave Me", when the Seal of Danzalthar is opened under the basement of Sunnydale High,...
, an ancient species of vampire analogous to Neanderthal
Neanderthal
The Neanderthal is an extinct member of the Homo genus known from Pleistocene specimens found in Europe and parts of western and central Asia...
man. These Turok-Han, colloquially referred to as "über
Über
Über comes from the German language. It has one umlaut. It is a cognate of both Latin super and Greek ὑπέρ...
-vamps" by the characters, are stronger and harder to kill than common vampires, usually able to withstand a stake to the chest without dusting and show minor burnings against holy water, but can still be killed by beheading and sunlight. Like the Van-Tal of Pylea, the Turok-Hans show very little intelligence and can't speak.
At the end of Season Eight
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight is a comic book series published by Dark Horse Comics. The series serves as a canonical continuation of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and follows the events of that show's final televised season. It is produced by Joss Whedon, who wrote the...
, Buffy destroys the Seed of Wonder, affecting the magical world; while all active demons and vampires already present on Earth remain, no new vampires can be sired.
Creation
In early episodes, the vampires appeared "very white-faced, very creepy, very ghoulish". This was changed in later seasons to make the vampires look more human, partially because of the sympathetic vampire character Angel, and partially because such elaborate make-up was too time-consuming. Whedon claims that people thought the white faces to be "funny looking" but personally found it creepier, comparing it to the monsters in zombie movies such as Day of the Dead and The Evil Dead
The Evil Dead
The Evil Dead is a 1981 horror film written and directed by Sam Raimi, starring Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, and Betsy Baker. The film is a story of five college students vacationing in an isolated cabin in a wooded area...
. The character of the Master
Master (Buffyverse)
The Master is a fictional character on the fantasy television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer . He is a centuries-old vampire portrayed by Mark Metcalf, determined to open the portal to hell below Sunnydale High School in the fictional town of Sunnydale where the main character Buffy Summers lives...
was designed to be in vamp face permanently to highlight his age and make him appear more animalistic; make-up artist John Vulich based the Master's appearance on a bat, reasoning that the character has devolved to a more primal, demonic state over the years.
It was decided that vampires and their clothes would turn to dust after they died. Indeed, the introduction to one episode, "The Wish
The Wish (Buffy episode)
"The Wish" is the ninth episode of season 3 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.- Plot synopsis :Following Xander and Willow's kiss in "Lovers Walk", Oz has called a time-out on his relationship with Willow and Cordelia is decidedly avoiding any contact with Xander. Cordelia returns to school only to be...
", parodied this vampiric trait; when Buffy kills a non-humanoid demon, one of her friends, Willow, wonders why the demon corpse "doesn't go poof" and must be buried.
Joss Whedon had the vampires explode into dust (even when they are freshly dead) because it is practical. It represents that they are monsters. He didn't want a high school girl killing bad guys every episode and have them clean up bodies for 20 minutes; and it also "looks really cool".
The first episode toyed with the idea that vampires' clothes would resemble the era in which they died, with Buffy identifying one purely by his dated outfit. Joss Whedon felt this concept was a "charming notion" but ultimately rejected it for the most part (though a few vampires such as Drusilla and Dracula do prefer archaic clothing) because he believed that, if every vampire in the show was dressed in old-fashioned clothes, they would cease to be scary.
When creating the vampire "rules" that they would use in the show, the writers chose bits and pieces from various existing vampire lore. They decided not to have the vampires fly as in the Buffy movie because it was impossible to make flying vampires look convincing on a television budget. Garlic was mentioned in early episodes as a deterrent to vampires, but is seldom used. Some established rules, such as a vampire's inability to enter a home uninvited, both helped and hindered the storytelling. Joss Whedon says that, whereas shows such as The X-Files
The X-Files
The X-Files is an American science fiction television series and a part of The X-Files franchise, created by screenwriter Chris Carter. The program originally aired from to . The show was a hit for the Fox network, and its characters and slogans became popular culture touchstones in the 1990s...
spend more time explaining the science behind the supernatural and making it as real as possible, Buffy and Angel are more concerned with the emotion resulting from these creatures and events than justifying how they could conceivably exist. The shows therefore tend to gloss over the details of vampire and demon lore, simply using the Hellmouth as a plot device
MacGuffin
A MacGuffin is "a plot element that catches the viewers' attention or drives the plot of a work of fiction". The defining aspect of a MacGuffin is that the major players in the story are willing to do and sacrifice almost anything to obtain it, regardless of what the MacGuffin actually is...
to explain unexplainable things.
External links
- Vampire (Buffyverse) at WikiaWikiaWikia is a free web hosting service for wikis . It is normally free of charge for readers and editors, deriving most of its income from advertising, and publishes all user-provided text under copyleft licenses. Wikia hosts several hundred thousand wikis using the open-source wiki software MediaWiki...
- Vampires section at "All Things Philosophical on BtVS and AtS"