Jemini
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This is inspired by @RepresentingEnvy for her favorite vampire sub-species poll, I thought I'd post a poll based on the actual vampire lore that's out there.
So, for those of you who are unaware of what the actual lore behind each is in the poll above, I'll give you all a brief run-down.
Babylonian era
Bham Stoker era
Movie era
TV era
Anime Vampires
Castlevania's Dracula
Webnovel Vampires
Stephenie Myre vampires
I will not go into whether the vampires of the respective eras drink human blood, animal blood, or if they drink human blood then whether they get it direct from the source or raid a blood bank. This varies greatly within each era, and as such it's not something I can call out specifically in any given era.
So, for those of you who are unaware of what the actual lore behind each is in the poll above, I'll give you all a brief run-down.
Babylonian era
Because OF COURSE the Babylonian era is the original lore behind FREAKING EVERYTHING!!!
Lahamu from the Babylonian era is one of the 11 children of Tiamat, and has some vampire-like qualities to him. Sorry I can't go much more in detail than that, I just came across this information while researching Tiamat for my novel and didn't dig too deeply into the specific powers and aspects Lahamu possesses, but I suspect it's nothing like anything in the Bham-stoker era and past. And, since Lahamu is the literal child of a primordial god and has powers greater than the pantheon of the Babylonian mythos, he should be easily able to do far more than just curb-stomp even the strongest options further down the list.
Lahamu from the Babylonian era is one of the 11 children of Tiamat, and has some vampire-like qualities to him. Sorry I can't go much more in detail than that, I just came across this information while researching Tiamat for my novel and didn't dig too deeply into the specific powers and aspects Lahamu possesses, but I suspect it's nothing like anything in the Bham-stoker era and past. And, since Lahamu is the literal child of a primordial god and has powers greater than the pantheon of the Babylonian mythos, he should be easily able to do far more than just curb-stomp even the strongest options further down the list.
Bham Stoker era
The famous author of Dracula, everyone knows Dracula, but not everyone is all that well versed on the lore as they've gotten it confused with some of the later vampire lores on this list. That said, the vampires of this era are also a lot more well defined than anything further down on this list as well.
Powers:
Super strength, will not die of old age (but is not ageless.) Grows younger the more powerful they are (freaking hit the hills if you ever see a child vampire of this era), can shape-shift into a bat, wolf, or turn into mist, and regenerates from any wound. They also have the ability to climb up walls in the same manner as would a spider, and can do so even in their wolf form. When transforming into a wolf form, they can also take on half-wolf forms like that of a warewolf. (Yes, seriously. Vampires of this era are all also warewolves.)
Can also turn a virgin into a vampire by providing them with their own blood, but non-virgins will become ghouls instead. The process of turning a new vampire also involves them dying for a time, and being buried formally in their funeral. They are then dug up afterward after 3 days in the ground by the one who turned them in order to complete the transformation.
All of these powers become stronger at night. (Or weaker during the day, depending on how you look at it.) Vampires of this era do not actually die or even start smoking in the sunlight, it only weakens their natural vampiric powers, but it will never weaken them to become less powerful than a human of comparable physical stature.
They also have some form of power over "creatures of the night," which seems to be defined as the bats and wolves they can also transform into, as well as other vampires of lower power than themselves. Some liberal interpretations of this creatures of the night power in later adaptations of this lore also includes rats.
Weaknesses:
Cannot cross flowing water unassisted (but can be transported across flowing water while in their coffin), cannot cross a threshold into a home that is not theirs without being invited, is repulsed by garlic or the blood of those who heavily consume garlic, are driven back in pain by holy powers, consecrated items such as holy water, and symbols of divinity (particularly those of Christian origin,) must consume human blood to maintain their powers, and must spend approximately 8 hours per 24 hour period (preferably during the day) sleeping next to the soil from their own grave (preferably in a coffin that has said soil placed under the lining.)
Their reflection will also not be shown in a silver mirror. (Specifically silver. The common glass mirrors of today actually would show the vampire's reflection.)
Methods to kill:
None. Or rather, convince them to willingly die.
Yes, that's right, there actually is no way to completely and permanently kill a vampire from the Bham Stoker era if they are unwilling to let themselves die. There is, however, a method to render them immobile and sealed for an indeterminate amount of time so long as nobody interferes with the seal.
The method is that you have to cut off their head (which is made considerably easier if you stake their heart and paralyze them first), and then burry their head in the ground near some soil from their own grave. (Which, conveniently, they will always carry with them since it's also required for them to recharge while asleep.)
The seal can be stronger and even actually kill some weaker vampires or those who are willing to die if the location their head is buried is the exact location of their original grave from when they were turned, and then last rites are also performed, but even this will only work if the vampire's soul is calmed and they willingly move on to the afterlife.
Powers:
Super strength, will not die of old age (but is not ageless.) Grows younger the more powerful they are (freaking hit the hills if you ever see a child vampire of this era), can shape-shift into a bat, wolf, or turn into mist, and regenerates from any wound. They also have the ability to climb up walls in the same manner as would a spider, and can do so even in their wolf form. When transforming into a wolf form, they can also take on half-wolf forms like that of a warewolf. (Yes, seriously. Vampires of this era are all also warewolves.)
Can also turn a virgin into a vampire by providing them with their own blood, but non-virgins will become ghouls instead. The process of turning a new vampire also involves them dying for a time, and being buried formally in their funeral. They are then dug up afterward after 3 days in the ground by the one who turned them in order to complete the transformation.
All of these powers become stronger at night. (Or weaker during the day, depending on how you look at it.) Vampires of this era do not actually die or even start smoking in the sunlight, it only weakens their natural vampiric powers, but it will never weaken them to become less powerful than a human of comparable physical stature.
They also have some form of power over "creatures of the night," which seems to be defined as the bats and wolves they can also transform into, as well as other vampires of lower power than themselves. Some liberal interpretations of this creatures of the night power in later adaptations of this lore also includes rats.
Weaknesses:
Cannot cross flowing water unassisted (but can be transported across flowing water while in their coffin), cannot cross a threshold into a home that is not theirs without being invited, is repulsed by garlic or the blood of those who heavily consume garlic, are driven back in pain by holy powers, consecrated items such as holy water, and symbols of divinity (particularly those of Christian origin,) must consume human blood to maintain their powers, and must spend approximately 8 hours per 24 hour period (preferably during the day) sleeping next to the soil from their own grave (preferably in a coffin that has said soil placed under the lining.)
Their reflection will also not be shown in a silver mirror. (Specifically silver. The common glass mirrors of today actually would show the vampire's reflection.)
Methods to kill:
None. Or rather, convince them to willingly die.
Yes, that's right, there actually is no way to completely and permanently kill a vampire from the Bham Stoker era if they are unwilling to let themselves die. There is, however, a method to render them immobile and sealed for an indeterminate amount of time so long as nobody interferes with the seal.
The method is that you have to cut off their head (which is made considerably easier if you stake their heart and paralyze them first), and then burry their head in the ground near some soil from their own grave. (Which, conveniently, they will always carry with them since it's also required for them to recharge while asleep.)
The seal can be stronger and even actually kill some weaker vampires or those who are willing to die if the location their head is buried is the exact location of their original grave from when they were turned, and then last rites are also performed, but even this will only work if the vampire's soul is calmed and they willingly move on to the afterlife.
Movie era
In this era, we saw only one truly accurate adaptation of the Dracula lore from the Bham Stoker era. That was in the very first movie of it's type, simply titled "Dracula."
Very soon after "Dracula" was made, others wanted to get in on the action due to it's popularity, but had to change a few details in the lore due to copyright issues. These alterations to the lore in the 2nd vampire movie, "Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror" soon actually became ubiquitous throughout the lore, with many vampires in later lore sharing Count Orlok's (the name of the Vampire in Nosferatu) deathly weakness for sunlight.
As with Lahamu of the Babylonian era, I haven't actually watched Nosferatu and only heard about it via a history of vampire movies video I saw. However, the one thing that's most clear is that the Movie era vampires starting as soon as this 2nd movie will actually DIE when exposed to direct sunlight rather than just having their powers weaken. In some movies after Nosferatu, the vampires are weakened even further to die simply from being staked through the heart rather than merely paralyzed as it was with Dracula, and the wolf transformation ability is removed from most of them as well, and in some cases even the mist transformation. (The bat transformation being the one most often kept.)
Counteracting this weakening as a result of sun exposure, Movie era vampires also remove the virginity requirement for turning others into vampires, and some even remove the blood-feeding requirement making it only necessary for the vampire to bite a person in order to turn them into a vampire as well.
Very soon after "Dracula" was made, others wanted to get in on the action due to it's popularity, but had to change a few details in the lore due to copyright issues. These alterations to the lore in the 2nd vampire movie, "Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror" soon actually became ubiquitous throughout the lore, with many vampires in later lore sharing Count Orlok's (the name of the Vampire in Nosferatu) deathly weakness for sunlight.
As with Lahamu of the Babylonian era, I haven't actually watched Nosferatu and only heard about it via a history of vampire movies video I saw. However, the one thing that's most clear is that the Movie era vampires starting as soon as this 2nd movie will actually DIE when exposed to direct sunlight rather than just having their powers weaken. In some movies after Nosferatu, the vampires are weakened even further to die simply from being staked through the heart rather than merely paralyzed as it was with Dracula, and the wolf transformation ability is removed from most of them as well, and in some cases even the mist transformation. (The bat transformation being the one most often kept.)
Counteracting this weakening as a result of sun exposure, Movie era vampires also remove the virginity requirement for turning others into vampires, and some even remove the blood-feeding requirement making it only necessary for the vampire to bite a person in order to turn them into a vampire as well.
TV era
Buffy the Vampire Slayer is ubiquitous for bringing Vampires off of the silver screen and onto the home TV. The lore of the vampires in this series has also become equally ubiquitous, becoming the lore known to most people.
This series plays a little fast and loose with the original lore, but it does make sure to bring back the blood-feeding requirement for turning others into vampires.
In several ways, the western TV era vampires are actually the weakest of all vampires. They have the Nosferatu weakness to sunlight, and dying to a stake through the heart has even gone one further into instantly turning to dust if a wooden stake just pierces the skin of their chest a little. (Likely in order to minimize TV blood and make it less violent and gory, but it's definitely worth noting in the lore.)
Essentially, all the weaknesses of previous era vampires and few of the strengths. The only strengths they have are minor regeneration (healing from cuts) and a bit of superhuman strength. The only advantage they have over previous era vampires is that they are truly ageless. Vampires of this era remain the same age they were when they were turned.
This series plays a little fast and loose with the original lore, but it does make sure to bring back the blood-feeding requirement for turning others into vampires.
In several ways, the western TV era vampires are actually the weakest of all vampires. They have the Nosferatu weakness to sunlight, and dying to a stake through the heart has even gone one further into instantly turning to dust if a wooden stake just pierces the skin of their chest a little. (Likely in order to minimize TV blood and make it less violent and gory, but it's definitely worth noting in the lore.)
Essentially, all the weaknesses of previous era vampires and few of the strengths. The only strengths they have are minor regeneration (healing from cuts) and a bit of superhuman strength. The only advantage they have over previous era vampires is that they are truly ageless. Vampires of this era remain the same age they were when they were turned.
Anime Vampires
Vampires that appear in Anime tend to each follow their own lore as per the series, but there are a few common points between them. Included among them is that few, if any, Anime Vampires are actually weak to sunlight at all. The anime era seems to have completely done away with this weakness, as the majority of Anime vampires can even function at their full power during the daylight unlike those of the Bham Stoker era. (And those who are still weak to sunlight usually turn out to be based on series adapted from Litenovels)
Commonalities between Anime vampires are their thirst for blood, they tend to be attached to their coffins (but not to the extent of the Bham Stoker era), and most (but not all) still tend to be weak to holy items.
Commonalities between Anime vampires are their thirst for blood, they tend to be attached to their coffins (but not to the extent of the Bham Stoker era), and most (but not all) still tend to be weak to holy items.
Castlevania's Dracula
The Dracula seen in the Castlevania series seems to be incredibly accurate to the Bham Stoker era lore, especially in that he can never permanently be killed and the Belmont clan fights Dracula using consecrated holy items.
This Dracula also adds a couple other powers. The most well known and common among these powers that were not in the Bham Stoker lore would be his ability to teleport and throw fireballs. He also tends to have some kind of "2nd form" that is large and beastial that he can transform into when pressed, and it seems to change with every game.
In terms of whether or not he shares ALL the weaknesses of the Bham stoker era such as the ones for garlic or crossing a threshold uninvited, we can't tell for certain as such things don't really fit in well to the epic stories in the Castlevania games and Netflix series. However, said Netflix series did indicate that it's quite likely the Castlevania series vampires have the weakness to flowing water, but this is somewhat confounded by the fact that the entire river was also consecrated into holy water in that scenario.
This Dracula also adds a couple other powers. The most well known and common among these powers that were not in the Bham Stoker lore would be his ability to teleport and throw fireballs. He also tends to have some kind of "2nd form" that is large and beastial that he can transform into when pressed, and it seems to change with every game.
In terms of whether or not he shares ALL the weaknesses of the Bham stoker era such as the ones for garlic or crossing a threshold uninvited, we can't tell for certain as such things don't really fit in well to the epic stories in the Castlevania games and Netflix series. However, said Netflix series did indicate that it's quite likely the Castlevania series vampires have the weakness to flowing water, but this is somewhat confounded by the fact that the entire river was also consecrated into holy water in that scenario.
Webnovel Vampires
These are the vampires you are all likely most familiar with here on this forum, so I will keep this section to talking specifically about the aspects of the Webnovel Vampire lore that are fully unique to the Webnovel era and do not appear in others.
The single most unique thing within the Webnovel era of Vampire lore is how the Webnovels formalized the ancestral lines of vampires, dividing them into 4 clearly defined tiers based on their generation. This highly limits the vampires of this lore as, unlike previous era vampires which simply grew stronger the older they were, those of the Webnovel era are permanently limited in strength depending on which generation they are in the ancestry line.
True Ancestors are the strongest class among Vampires of this lore. This is also the only generation of vampire who is not turned by another. The actual means by which True Ancestors become vampires is usually left vague, and where it is specified it will be unique to each individual webnovel.
True Bloods are the generation of vampires who were directly turned by the True Ancestor. It is a common theme in Webnovel vampire lore that the True Ancestor vampires are either in a comatose state or sequester themselves away from common society and rarely ever interact with the story. Meanwhile, it is the True Bloods who tend to be the big-dogs among the vampires through most of the story.
Noble Born vampires are those who were turned by a True Blood, and have a rank similar to nobility with the True Blood ancestor who turned them being more like their King/Queen.
Common vampires are the lowest rank among vampires. These vampires are the ones who were turned by the Noble Borns, and they tend to be the grunts among the vampires who the protagonist party easily dispatches. It is not standard among webnovels to specify what happens when a common vampire tries to turn someone, but those that do fall almost evenly into the 3 camps of common vampires being unable to turn someone, common vampires who turn someone creating other common vampires under the same Noble Born, or introducing a 5th rank among vampire ancestry called a Lesser Vampire which will be the result of such an attempt.
Other than this, the one other common thing among Webnovel vampires is that this class of vampire usually gets plopped down into a LiteRPG world. Those who exist in Webnovels that are not in the LiteRPG genre could select just about any lore it wants, but about half the time they do still tend to use the Webnovel class vampires.
The single most unique thing within the Webnovel era of Vampire lore is how the Webnovels formalized the ancestral lines of vampires, dividing them into 4 clearly defined tiers based on their generation. This highly limits the vampires of this lore as, unlike previous era vampires which simply grew stronger the older they were, those of the Webnovel era are permanently limited in strength depending on which generation they are in the ancestry line.
True Ancestors are the strongest class among Vampires of this lore. This is also the only generation of vampire who is not turned by another. The actual means by which True Ancestors become vampires is usually left vague, and where it is specified it will be unique to each individual webnovel.
True Bloods are the generation of vampires who were directly turned by the True Ancestor. It is a common theme in Webnovel vampire lore that the True Ancestor vampires are either in a comatose state or sequester themselves away from common society and rarely ever interact with the story. Meanwhile, it is the True Bloods who tend to be the big-dogs among the vampires through most of the story.
Noble Born vampires are those who were turned by a True Blood, and have a rank similar to nobility with the True Blood ancestor who turned them being more like their King/Queen.
Common vampires are the lowest rank among vampires. These vampires are the ones who were turned by the Noble Borns, and they tend to be the grunts among the vampires who the protagonist party easily dispatches. It is not standard among webnovels to specify what happens when a common vampire tries to turn someone, but those that do fall almost evenly into the 3 camps of common vampires being unable to turn someone, common vampires who turn someone creating other common vampires under the same Noble Born, or introducing a 5th rank among vampire ancestry called a Lesser Vampire which will be the result of such an attempt.
Other than this, the one other common thing among Webnovel vampires is that this class of vampire usually gets plopped down into a LiteRPG world. Those who exist in Webnovels that are not in the LiteRPG genre could select just about any lore it wants, but about half the time they do still tend to use the Webnovel class vampires.
Stephenie Myre vampires
Sparkly vampires, need I say more?
I bring this up as a separate category because sparkling when exposed to sunlight is significant enough of a lore difference to count this as a separate category, and the reason why I don't just roll it in with one of the other categories such as the Movie era is because this series is also well known enough by people that I don't think it's appropriate to just do that.
Otherwise, this lore seems to more or less follow that of the TV era.
I bring this up as a separate category because sparkling when exposed to sunlight is significant enough of a lore difference to count this as a separate category, and the reason why I don't just roll it in with one of the other categories such as the Movie era is because this series is also well known enough by people that I don't think it's appropriate to just do that.
Otherwise, this lore seems to more or less follow that of the TV era.
I will not go into whether the vampires of the respective eras drink human blood, animal blood, or if they drink human blood then whether they get it direct from the source or raid a blood bank. This varies greatly within each era, and as such it's not something I can call out specifically in any given era.
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