How do my Vampire Characters differ from the Classic or Mainstream Images of Vampires?

 

I wanted to stay true to the classic vicious, brutal vampire image as being something to be feared, but I also wanted to add a twist, something that would make my vampires even more disturbing. Here’s what makes them a little different:

1. I wanted my vampires to be (almost) invincible, something that would be so difficult to kill by any traditional means. My Vampires can’t be killed with holy water or crosses. It may sting them a little, but won't destroy them. And neither will traditional stakes through the heart.

2. I also gave my vampires a more zombie-like appetite. They are not limited to blood. They can live off bodily fluids.

 3. It’s quite common for angels to carry swords, but I also gave them a variety of exotic weapons. The main reason behind this was not just for protecting themselves, but because I wanted them to deviate from the traditional biting of the neck, only because they found biting necks too much work (too much struggling), so using a sharp weapon to just slice off a body part to make it more convenient to feed is their preference.

4. I also made them serial killers. But they couldn't just kill any human. It had to be a very specific victim. They are still guardian angels, so they have to respond to prayers. It's in their nature, what they were created for. It's like their "beacon", and it drives them crazy. But it’s also their call to dinner. My vampires cannot touch or target a human unless they prayed specifically to a guardian angel. And it has to be a very desperate prayer because that's what they listen for. They have to be summoned. But they won't target you if it's say, a joyful or thankful prayer. They live off the despair of others, because they want to shut humans up and put them out of their misery so they don't have to hear the whining and begging anymore, and so they don’t have to answer prayers (because they really hate their jobs).

5. They can breed with human women. In fact, that is one of their goals, to increase their numbers, and take over humans.

6. They can turn into life-sized angel statues and hide in churches and cemeteries.

7. They use angel statues as a “homing device”. If you pray to an angel statue, big or small, they can hear you. But it has to be a prayer of despair. See item #4.

It's a terrifying concept. It may turn people off, but then it makes them think... "who am I really asking for help from?" But that's what a vampire is supposed to be: disturbing, nightmarish, and scary. I would like to think that this would be a definition of a truly evil Vampire, something that comes in the form of something holy but does something so horrific.

Copyright Lia Scott Price