What is a Vampire?
"A reanimated corpse that rises from the grave at night to suck the blood of sleeping persons" is the definition given from the American Heritage dictionary.
The concept of Vampires has been around since the 1800's, but the name "Vampire" never came into use until the Vampire superstition became popular in Western Europe in the 18th century, one of the most popular stories being Stoker's novel Dracula which was published in 1897.
Commonly it's believed that Vampire's are created when a human has been bitten by another Vampire, who needed the humans blood in order to survive, but as long as a Vampire can feed off of humans it is possible for them to live forever. And in order to kill a Vampire these myths talk about beheading, burning, sunlight exposure, staking through the heart and dismemberment. Vampires are also known for being intolerant to holy water, crosses, and garlic.
The concept of Vampires has been around since the 1800's, but the name "Vampire" never came into use until the Vampire superstition became popular in Western Europe in the 18th century, one of the most popular stories being Stoker's novel Dracula which was published in 1897.
Commonly it's believed that Vampire's are created when a human has been bitten by another Vampire, who needed the humans blood in order to survive, but as long as a Vampire can feed off of humans it is possible for them to live forever. And in order to kill a Vampire these myths talk about beheading, burning, sunlight exposure, staking through the heart and dismemberment. Vampires are also known for being intolerant to holy water, crosses, and garlic.
Vampires in twilight
The Cullen clan is the main Vampire focus in the Twilight Series, this clan or family of Vampires is very human friendly. In this clan there is Edward, Carslise, Esme, Alice, Jasper, Emmett, and Rosalie.
Over the years of their existence the Cullens have learned to control their "hunger" and only hunt animals. I guess you can call them Vegetarian vampires! But not all the Vampire's in this series hunt this way there is the majority of the Vampire population still hunts and feeds from human blood. In order for a new Vampire to be created, the Vampire who bit the human most not drink all their blood or the venom from the bite won't spread therefore they won't transform and become immortal.
The type of blood in which a Vampire chooses affects their eye color. For the Cullen's when they have fed from an animal their eyes are a golden brown color, while the other Vampires who feed from human blood have a bright red eye color.
Over the years of their existence the Cullens have learned to control their "hunger" and only hunt animals. I guess you can call them Vegetarian vampires! But not all the Vampire's in this series hunt this way there is the majority of the Vampire population still hunts and feeds from human blood. In order for a new Vampire to be created, the Vampire who bit the human most not drink all their blood or the venom from the bite won't spread therefore they won't transform and become immortal.
The type of blood in which a Vampire chooses affects their eye color. For the Cullen's when they have fed from an animal their eyes are a golden brown color, while the other Vampires who feed from human blood have a bright red eye color.
The Vampires in this series are shown to carry over different characteristics in which shadowed from their human lives. This is through personalities, and special talents. Some of the talents that the Vampires posses are the ability to read minds, see into the future, strength, projection abilities (protection) and element control. Also in Twilight when a Vampire journeys out into the sunlight, which in most myths about Vampires would be a death sentence, they just sparkle.
"Edward in the sunlight was shocking. I couldn't get used to it, though I'd been staring at him all afternoon. His skin, despite the faint flush from yesterday's hunting trip, literally sparkled, like thousands of tiny diamonds were embedded in the surface"
In this series some the Vampires existence can be killed through some traditional methods which come from the old myths including: beheading, dismembering and burning. This is shown when the Cullen's have to fight off their enemies, they first have to remove the head of the attacking Vampire, then dismember him and burn the remains. Unlike in other stories about Vampires, they can not change shape, but they move very fast and elegantly.
"Edward in the sunlight was shocking. I couldn't get used to it, though I'd been staring at him all afternoon. His skin, despite the faint flush from yesterday's hunting trip, literally sparkled, like thousands of tiny diamonds were embedded in the surface"
In this series some the Vampires existence can be killed through some traditional methods which come from the old myths including: beheading, dismembering and burning. This is shown when the Cullen's have to fight off their enemies, they first have to remove the head of the attacking Vampire, then dismember him and burn the remains. Unlike in other stories about Vampires, they can not change shape, but they move very fast and elegantly.
The Vampires in the Twilight Series make immortality look beautiful, and attractive. Throughout the entire series Bella is so awed by the Cullen clan that she can not wait to give up her human life in order to become immortal and posses the flawless characteristics that the Cullen clan has.