Vampires
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| Vampire | |
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| Powers and Abilities | Superior strength, speed, and senses including sight, hearing, and smell. Retractable fangs that allow them to bite humans or animals and feed on their blood. |
| Vulnerabilities | Bloodlust, Dead Man's Blood, The Colt, decapitation, the Sun, Angelic touch, Vamptonite. |
| Appearance | Human with retractable fangs. |
| Episode(s) | 1.20 Dead Man's Blood 2.03 Bloodlust 3.07 Fresh Blood 4.05 Monster Movie (actually a disguised Shapeshifter) 6.05 Live Free or Twihard 6.07 Family Matters 6.19 Mommy Dearest 7.22 There Will Be Blood |
A vampire is created when a person ingests vampire blood, but the transformation is not complete until they feed on human blood.[1][2] Once turned, they suffer from bloodlust and must feed on blood, human or animal, to survive.[3] Unlike folkloric vampires, they do not require an invitation to enter a home and are not killed by sunlight. They also prefer to live in packs in locations called nests, and will mate for life.[1] After death, vampire souls go to Purgatory.[4]
The Alpha Vampire was the very first vampire and he appears to have a psychic connection with other vampires.[2] By the year 2006, vampires had been hunted so intensively and become so rare that John Winchester had thought they were extinct.[1] But in the year 2010, the Alpha Vampire uses his psychic connection to encourage vampires to feed on blood from blood bags and focus on increasing their numbers. Dean kills all the vampires he finds in one nest, but it is unknown how many other nests may have been created or increased their numbers.[2]
A cure for vampirism exists, but only if the vampire has not yet drunk human blood and can acquire the blood of the vampire that turned him or her.[2]
Contents
Powers and Abilities
Vampires:
- Have extremely enhanced senses that include being able to smell humans and vampires over long distances, and the ability to see in pitch darkness.[1]
- Have sharp, pointed, retractable teeth that emerge from their gums and extend beyond their human teeth.[1]
- Are immortal and unchanging.[1][2]
- Can infect others by feeding them their blood so that they turn into vampires themselves.[1][2]
- If they have enough human blood, they can heal quickly from any wound besides amputation.
Weaknesses
- Sunlight. It's not deadly, but can cause a nasty sunburn. Vampires prefer to sleep during the day.[1]
- Dead man's blood. Large quantities can paralyze a vampire and cause wounds that are slow to heal.[1][3]
- Decapitation. Cutting off the head of a vampire will kill it.[1]
- Angelic powers. Angels can burn vampires from the inside out with a touch, killing them.[5]
- The Colt. A special bullet fired from the Colt can kill a vampire.[1]
- Bloodlust. A vampire must feed on blood, human or animal, to survive (It is unknown how long vampire could survive without feeding before it would starve to death, or if such a thing is even possible).[3]
- Burning saffron, skunk's cabbage and trillium blocks a vampires scent. John Winchester gives these to Dean to put on the fire. He also tells Dean to dust their clothes with the ashes to stand a chance of not being detected.
- Vamptonite. The blood of humans which has been poisioned by the Leviathan food additive is fatal to any vampire who ingests it. Called Vamptonite by Dean, this is also effective if the blood is injected directly from a syringe.
Appearances
Featured Vampires:
- Luther, Kate, and Hank in 1.20 Dead Man's Blood
- Lenore and Eli in 2.03 Bloodlust
- Dixon and Gordon in 3.07 Fresh Blood
- Boris, Robert, and Dean in 6.05 Live Free or Twihard
- Alpha Vampire in 6.07 Family Matters
- Lenore in 6.19 Mommy Dearest
- Alpha Vampire in 7.22 There Will Be Blood
- Benny in 8.01 We Need To Talk About Kevin
1.20 Dead Man's Blood
Daniel Elkins attracts the attention of a group of Vampires, led by Kate, who follow him home and kill him after a struggle. They take the Colt from him and Kate presents it to her mate and patriarch, Luther. The vampires live in an old barn where they capture tourists and feed on them, turning one such victim into one of their own. Their nest is invaded by the Winchesters and Kate is lured after them, only to be captured and infected with Dead Man's Blood while another vampire is killed. John Winchester uses her as a bargaining chip to force Luther to hand over the Colt, after which the vampires tried to kill John. At the same time, Sam and Dean rescue the vampires captives, killing the vampire guarding them and then go to help their father. Sam and Dean take down two vampires with Dead Man's Blood soaked arrows and presumably later kill them and John kills Luther with the Colt. Only Kate and the turned victim escape alive.
2.03 Bloodlust
Sam Winchester is captured by a group of vampires who have sworn off human prey and have chosen to feed on cattle instead, but they are still living in fear of being hunted. Their matriarch, Lenore, wishes for Sam to go back to his brother and the hunter Gordon Walker and ward them off hunting her kin. Gordon refuses to do so, however, and discovers the nest and tortures Lenore with Dead Man's Blood to prove to the Winchesters that all vampires are monsters. Lenore resists her bloodlust despite his methods of temptation. The Winchesters turn against Gordon and free Lenore, having seen her resilience.
3.07 Fresh Blood
A vampire called Dixon has been infecting young blonde women with vampirism in the hopes of rebuilding his lost family and repopulating the vampiric species. He converts them by feeding them his blood under the pretense that it is a recreational drug, administered either with an eyedropper or in a drink. One of the girls he has recently turned is caught and interrogated by Sam and Dean, which puts them on his trail, but the timely arrival of a vengeful Gordon prevents them from pursuing Dixon.
In a cruel twist of fate, Dixon captures Gordon and turns him into a vampire as punishment for the vampires he's killed in the past. Gordon is not a passive victim, however, and he uses his new strength to murder Dixon's girls and escape. This drives Dixon to despair and apathy, and when the Winchesters find his lair, he admits to everything he has done - it is implied that they kill him. Gordon, after escaping Dixon's lair, soon falls victim to bloodlust and feeds on human blood. He then continues his hunt for Sam by setting a trap, capturing and infecting another woman to work as a distraction and then isolating Sam so that he can attack him. Gordon underestimates Sam, however, and is subsequently decapitated with barbed wire in the fight while Dean kills Gordon's victim with the Colt.
4.05 Monster Movie
In this episode, the Winchester brothers begin their supernatural investigation by looking into a vampire attack. However, the "vampire" turns out to be a shapeshifter who disguises himself as classic horror movie monsters, including Dracula.
5.03 Free To Be You And Me
Dean decapitates a vampire on the hood of the Impala, quoting: "Eat it Twilight!"
6.05 Live Free or Twihard
In Limestone, Illinois, Sam and Dean investigate the disappearances of several young women. They discover that the most recent victim was obsessed with Twilight-style vampires, and that she was communicating with someone who claimed to be a vampire online. At the same time, a blood bank van is robbed. Sam and Dean go to a club called the Black Rose, the girl's last destination, and discover vampires trying to "recruit" new members. Sam kills one vampire, but Dean is turned by a vamp named Boris. Sam intervenes, belatedly, and chases the vampire away. The Winchesters return to their hotel room, and Sam calls Samuel. Dean, who is prepared to be killed by Samuel, sneaks away to bid Lisa goodbye. He is nearly overwhelmed by his hunger, but resists and returns to Sam and Samuel. Samuel surprises Dean by revealing a cure in one of his ancestor's hunting journals. In order to work, Dean must consume no human blood, and must acquire the blood of the vampire that turned him, so Dean goes to the nest of the vampires with a syringe of dead man's blood.
At the nest, a "recruiter" named Robert offers Dean blood, which he declines, and reveals that they are not longer allowed to kill people. Dean meets Boris, and tries to stab him with the dead man's blood, but Boris is too quick. Before Boris can kill Dean, all the vampires collapse, Dean included. He has a shared vision of the Alpha Vampire, and perceives that the Alpha wishes to build an army. When he awakes, Dean must fight the vampires in the nest. He eventually kills all the members - except one beheaded by Sam and Samuel - and gets Boris's blood. Samuel prepares the cure and Dean drinks it. He vomits blood and passes out, but re-awakes as a human.
The episode poked much fun at vampires in popular culture. See the episode entry for details.
6.07 Family Matters
Samuel and his people capture the Alpha Vampire. They subdue him using an I.V. of Dead Man's Blood (Pad of Definitions) and attempt to interrogate him, but he is extremely resistant to pain and doesn't give Samuel any information. After Samuel leaves the room where he is being held, he is approached by Dean and Sam and he reveals to them that, though he is the first vampire, he has a mother. He also tells them that Samuel is torturing him for information about Purgatory and its location. Shortly after their conversation, he escapes his cage and almost escapes, but demons appear and take him away on Crowley's orders. It is revealed that Samuel has been working for Crowley, who takes Alpha Vampire to continue interrogating it about Purgatory.
6.19 Mommy Dearest
Castiel brings Lenore to Bobby's place so that they can ask her for Eve's location. She is hesitant, but eventually tells them where to find Eve: in Grants Pass, Oregon. She then asks to be killed. With Eve on earth, her nest has abandoned her and returned to feeding on humans, and even she has given in to her bloodlust on one occasion. Sam and Dean try to persuade her that after Eve is destroyed things will improve, but Lenore is doubtful. Castiel places a hand on her head and kills her.
In Grants Pass, Oregon, they find Eve experimenting with creating hybrid monsters. On examination of some of the hybrids in a bar, Dean finds they have strange hybrid attributes - one creature has vampiric teeth in addition to the spike of a Wraith protruding from its wrist. Dean dubs these hybrids Jefferson Starships.
7.22 There Will Be Blood
Sam and Dean learn from Crowley that the Alpha Vampire escaped before Castiel killed all of the monsters in Crowley's prison and as they need the blood of an Alpha for a Levithan killing weapon, gives them the location of the Alpha's hideout. There, Sam, Dean and Bobby discover that the vampires have been killed by feeding on humans poisioned by the Levithan food-additive and find Emily, a girl kidnapped by the vampires years ago who is secretly loyal to the Alpha. Emily leads them to the Alpha, but betrays them to him. At the same time, Edgar the Leviathan comes for the Alpha as well having learned his location from a vampire he captured, turned into to get his memories, then killed. Sam and Dean try to convince the Alpha to give them his blood, but he has made a deal with Dick Roman and doesn't believe them when they tell him Dick has betrayed them. The Alpha has Sam and Dean locked up and meets with Edgar who confirms that the Levithans betrayed the vampires and that the food-additive is intended to kill all monsters that feed on humans including vampires in order to get rid of competition. At the same time, Sam and Dean break free and kill a vampire with poisioned blood and get kitchen knives to deal with Edgar and the other vampires. The Alpha battles Edgar to no avail, but Sam and Dean intervene, decapitating Edgar. Grateful for them saving him and understanding that the vampires and the Winchesters have a common enemy, the Alpha gives Sam and Dean his blood without a fight and lets them leave with Allan, a young boy he has kidnapped but promises to "see you next season" which they look forward to.
8.01 We Need To Talk About Kevin
In Purgatory, Dean interogates a vampire about the location of Castiel and decapitates him when he doesn't get an answer. He is attacked by another vampire, but is saved by the vampire Benny who offers him a deal: Benny will show him a way out of Purgatory that only humans can use if Dean lets Benny's soul hitch a ride out with him. Dean agrees as long as they find Castiel first.
Later, Dean succeeds in escaping Purgatory with Benny's soul and performs a ritual that resurrects Benny at his gravesite. The two go their separate ways, but Benny later contacts Dean and they agree to not keep in touch for awhile, but that Benny can call Dean if he needs help.
Pad of Definitions
Folkloric creatures, thought to be the re-animated corpses of human beings and said to live on human or animal blood. They often have unnatural powers and the ability to physically transform.
– Pad of Definitions (1.20 Dead Man's Blood), Official Website
Vampires in Fandom
- A list of SPN and SPN RPF vampire stories
Vampires in Lore
According to most lore, vampires subsist by feeding on the life essence (generally in the form of blood) of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person. Although vampiric entities have been recorded in many cultures, the term "vampire" was not popularized until the early 18th century, after an influx of vampire superstition into Western Europe from areas where vampire legends were frequent, such as the Balkans and Eastern Europe. This increased level of vampire superstition in Europe led to mass hysteria and in some cases resulted in corpses actually being staked and people being accused of vampirism. Local variants of vampires were also known by different names, such as vrykolakas in Greece and strigoi in Romania.[6]
