Make your own vampire

With the buzz around town centering around Breaking Dawn and the Twilight series (including the movie airing 12.12.08) I, being the only one of my friends to waste valuable time researching such things, have been asked again and again about vampire myths, vampires v. werewolves, the different types of vampires, etc. etc. etc. I'm going to post a few of these questions here, so I can direct people to this page and thus save myself from having to answer the same questions several hundred times. I've sent similar information to thinkingzygote.com where it will be posted.

Creating a "vampire"--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Vampire myths exist in one form or another in almost every culture around the world. Some believe that many of the western ideas about vampires originated in the east from stories about monsters such as the vrykolakas (Greek) and the strigoi (Romainia). Once these stories have infected the collective minds of a society, there could be many different things that ignite a vampire legend of their own.
Take for instance a small peasant village living under a noble family. Let's say 13th or 14th century. Most peasants lived as farmers and suffered from malnutrition and weakness. Therefore to them, a well fed and strong noble man would seem almost superhuman by comparison. He could (if he were in good shape and he wanted to) run faster and lift more, super speed and strength. As farmers, the peasants would naturally have built up dark tans, while the nobles (seeing paleness as a status symbol) would not have. Thus, by comparison a noble would seem unnaturally pale. The nobles would not have much, if any, contact with the peasants which would allow for rumors to grow and spread unchecked. Throw in a Nobel's body, and we're halfway to a vampire.

During normal stages of decomposition, intestinal bacteria break down tissues and cells, releasing fluids into the body cavity (ie:blood) as well as creating gases such as methane which will give the body a bloated appearance. Sometimes, the pressure of the gases from said bacteria will force the fluids out of the mouth. Also during normal decay, a body goes through hemolysis (the destruction of red blood cells) giving the corpse a "rosier" appearance than it should have.


Red blood cells go "boom"

And thus, a scenario arises: When grave robbers come and open the tomb of a deceased noble, they find that the body appears to have been "drinking" blood, that it is a bit plumper than they remember, and that it has a little more color than they would have liked to have seen. One change of pants later, they're down at the pub recounting their terrifying story (adding a few exaggeration here and there in order keep the ale flowing in their direction) and low and behold, our town has a vampire.
Coming soon
Vampire from around the world / types of vampires