What is the appeal of vampires?

D

Deleted member 84247

Guest
To expand, Nahrenne gave some of the reasons: biting, blood, and fangs. It's also the aesthetics too. It depends on the depiction for that one, though. Sometimes vampires are unintelligent monsters, but my favorite type is the cunning, elegant, and beautiful. Beneath it all is something more sinister, but they always maintain composure and face even in front of an enemy.

Basically, I am here for the gay theatrics, as @Generic.Archdemon once posted that meme.
RepresentingEnvy said:
To expand, Nahrenne gave some of the reasons: biting, blood, and fangs. It's also the aesthetics too. It depends on the depiction for that one, though. Sometimes vampires are unintelligent monsters, but my favorite type is the cunning, elegant, and beautiful. Beneath it all is something more sinister, but they always maintain composure and face even in front of an enemy.

Basically, I am here for the gay theatrics, as @Generic.Archdemon once posted that meme.
Click to expand...
That or cute vampires like the two stories in the middle of my signature. There is all of the stuff mentioned before without the sinister.
 
Lloyd

Lloyd

Funny Guy :)
Joined
Jun 2, 2020
Messages
2,538
Points
153
Vampires are actually based on a certain ethnic group, who people used to believe used blood for ritualist magic.
 
georgelee5786

georgelee5786

I'll never let you down when you're riding with me
Joined
Mar 6, 2022
Messages
4,018
Points
183
They're like zombies but harder to kill.
 
RavenWulfgar

RavenWulfgar

Member
Joined
Dec 13, 2025
Messages
37
Points
18
Santaisblue said:
As the title says, what is so appealing about vampires? It is a curse for a reason so why do people like them so much? In almost all cases of vampires, you are locked to one food, can't step outside in the sun (More than half the day), and because you are immortal you can never die peacefully. The only real upside to being a vampire is the immortality and strength but in most of the fiction that vampires are in, there are MANY other ways to gain immortality or power with little to no cost. I don't want to be a downer or ruin anyone's parade but I can't see a reason for any appeal or why so many authors write about them.
Click to expand...

It's the same reason that those, like myself, want to play regular old humans in a game like D&D. Challenge.

Vampires are a challenge to write and I'll give you two examples

1. Thrasamund (Thousand Year-Old Vampire Stories in The Nocturneverse): Thrasamund was a young man in his early 30s during the Battle of Teutoberg Forest, taken and turned in the first night of battle. In these stories, he's still trying to figure out how to be what he is and how to hide it. He has to deal with being a target, protecting his human companion, Heva and dealing with life as a man so that no one ever suspects what he is. He knows he can't go out during the day but what happens to him by night? What does immortality mean and what does it do to him mentally, physically, spiritually? How does someone like that adapt to wherever he may find himself? Those are themes explored. Will he become a hero or some monster? We really don't know yet.

2. Daniel Novak aka Draven Nocturne: Lead vocalist/songwriter for Nocturnal Shadows, one of the biggest gothic rock acts in the world, he does his shows strictly by night, became a vampire shortly after meeting his sire, Lysandra Moretti and her sire, Udo Bruckheimer. Every bit of his living openly has been passed off as theatre and stage shows, he's walking a fine line between exposing the fact that vampires exist among us and that it's all just play-acting on stage. Draven's only in his sixties but he's been in the public eye for over forty years and he's being urged to retire before he can't pass off his on-stage and on-screen antics. He's still very young and possibly in way over his head. He also has a werewolf who fronts a metal band who is gunning for Draven's top spot as Number One in Rock N' Roll.

One is trying to maintain some semblance of anonymity while the other is out there in the public eye putting on shows. Both are rather young in their journey.

So is my third example, Neferet-hotep

If you read her entries of The Nocturneverse, there's some playing with Egyptian Mythology to an extent. For the most part, I've left it alone and left it as is but this character is definitely evil. She cares only for power. She wants ascension to godhood herself and will do anything and will kill anyone to achieve it. Granted, that character is brand new to me so I'll be exploring more about her.

In short with the three examples given, some of them carry the weight of centuries or even millennia. What do you do when everyone you know or love dies around you, whether by old age or because of you? The immortality is more of a curse than a blessing. That's the real challenge to it; maintaining humanity in the face of the fact that the world is like the ocean; Scary, deep, dark and full of sharks.
 
C

CheertheSecond

The second coming of CheertheDead
Joined
Nov 15, 2022
Messages
1,494
Points
153
low-effort concepts.

Mostly, you don't have to explain much for audiences. Reasons why most protagonists are humans or humanoids.
 
L

LesserSarcasm

Well-known member
Joined
May 12, 2021
Messages
128
Points
83
Because it is a fantasatical reprensentation of rabies/tuberculious in humans. When you cross religion with superstitions you get demons from virial/bacterial infections which appear magically to the uninformed.
 
A

Arkus86

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 1, 2019
Messages
776
Points
133
Santaisblue said:
The only real upside to being a vampire is the immortality and strength
Click to expand...
There you have the why. Also add that vampires are nearly universally rich (and if you are still poor after centuries, just step into the sun).
Santaisblue said:
in most of the fiction that vampires are in, there are MANY other ways to gain immortality or power with little to no cost.
Click to expand...
I dare to disagree. Vampires are frequently part of a setting where their bite is one of few, if not the only way to gain eternal life, and by far the easiest. In anything leaning towards their classical setting with vampires superimposed over historical or modern-day Earth, the ways to gain immortality are usually along the lines of being the victim of a curse, pursuing it through lifelong dedication to alchemy or magic, some extremely rare, obscure and hard to find artifact, or a vampire bite.
So while some of the alternatives might have fewer drawback, there are none you can pursue at little to no cost.
 
Envylope

Envylope

Queen of the Enpire
Joined
Oct 7, 2025
Messages
616
Points
93
JayMark said:
Are vampires neck romancers?
Click to expand...
I am mad about this. Mostly because I didn't think of that.
Alski said:
@Envylope :blob_popcorn:
Click to expand...
 
ConansWitchBaby

ConansWitchBaby

Da Scalie Whisperer
Joined
Dec 23, 2020
Messages
1,698
Points
153
Because people are lazy and shove all humanoid blood creatures into one label. While telling cultures when they harvest their lores to go fuck themselves, their version is better, frankensteining a modern vampire.

I mean, currently most if not all depictions are from the western cursed by god vampires. So, being killed or killing yourself was out of the question without direct approval from god (usually a priest nearby or it failed). Completely ignoring how its a curse and walking blight. And how the vampire can't enjoy much since the sense of taste and touch is muted (blindness has been completely ignored nowadays). Then tacked on with random bits of others like the Strigoi with the blood sucking and invisibility. Like a hackneyed revenant. Basic demons like Empusa from the greeks for the seduction side. etc.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top