Vampire question

[Five Years]

I'm very new here and I'm not sure if I'm doing any of this right. If I am, and you're reading this, then hello. I have a question:
Vampires change so much in movies. I remember a scene in Innocent Blood when the female vampire was actually looking at herself in the mirror. In the Hammer Dracula movies with Chris Lee and Peter Cushing, they make up rules as they go along. My question is this: Take away a vampire's clothing, power of speech, and a few other things and turn it into a frothing, blood thirsty monster, is it still a vampire? Or is it just another monster.
This is for a screenplay I'm working on, so it's not just a random question. I'd appreciate your thoughts.

[Klownzilla]

If this naked, blood-crazed monster is burned by sunlight, harmed by religious items, and doesn't cast a reflection(this really depends on what cliches are or aren't used), then yes, the monster is still a vampire. A majority of the ones in From Dusk Till Down were like wild animals, lacking speech and clothes.

[FeydRautha]

A vampire (by the traditional definition) is an undead man/woman who survives by drinking the blood of living creatures. They cannot survive in direct sunlight, fire harms them and they are abhorrent of religious icons such as crucifixes and holy water. They can't stand on consecrated ground, either.

Many movie plots have noodled around with the vampire ethos to their own ends, for example the whole garlic thing...traditionally a vampire cannot enter a home that has garlic hung from its doors and windows (this comes from the East European legends), but I've seen films where garlic had no effect on the vampire. Similarly the legend that says a vampire cannot enter your home until invited - "The Lost Boys" and the Buffy and Angel TV shows have taken advantage of this, but this isn't held up in other stories (Anne Rice's novels, for one - they're very good reading if you want some fictional research material).

Basically, whether it's clothed or has the power of speech or not: if it drinks blood, shuns the light of day and can be repelled by a religious icon, it's a vampire.

PM me if you want some URLs to good vampire legend sites. Hope this helps.

(PS: Welcome to the horror boards!)

[Klownzilla]

Another interesting aspect is that almost always, vampires are connected to wolves, either positively or negatively. You've probably heard of vampires being able to turn into wolves. In some legends, wolves stood guard at cemeteries against newly-risen vampires. Once a vampire came out of its grave, the wolf would tear it to shreads.

One strange thing I've heard is that after a werewolf dies, it may return as a vampire. That doesn't really make a whole lot of sense, though.

[Five Years]

I also heard something about them being able to turn into wisps of smoke, although I don't remember where. Anyone else here this?

[Gregorious8]

Originally posted by Five Years
I also heard something about them being able to turn into wisps of smoke, although I don't remember where. Anyone else here this?

Yeah i've heard of this one & I think it might have been used in some Dracula movies, but I could be wrong.

[FeydRautha]

Originally posted by Gregorious8
Yeah i've heard of this one & I think it might have been used in some Dracula movies, but I could be wrong.

No, you're right. In Bram Stoker's "Dracula" the Count shape-shifts into a wisp of fog to gain access to certain places. Coppola had his vampire do this when he made his film of the same name.

In the same novel, Dracula shape-shifts into a wolf (or a "huge, black dog with red glowing eyes" as I think he was described) when the ship he's travelling to England on crashes on the rocks at Whitby.

[heretic]

Im read a story about vampires a few years back and now I can't remeber wich one it is :S I wonder if any one can help.

A young girl is thaught to be very sick however the reason for this is at night while she is sleeping she is being visited by a vampire who is as ever drinking her blood. The some one soon becomes wise to this and buts garlic around the room and puts black lace aroun the girls neck over her puncture wounds.

if any one can help I would be very thankful :) as I'd really like to read thi again.