They don't sparkle, but they sure do have a libido...

I love vampires, I love everything about them. I love the movies where the vampires are terrifying, ugly, sparkly, brooding, it doesn't matter. I just LOVE them. (Yes, that includes Twilight. I thought I told y'all I'm an unapologetic Twihard!) While working on my newest book I got to thinking about them. Well, I got to thinking about the folk lore surrounding them through the years.

Here's my take on them:
Vampires do not sparkle in the sun; they will fry, burn, become toast, a pile of ashes. The older vamps can survive short periods of sun, but the only sparkling you will see is from the flames shooting from their burning bodies.

Vampires don't sparkle in my world. They burn and turn into ash. Poor Claudia...even though she was a bit psychotic at times.

They might be brooding, but that only depends on their personalities before they were turned. If they were wangsty before, they will be wangsty after.

Louis was the epitome of brooding and wangst. Damn, his eyes were amazing in this movie!

They can be born, but most of the population was turned by a true born, or a stronger and talented member of the race.

Vampires have an insatiable sexual appetite. Their libido is strong; they need sex almost as much as blood and food to survive. They're rarely truly satisfied, therefore they end up with multiple partners, and some are bisexual.

Even Nosferatu went for a little feelsky when he fed!

And speaking of blood and sustenance, they do eat. While blood is necessary, they have to eat food as well, but only untainted by chemicals. Because of the way their bodies digest they can't tolerate the poisons from processed foods and pesticides in their system. It would be no different than a human trying to survive on cardboard.

They each have talents, some strong and cool, others useless. It is not uncommon for a vampire to be telepathic, empathic, as well as able to manipulate the human mind into seeing or feeling a certain way, and doing what the vampire wants.

~I just searched the web for pictures of vampires doing cool things but other weird crap popped up, like screen shots of video games and such. *sigh* If you're a vamp fiend like me you're fully aware of them flying, mind reading, enchanting humans, etc.~

This is the consolation since I couldn't find any pics. I freaking LOVE Interview With A Vampire!

The speed. Oh, and the strength. Vampires are blessed with crazy ass strength and speed, but not quite the goofy fast forward warp speed you see on True Blood or Twilight. When a vampire moves at full speed you're lucky if you catch a glimpse of their clothing.

Have I missed something you were wondering about? How about your favorite type of vampire? Do you like them tortured and romantic or scary and deadly? Do they sparkle in your fantasies or burst into flames in the sun?