Build Your Own Vampire Project: Period 1, Team Garlic Knots

Period 1

Team Garlic Knots

Team Members: Michael Ruiz, Benny Wu, Jackson Zhang, Anthony Zhang, Evan Wu, Andy Lin

Objective: The goal of this project is for your team to create the rules and attributes of your own vampire universe. While creativity is necessary, research is actually the focal point. The caveat is that your vampire universe must be based on research your team completes about stories associated with vampires from any point in time, history, folklore, or fiction.

Vampire’s Ethnicity: Chinese

Justification:

Jiang Shi (stiff corpse) or Hopping Vampires are reanimated corpses that awaken from having restless spirits that come back to haunt other people.

Citation:

Mingren, Wu. “The Living Dead: Chinese Hopping Vampires.” Ancient Origins, Ancient Origins, 8 June 2016, https://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends/living-dead-chinese-hopping-vampires-006050

Vampire’s Abilities: Shapeshifting into animals, Empowered by the moonlight

Justification:

Skinwalkers in Native American folklore share many similarities to vampires, such as an aversion to sunlight and hypnotic tendencies. Skinwalkers possess the ability to shapeshift into animals and therefore we are extending this ability to our vampire.

Our vampire becomes stronger, faster, and more durable when he comes into contact with a moon, moonlight, or lunar energy or substance. This possibly unlocking abilities related to the affinity and enhancing their existing powers. Some users may be able to draw sustenance from the moon or even slow or stop aging.

Citation:

“Native American Vampires of Myth and Legend.” Native American Vampire Characters of Myth and Legend (American Indian Vampires and Vampire-Like Monsters), http://www.native-languages.org/native-vampires.htm

“Lunar Empowerment.” Superpower Wiki, https://powerlisting.fandom.com/wiki/Lunar_Empowerment

Vampire’s Weakness(es): Extremely dependent on moonlight

Justification:

Our vampire gets a significant speed, strength, and abilities boost throughout the night by absorbing the moonlight. So, therefore, long exposure to the sun in the daytime would significantly weaken the vampire. Additionally, the phases of the moon would also affect our vampire's abilities: full moon phase is generally the best phase for the vampire because it receives 100% moonlight. Despite all this, different mystics with powers to block the moon with clouds or objects hurt our vampire’s power, making the weakness a double-edged sword.

Citation:

“Lunar Empowerment.” Superpower Wiki, https://powerlisting.fandom.com/wiki/Lunar_Empowerment

Vampire’s Reproduction: Turns others into vampires through bites

Justification:

Vampires are dead creatures, hence their bodies don’t work the same as they did when they were alive. So, our vampire has the ability to expand its own population through feasting on its prey. The bite would transfer bacteria that would turn others into vampires in a short period of time. Our vampire’s bite would turn male humans to vampires, but not females. When biting a human female, their offspring would possess human and vampire-like traits.

Citation:

Thana. “Vampire Offspring.” Gods And Monsters - Ancient to Modern Mythology,  http://www.gods-and-monsters.com/vampire-offspring.html

Vampire’s Camouflage: Use of Shapeshifting

Justification:

Due to their unique physical appearances, vampires often conceal themselves by shapeshifting into animals such as bats or wolves. Disguising themselves as animals allow them to move around undetected. The origin of shapeshifting comes from the similarities between bats and vampires including their fangs, nocturnal activities, and source of vampirism spreading. Hence, many people believed that bats were animal forms of vampires. It was also believed that the process of transformation was painful and infrequent. The transformations from human form to bat form and vice versa often requires a lot of blood and food which makes it unsustainable for them to keep transforming.

Citation:

Tanasa, Adrian. “Dracula.” Dracula between Hero and Vampire, http://dracula.cc/vampires/

Vampire’s Home: Dark caves or Dark houses

Justification:

Due to our vampire's necessity of the moon, our vampire strikes only at night and rests within dark places during the day. Our vampire enjoys the company of a poorly lit house with minimal lighting. Their bedroom will usually be the coldest and darkest room in the house. This makes the best possible living situation for our vampire. Because there is minimal lighting, electronics that are around a real vampire such as watches, computers, mps3 players, cellphones, and other electronics throughout the house tend to malfunction in really odd ways.

Citation:

“Do Vampires Ever Sleep? |.” i Love WEREWOLVES, 13 Sept. 2010, http://ilovewerewolves.com/do-vampires-ever-sleep/

Kenny, Pablo. “OTHER STUFF - VAMPIRE FACTS vs MYTHS - Some Vampire Do's and Don'ts from Book 2.” Darren Shan - Author, Darren Shan, 5 May 2010, http://www.darrenshan.com/extras/feature/other-stuff-vampire-facts-vs-myths-some-vampire-dos-and-donts-from-book-2

Madmadisonplantier. “Malicious Myths: The Jiangshi (僵尸).” In The Dark Air, 31 July 2015,https://inthedarkair.wordpress.com/2015/07/31/malicious-myths-the-jiangshi-%E5%83%B5%E5%B0%B8//

“Slay the Energy Vampires in Your Home.” Slay the Energy Vampires in Your Home,

https://www.srpnet.com/energy/DIY/vampire.aspx

Vampire’s Preferences: Seduction before the feast, Buying blood

Justification:

Vampires are extremely sexual beings and it is much easier to feed on someone who is unaware rather than someone who is always speculating. Therefore our vampire finds enjoyment in feeding on the bodies of their lovers. It is easier to kill someone that has fallen under our vampire’s good looks and affection, seducing their prey before feeding.

Additionally, because vampires can generally obtain much of anything they want, it is extremely easy for them to obtain money and practically buy blood. Many blood drinkers will advertise for blood donors, whereas others will purchase from blood banks. Although this is the easy way out, when the bloodlust becomes unbearable this could be a way to relinquish the rooted issues.

Citation:

Harris, Tom. “How Vampires Work.” HowStuffWorks Science, HowStuffWorks, 8 Mar. 2018, https://science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/strange-creatures/vampire.htm

Whitney. “Mortal and Immortal Vampires.” Vampires, 4 Sept. 2012, http://vampireunderworld.com/vampirism/mortal-immortal-vampires/