Facts About 'The Vampire Diaries' Vampires

The Vampire Diaries is one of my favorite shows to watch and rewatch. The vampires in that show may not be following the original guidelines for Dracula, but they do have their certain limitations. Here are 15 facts about these vampires:

1. Stefan and Damon became vampires in the year 1864. This was the same year as the American Civil War—so the scenes where Stefan and Damon are in the army are pretty accurate.

2. Garlic: In the original Dracula and other vampire myths it was said that garlic is to ward off the vampires. However, in the series garlic has no effect on the vampires.

3. Beware the sun. Vampires being afraid of sunlight is still a thing in The Vampire Diaries. However, in folklore vampires were mostly active during the night time and were not vulnerable to sunlight. In the television series we see many vampires being tortured and tormented by the sunlight as they receive burns and scarring when in contact with the sun.

4. Wild rose and hawthorn. This was a folkloric belief and the writers had decided to create their own herb that is toxic to the vampires, which is Vervaine. Wild rose is considered a romantic object and vampires were seen as a disgrace to the human society, so that could be why in myths it is the wild rose that can poison them.

5. Religious Symbols: In the series, religious symbols have no effect on the vampires because they can enter a cemetery without being harmed and in cemeteries there are lots of crucifixes on display. As well as they had been invited in to many homes that had at least one of two crucifixes on the wall and it had no effect. Again, in folklore since vampires were seen as demons they would be harmed if they saw a crucifix or a rosary or were touched by holy water.

6. Mirrors: In some shows, such as The Wizards of Waverly Place, one of the characters was a vampire and she could not see herself in the mirror. In The Vampire Diaries, however, they were able to see themselves in the mirror without struggle. This also worked because of the camera shots that the show did and everyone loves a good mirror camera shot.

7. An invitation to enter the house. In The Vampire Diaries all vampires had to get granted entry into the house, it was through trickery sometimes of simply because they were given the authorization to step into the house. This rule also applied to folklore, so The Vampire Diaries did hold some of the original beliefs.

8. Staking: The only way to kill a vampire was to stake them in the heart and that remained the rule until we met the original vampires when they needed a specific type of wood in order for them to remain dead. In different cultures around the world decapitation was also appropriate to finish off a vampire.

9. Bloodlust is the one thing that remained in all vampire myths. However, in folklore they were seen as demons because they drank blood and it was not needed for survival. The Vampire Diaries wanted for the vampires to be more relatable and less demonic.

10. Fangs: In The Vampire Diaries their fangs only come out when they are about to suck on some blood. In a lot of other cultures the vampire fangs were there the entire time. However, for the purpose of the series and the show they decided it would be better if the characters had no idea they were vampires.

11. Attractiveness: Apparently attractiveness is one way to spot a vampire, which was true in most of the shows and movies in the recent years.

12. Healing Powers: In the series the vampire blood can heal someone. This is of course not real in folklore. Numerous times characters would have died if it was not for the healing powers of the vampire blood.

13. Humanity Switch: In The Vampire Diaries the vampires could easily turn off the emotions and become a full monster rather than a monster with some humanity left in them. Again, this was not presented in folklore.

14. They are able to compel humans by having them look them in the eyes. Then they are mind controlled or the vampires can erase a memory, which is what it was often used for in the television series.

15. A werewolf bite could kill a vampire, this was possibly to make them less invincible and more human.