| Vampire | |
|---|---|
| Type | Monsters |
| Lore Origin | European Folklore |
| Seasons | S1, S2, S3, S6, S7, S8 |
| Kill Method | Dead Man's Blood, Beheading |
Vampires in the world of Supernatural differ significantly from most popular culture depictions. There are no coffins, no aversion to garlic, no turning into bats. These are predators — organized, intelligent, and capable of blending into human society when they choose to. They operate in groups called nests, typically led by the oldest and strongest member, and they treat hunting as a communal activity.
Appearance & Abilities
Vampires appear entirely human until they feed or feel threatened, at which point a secondary set of retractable, razor-sharp fangs descends from their upper gums. These fangs are distinct from the classic two-pointed canines of popular fiction — Supernatural's vampires have a full row of needle-like teeth that extend and retract.
Their physical abilities are substantially enhanced. They are stronger and faster than humans, have heightened senses (particularly smell — they can track prey by scent over long distances), and heal rapidly from most injuries. Sunlight does not kill them, but it causes discomfort and sensitivity. They do not age and can live for centuries if not killed.
A human is turned into a vampire by ingesting vampire blood. This is not the same as being bitten — the victim must actually consume the vampire's blood. Once turned, the transformation is irreversible under most circumstances, though a cure exists if the newly turned vampire has not yet fed on human blood.
In Supernatural
Vampires first appeared in Season 1, Episode 20, "Dead Man's Blood," where John Winchester reunited with Sam and Dean to hunt a nest of vampires led by Luther. This episode established dead man's blood as a vampire weakness and beheading as the kill method. Daniel Elkins, a hunter and former associate of John's, had been killed by the nest while they recovered the Colt.
The most significant vampire storyline came in Season 6 when Dean was temporarily turned into a vampire ("Live Free or Twihard"). This gave viewers a first-person look at the heightened senses and bloodlust. Dean was cured using an old Campbell family recipe before he fed on any human blood. The Alpha Vampire also appeared in Season 6 and recurred through Season 7, depicted as an ancient and calculating being who was largely indifferent to hunters.
Real-World Folklore
Vampire mythology is staggeringly widespread. Nearly every culture has some version of a blood-drinking undead creature. The European vampire tradition most people know was codified in the 18th century through cases like Arnold Paole in Serbia and the subsequent literary treatments by Polidori, Le Fanu, and Stoker. But blood-drinking entities appear in Mesopotamian mythology (Lilitu), Chinese folklore (Jiangshi), Philippine tradition (Aswang), Greek mythology (Empusa), and dozens of other cultures.
Supernatural strips away the accumulated pop-culture baggage and returns to something closer to the Eastern European revenant tradition — a physically powerful undead predator that lives among humans and is difficult to distinguish from them. The show's vampires feel more like apex predators with a social structure than the romantic or aristocratic figures of most modern vampire fiction.
Weaknesses
Beheading is the only guaranteed kill. Dead man's blood (blood drawn from a human corpse) acts as a powerful sedative when injected into a vampire's bloodstream, weakening them enough to be subdued and decapitated. Sunlight causes pain and light sensitivity but is not fatal. The Colt can kill them, as it can kill almost anything. The vampire cure requires the blood of the vampire who turned the victim and must be administered before the new vampire feeds on human blood.