watching my hand move.” It would seem, according to pop lore, that vampires can indeed be influenced by mind-altering drugs, and in some cases, snake venom.
Some believe that the less human blood a vampire drinks, the less potent his venom is. This has yet to be proven without fatal consequences. Others believe that certain strains of the vampire virus have diluted the venom so far as to allow vampires to bite their victims and not fully turn them without other measures coming into play (such as a full blood exchange). Whatever the reality is, be aware that in most cases, when you are exposed to vampire venom, it will take time to get it out of your system, unless you are unlucky enough to be infected by a rare strain that initiates a transformation immediately. Frankly, it is not worth the risk of seeing just how far your body can go before the venom begins breaking down your genetic makeup and turning your body.
Vampire Siring
Just like the spectrum of fangs seen in the vampire world, there’s also a spectrum of ways that vampires turn humans. Most involve some sort of blood exchange with a vampire, but there are exceptions even to this rule, so it is important to be familiar with the various rituals so that you are prepared to defend yourself should you find yourself on the verge of being turned.
Swapping Blood Types
The most common vampire siring ceremony is the simple act of the vampire drinking from the human, and in exchange, the human drinking the vampire’s blood. In most cases, humans will need to be drained of almost all of their blood, which will leave them in an intensely weakened state. If not fully drained, the humans, if they survive the blood loss, will remain mortal but will pick up a few nasty habits along the way (repulsion to sunlight, hissing, carnal thirst for blood). But in order for complete transformation mortals will most likely need to be placed on the brink of death, so that copious amounts of vampire blood can revive them into immortals. This practice is not particularly new; in fact it’s been around since Bram Stoker’s Dracula , The Vampire Chronicles , and even the modern-day The Vampire Diaries . The key to this transformation is that the mortal shell must, in a way, die, so the vampire can emerge.
Patience Is an Undead Virtue
A few turning rituals seem to take a lot of time, days even, and several blood exchanges. Southern vampire Bill Compton explained it best to girlfriend Sookie Stackhouse in Dead Until Dark : “I would have to drain you, at one sitting or over two or three days, to the point of your death, then give you my blood. You would lie like a corpse for about forty-eight hours, sometimes as long as three days, then rise and walk at night. And you would be hungry . . . Other vampires have told me humans they habitually bite, day after day, can become vampires quite unexpectedly. But that requires consecutive, deep, feedings. Others, under the same conditions, merely become anemic.”
In the TV series True Blood , the maker and his ward are actually buried together in the ground while the process occurs. Burial is not uncommon, as the process takes time. Many midturns are actually considered dead by the human race and given a proper burial, only to emerge Buffy -style in the middle of a cemetery. Thankfully, the superhuman strength you’ll gain from becoming a vamp should help you claw your way out of the dirty grave, as it did for the teenaged Gina Covella from Vamped , who woke up (surprise!) in a coffin.
Just a Bite
Some vamps need only one bite to make them yours. Twilight vamps work under this principle: Bella, when bitten, gyrates and flaps about on the ground, withering in pain from the vampire venom, well on her way to becoming a vamp after just one bite. But this isn’t a new legend. The also-fangless vamps from Near Dark can turn a mortal to the fang with a simple nibble.
This Blood’s for You
Be warned, siring blood doesn’t always come from the neck,