Vampires are a topic that I can’t stop talking about, which is understandable since I have a whole series with them as the main focus and my own lore here. In my series, I stray from traditional vampire lore in order to make them unique. Some people may be opposed to straying from traditional lore, but I’m definitely not one of those folks. If you’re looking to appeal to those who want a taste of something different, hopefully this will give you some ideas.

In my article, 5 Ideas for Vampire Powers Outside of the Norm, I explore powers that could make vampires different. Let’s take a step further and discuss, down to their core, how vampires can stray from traditional lore and still be called ‘vampire’. It goes beyond just powers! What changes can be made while the essence of ‘vampire’ is retained?

(1) Blood-Drinking

The core of vampires, in my opinion, is the fact that they drink blood. Personally, I don’t think removing this aspect allows for them to continue to be called ‘vampires’. One could argue for ‘soul’ or ‘energy’ vampires, but that’s not my personal cup of tea. I’m sure others have different opinions of course! But in my case, I prefer vampires that drink blood.

That said, the amount or type that they drink can vary greatly. We could have vampires strictly confined to consuming human blood. Or, we could have them drink a variety of different species’ blood, though I would still keep them on humanoids in some fashion, otherwise they become less of a serious threat or monster. Finally, we could vary the amount they need.

Do they only need some blood for their powers? Can they eat normal food? Is blood an essential part of their diet, but not required as strictly the only thing? What happens when they drink certain types of blood? Could they prefer one type over another?

In my post delving into how vampires could obtain their powers, I discuss vampires gaining powers from the blood of creatures they drink. That could also be a factor to discuss when it comes to blood drinking, and its effects. Not just the positives either! Are there some creatures who have blood that will cause negative effects on your vampire?

(2) Undeath

Anyone who has been following me for a while should know I’m not actually a fan of undead vampires, even though I do have lore for them in my Vampire Wars series. Unlike blood drinking, I don’t consider this a core aspect of vampires. I personally love the idea of living vampires, and its the favorite lore I’ve crafted for my series. You could have an emphasis on the predatory aspect, ignoring the undead stuff.

Vampirism as a disease is often a common trope as well, and not one that needs to kill the person who contracts it. You could explore the disease and how it affects a living person, be it through magic or science fiction means, without the disease killing them like in typical vampire lore.

Or, you could make multiple vampire species. Say a disease actually changes the DNA of a species, including their gametes. Then, you have a species that rose from a disease but that is nevertheless a whole new species than from what it originally started.

Another idea is an even more science fiction way of looking at things that could be applied to fantasy. Say…combining the DNA of several creatures (like a vampire bat or other blood drinking thing) to turn a human into a vampire, and how that would effect them. How could it be applied to fantasy, then? Well, have a spell do it in that case, something that gives rise, again, to a new species, without making the vampire undead!

(3) Death by Sun

Vampires burning up in the sun is a classic piece of western vampire lore we see. In the lore for my Kingdoms of Blood series, mine are sensitive to sunlight, especially their eyes. They also burn more easily. This is because they are a nocturnal species. As you can tell, they don’t die when the sun touches them, and are not prone to burning to ash if they stay there too long. However, this can technically be taken a step further.

Diurnal vampires are very uncommon to be seen in fantasy involving vampires. Including in my works… but why? We’re so used to vampires being nocturnal that we don’t consider their main food source (or what is depicted as such, typically). Humans. If vampires are trying to lure in humans by being charming, as typically depicted, they would likely be on the same circadian rhythm. I feel like diurnal vampires would be unusual at first, but the more you think about it, the more sense it makes.

Of course, this could be a variant of vampires in your story. A good excuse is their evolution alongside humans. Or, a branch off from a traditionally nocturnal species. Why would they have branched off? Are they more successful than their nocturnal counterparts? You could consider these questions when writing your lore!

(4) Death by Holy Objects

Ah, the religious portion of vampires, admittedly not one of my favorite things. I tend to leave it out of my lore entirely, with the exception of my undead vampires. Even then, the deity I chose that would enchant dangerous objects to be used against them is Hades, which is certainly not the monotheistic god seen used against vampires. We typically see crosses and bibles used against vampires, a representation of Christianity. As someone who does not practice that religion, it’s not something I am totally interested in implementing for my vampires.

This may be the case for you. You could totally abandon the concept, or you could take my route and select certain deities that would have objects of faith that would be dangerous to a vampire. Should your story have multiple gods, that is. It could be faith-based in general, even if there are no gods in your story, in a sense that ‘believers can create objects that hurt vampires’. Manifestation, and all that.

I prefer selecting specific deities and explaining why what they enchant is dangerous to vampires. It leaves so much open. What did a representative of vampires do to piss off this god or group of gods or other powerful entities? How are these deities able to create things that hurt them? What are the things that hurt them, how much does it hurt them, and why? There are so many good questions you could ask in world building that would make a rather complex story and unique weaknesses for your vampire.

(5) Fangs

I have to admit, I love vampires with fangs. I know there are some stories that rid vampires of their fangs entirely, which is just fine! But I don’t typically like that sort of thing. I will touch briefly on what you could do to avoid fangs, but I will focus more on making fangs for your vampire different.

You could have the vampire obtain blood via weapon, claws, hemomancy, tongue, tendrils, or anything else that does not involve biting. Truth be told, you could combine this with fangs as well, which also could be very cool (and probably quite uncomfortable). Hollow needles or barbs coming out of a vampire’s skin or additional tail or something could be terrifying.

As for fangs, though, there are ways to make them different. Above, we see Ares from The Dancing Crow, who has a mouth full of knife-like fangs. This dentition is purely that of a predator, straying from the typical two fangs seen by traditional vampires. You can look for fang variations in nature. There’s a variety of creatures with very sharp teeth that include fangs. Not to mention how super large fangs fit into the mouths of some of these creatures, which is a good idea to research.

I’ll give two examples here for you. The Gaboon viper has the longest fangs of any snake, has to fold its fangs into its mouth when the mouth is closed in order to close its mouth. This concept could be used for retractable vampire fangs, though if you keep the complete folding concept of fangs, bear in mind how your vampire would be able to speak. There is also the payara, with two gigantic lower fangs. How does it fit its fangs into its mouth? They go up into a sheathe in the upper part of their skull. Could your vampire have a sheathe in the lower gums or jawline (or uppers if they have fangs on the lower jaw as well) to contain massive fangs they otherwise would not be able to retract? How is their speech affected, if at all? Is their mouth larger to accomodate this?

Hopefully these ideas will help you brainstorm how to make your vampire lore different! I’d love your ideas on this as well, feel free to link this article to similar worldbuilding for vampires, or respond in your own blog with ideas too. I love to come up with ways to make mythical monsters different, and vampires are on the top of my list for brainstorming.

Hungry for some vampire content and a magical college? Look no further than here! Check out my book Cobratongue University: Professors & Kings for a dystopic urban fantasy you don’t want to miss.