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Most vampire lore is crap. A cross won't repel them. Sunlight won't kill them and neither will a stake to the heart. But the bloodlust -- that part's true. They need fresh human blood to survive. They were once people, so you won't know it's a vampire until it's too late.
John Winchester tells his sons about vampires
in Dead Man's Blood

Vampires, or Vamps for short, are a race of blood-drinking supernatural creatures that were once human. They have been encountered by the Winchesters, Gordon Walker and other hunters. However it has been stated encountering a vampire is very rare as hunters have hunted them near to extinction although due to their ability to reproduce by transfusion, meaning that there only needs to be one for them to repopulate.

All vampires originate from the Alpha Vampire. Vampires are also one of the most frequently recurring supernatural creatures in the series.

Apocalypse World has its version of vampires. They are more fierce and savage compared to the Main Universe.

Characteristics

They live forever, and several depicted vampires are hundreds of years of age or older. They also mate for life. Their diet is based strictly on blood. Although they prefer human blood, humans aren't the only animals that they can drink from (however one such vampire, Lenore, refers to cow blood as 'disgusting'). Vampires must keep their victims alive or else their blood becomes toxic to them. However, some vampires will live off of donated blood bags because they don't want to kill a living being. Vampires can only be killed by beheading, where they leave behind a corpse that can be examined to find their vampire teeth.

Vampires are typically organized into nests, with eight to ten vampires residing in each, with a mate for life. However, some nests are smaller, and some vampires prefer to live solitary lives. The younger members of the nest typically do the hunting for their elders, bringing back humans to be fed upon for days or even weeks. Each nest has a leader, typically the oldest vampire and most often the one who turned the others. According to Benny Lafitte, when vampires are first turned, they are reliant on their maker for blood and thus have no choice but to follow them, coming to see them as their source of life to the point they can think the leader is God. Sometimes the leader can come to believe it too. All vampires see the Alpha Vampire as their "father" and revere him as such.

According to Alton Morehead, while the vampires may hunt alone or in small nests, if you scratch the surface, they are connected all the way from the lowest drone to the Alpha Vampire. They also share amongst themselves things like intelligence and victims.

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Dean being transformed.

Vampirism is spread by the ingestion of vampire blood or by its direct introduction to the human blood stream. These are currently the only possible methods of infection (tactile contact with Eve is no longer possible since her death), since many hunters are seen getting splashed in the face with vampire blood without being turned. This means that the vampire blood doesn't enter a person's system through the eyes, nose or unbroken skin. It may also mean that, in terms of ingestion, a certain quantity is required to cause the transformation, considering getting splattered blood on the lips may result in some entering the mouth, becoming mixed with saliva, and winding up swallowed. These limitations are very beneficial to hunters due to the fact that killing a vampire is usually a gory and messy procedure. According to Dean Winchester, "the change, sometimes its fast, sometimes its slow, it just depends on the person."

Newly turned vampires are always confused and disoriented, especially while adjusting to the overwhelmingly sharp senses and sensitivity to light. Bloodlust usually sets in after, and drives the newly turned vampire into a killing spree. They then normally seek the one who changed them, known as their maker, and usually accept them as their leader. Most of the vampires shown in the series develop or are integrated into a nest or hive mentality. These newly turned vampires are still half-human until they drink their first blood.

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The cure for vampirism.

Vampirism is rarely curable, with the only known cure being a potion recorded in a journal by an ancestor of the Campbell Family of hunters. The ritual calls for the blood of the new vampire's sire, and will not work if the subject has fed on human blood. Other known ingredients include garlic and sage. The reversion is painful, but no secondary effects are retained. At least one cured vampire has retained all of his memories before he was reverted to humanity. However, the cure causes you to be sick for a few days. The cure does not require the vampire that turned the person to be alive for it to work.

This technique was used to cure Dean Winchester, Seth's Victim, Annie Jones and Doug Stover.

Using the vampire resurrection ritual, a dead vampire could be resurrected. However, the person resurrecting the vampire had to get the vampire's soul from Purgatory and have access to their body. The ritual is then simple: drip the blood with the soul over the vampire's body and recite a spell. The vampire is then resurrected whole and undamaged.

Appearance

A vampire's appearance is that of a normal human, which makes sense given that they were originally mortals. However, they all have common features, such as sharp, pointed, retractable teeth that emerge from their gums and extend beyond their human teeth. This set of fangs descend at the vampire's will, usually when about to feed, when threatened or when attacking. Some vampires have been shown to have sharp fingernails, but nowhere near as long as the Alpha's, which are more clawlike and can be made to extend at will.


Powers and Abilities

The blood of the Alpha Vampire flows through the veins of every vampire, affording them many supernatural abilities.

  • Super Strength - Vampires possess enhanced strength that is greater than humans. Young vampires experience a formidable increase in physical strength; able to easily lift heavy objects, and overpower, lift, and toss grown humans. Older vampires, however, can overpower their own makers, as well as other creatures. Boris, a 600-year-old vampire, demonstrated his superior strength over Dean by easily overpowering him; at that time, Dean was a new vampire that had yet to complete transition. One 3 year old vampire was also strong and agile enough to hoist a teenager at the top of a flagpole. 
  • Fangs - Vampires possess a set of wickedly sharp retractable fangs, that extend over their teeth. A vampire's fangs are superhumanly strong, and can rip open a human's neck; leaving huge bite marks on the corpse of a victim.
  • Super Speed - Vampires are able to run and move at enhanced speeds, far greater than any human; they are able to appear and disappear in the blink of an eye, keep up with other monsters, and can quickly hunt down their prey. Some vampires can even outpace moving vehicles, and it is also possible that a vampire's speed, much like their strength, increases with age.
  • Super Agility - Vampires possess amazing agility; enabling them to easily and rapidly run, jump, sprint and climb, quickly scale up walls, and jump off of buildings without hurting themselves. Vampires also possess greater reflexes than humans; the vampire Robert was able to catch Kristen's cellphone after bumping into her. One vampire was also presumably able to climb a flagpole whilst carrying a teenager.
Vampire Point of View

A vampire's point of view while hunting.

  • Super Senses - Vampires have extremely keen senses that are superior to those of humans, and seemingly primed to their predatory nature. They can see in the dark, hear a human's heartbeat, and possess an enhanced sense of smell. A vampire can track the scent of human blood over long distances; John Winchester once warned Sam and Dean that "once a vampire has your scent, it's for life." Like their strength, their senses seem to increase with age; as Luther was able to smell Kate from a distance, whilst none of the younger vampires could.
  • Immortality - Once transitioned, vampires no longer physically age, they will not experience age or decay, and cannot develop diseases or illnesses that affects humans. Vampires can potentially live forever, provided they are not killed by unconventional means.
  • Invulnerability - Vampires are immune to most conventional causes of fatality; they cannot be killed by trauma such as stab wounds and gunshots, and they are immune to diseases and illnesses that affect humans. Despite their immunity and resilience, vampires are susceptible to, and can still be killed and harmed by a number of means such as certain supernatural beings and weapons, as well as decapitation.
  • Regeneration - With the exception of amputation or decapitation, vampires can quickly heal and recover from any wounds or injuries, however, in order to heal, Vampires must have a sufficient amount of blood in their system.
  • Super Stamina - Despite their hunger, vampires do not tire easily, and they can perform superhuman feats without difficulty. Dean, who was at that time a new vampire who had yet to complete the transition, took on an entire nest of over twenty other vampires in a fight to the death, and emerged almost unfazed. Vampires also have an extreme resilience to pain; as the Vampire Kate was shot in the stomach with an arrow and merely sighed in annoyance, however, other vampires have reacted to punches and kicks in a similar manner to humans.
  • Stealth - Vampires are often shown sneaking up on their victims - even experienced vampire hunters - without making a sound. As a newly turned and initially reluctant vampire, Gordon was able to twice appear behind humans seemingly out of nowhere.

Weaknesses

As with other supernatural creatures, vampires have weaknesses that hunters can exploit to defeat them.

Harming and Banishing

  • Dead man's blood - The use of blood from the recently deceased can also be used as a method to incapacitate vampires briefly. Michael's enhanced vampires are immune to dead man's blood.
  • Sunlight - While sunlight can hurt them, John Winchester likened it to a really bad sunburn; rather than being lethal it only causes pain to vampires. For this reason, vampires are primarily nocturnal, and will not go out while the sun is still on the horizon. They can also find other types of light uncomfortable, as vampires have increased sensitivity to light. Michael's enhanced vampires seems to be undisturbed from sunlight, as they walked in it without being deterred.
  • Scent-blocking Mixture - A mixture of saffron, skunk cabbage, and trillium into a fire or dusting one's clothes with the ashes of this mixture will cover a human's scent to attack vampires. This will even cover another vampire's scent. However older vampires with their stronger senses, may be able to overcome this.
  • Serious Physical Injury - While vampires can't be killed by serious physical injury and can heal, they are still susceptible to harmful injuries. After a fight with a group of vampirates, Benny Lafitte was left unable to walk and needed Dean Winchester to bring him blood so that he could heal. Even then, Benny indicated that it would take some time for him to fully recover from his injuries even after drinking blood. He also commented that vampires cannot regrow amputated body parts. When Donna Hanscum kneecapped Marlon, he reacted in the same way any human would and feared the further harm Donna would cause him enough to cooperate. Later, it was shown that while they can survive a headshot (so long as it doesn't actually blow their head off), it still incapacitates them for a while.

Killing

Weapons, Rituals and Substances

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Castiel kills Lenore.

  • The Colt - As it can kill almost anything, it can be used against all vampires including their alpha.
  • Vamptonite - Human blood with DNA altered by Leviathan corn syrup: This altered blood kills them quickly as though they have ingested a powerful acid.
  • Decapitation - Beheading is the most commonly used method to kill vampires, considered the only method for a long time. The head does not necessarily need to be removed; doing sufficient damage seems just as effective a method of killing, if somewhat more elaborate. Garth was able to kill Maul by swinging a machete down through the top of his head, cutting through his brain but not cutting his head completely off.
  • Vampire Irradiation Gun - The British Men of Letters at some point invented this weapon through a combination of technology and magic that irradiates vampires and reorders their DNA, turning their own blood toxic and killing them.
  • Anti-Vampire Device - The British Men of Letters at some point invented this weapon through a combination of technology and magic that releases a gas that is poisonous to vampires.
  • The Spear - A weapon powerful enough to kill even a archangel, it was also used to kill several of Michael's grace-enhanced vampires.

Beings

History

Early History

Vampires were created by Eve and were some of her very first children. The Alpha Vampire was the very first vampire and he appears to have a psychic connection with other vampires. By the year 2006, vampires had been hunted so intensively and become so rare that John Winchester had thought they were extinct. However, they have started to make something of a resurgence, particularly in 2011 after the Alpha Vampire ordered the existing nests to increase their numbers on Eve's orders.

Seasons

Supernatural120 727

Luther is shot by John Winchester with the Colt.

Daniel Elkins attracts the attention of a group of vampires, led by Kate, who follow him home and kill him after a struggle. They take the Colt from him and Kate presents it to her mate and patriarch, Luther. The vampires live in an old barn where they capture tourists and feed on them, turning one such victim into one of their own. Their nest is invaded by the Winchesters and Kate is lured after them, only to be captured and infected with dead man's blood. John Winchester uses her as a bargaining chip to force Luther to hand over the Colt, after which the vampires try to kill John and his two sons. John then shoots Luther with the Colt, proving the legend that it can kill anything. Earlier, John decapitated Hank and Dean decapitated Beau, two of the vampires, and two more were taken out with arrows soaked in dead man's blood. These two are presumably later decapitated; however, Kate and Jenny the turned victim escape with their lives after Luther is killed.

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Gordon tortures Lenore with dead man's blood.

Sam is captured by a group of vampires who have sworn off human prey and have chosen to feed on cattle instead, but they are still living in fear of being hunted. Their matriarch, Lenore, wishes for Sam to go back to his brother and the hunter Gordon Walker and ward them off hunting her kin. Gordon refuses to do so, however, and discovers the nest and tortures Lenore with dead man's blood to prove to the Winchesters that all vampires are monsters. Lenore resists her bloodlust despite his methods of temptation. The Winchesters turn against Gordon and free Lenore, having seen her resilience.

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Dixon attempts to infect a woman.

A vampire called Dixon has been infecting young blonde women with vampirism in the hopes of rebuilding his lost family and repopulating the vampiric species. He converts them by feeding them his blood under the pretense that it is a recreational drug, administered either with an eyedropper or in a drink. One of the girls he has recently turned is caught and interrogated by Sam and Dean, which puts them on his trail, but the timely arrival of a vengeful Gordon prevents them from pursuing Dixon.

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Sam kills Gordon by garroting him with razorwire.

In a cruel twist of fate, Dixon captures Gordon and turns him into a vampire as punishment for the vampires he's killed in the past. Gordon is not a passive victim, however, and he uses his new strength to murder Dixon's girls and to escape. This drives Dixon to despair and apathy, and when the Winchesters find his lair, he admits to everything he has done. It is implied that the hunters killed him. Gordon, after escaping Dixon's lair, soon falls victim to bloodlust and feeds on human blood. He then continues his hunt for Sam by setting a trap, capturing and infecting another woman to work as a distraction and then isolating Sam so that he can attack him. Gordon underestimates Sam, however, and is subsequently decapitated with barbed wire. His victim is killed by Dean with the Colt after a struggle.

The Winchester brothers begin their supernatural investigation by looking into a vampire attack. However, the "vampire" turns out to be a shapeshifter who disguises himself as classic horror movie monsters, including Dracula.

Dean decapitates a vampire on the hood of the Impala, quoting: "Eat it Twilight!".

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Dean becomes a vampire.

In Limestone, Illinois, Sam and Dean investigate the disappearances of several young women. They discover that the most recent victim was obsessed with Twilight-style vampires, and that she was communicating with someone who claimed to be a vampire online. At the same time, a blood bank van is robbed. Sam and Dean go to a club called the Black Rose, the girl's last destination, and discover vampires trying to "recruit" new members. Sam kills one vampire, but lets Dean be turned by a vampire named Boris. The Winchesters return to their hotel room, and Sam calls Samuel. Dean, who is prepared to be killed by Samuel, sneaks away to bid Lisa goodbye. He is nearly overwhelmed by his hunger, but resists and returns to Sam and Samuel. Samuel surprises Dean by revealing a cure in one of his ancestor's hunting journals. In order to work, Dean must consume no human blood, and must acquire the blood of the vampire that turned him, so Dean goes to the nest of the vampires with a syringe of dead man's blood.

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Dean fights with vampires.

At the nest, a "recruiter" named Robert offers Dean blood, which he declines, and reveals that they are no longer allowed to kill people. Dean meets Boris, and tries to stab him with the dead man's blood, but Boris is too quick. Before Boris can kill Dean, all the vampires collapse, Dean included. He has a shared vision of the Alpha Vampire, and perceives that the Alpha wishes to build an army. When he awakes, Dean fights the vampires in the nest. He eventually kills all the members, except one beheaded by Sam and Samuel, and acquires Boris's blood. Samuel prepares the cure and Dean drinks it. He vomits blood and passes out, but re-awakens as a human.

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Alpha Vampire is captured by the demons.

Samuel Campbell and his people capture the Alpha Vampire. They subdue him using an I.V. of Dead Man's Blood and attempt to interrogate him, but he is extremely resistant to pain and doesn't give Samuel any information. After Samuel leaves the room where he is being held, he is approached by Dean and Sam and he reveals to them that, though he is the first vampire, he has a mother. He also tells them that Samuel is torturing him for information about Purgatory and its location. Shortly after their conversation, he frees himself from his cage and almost manages to flee the area, but demons appear and take him away on Crowley's orders. It is revealed that Samuel has been working for Crowley, who takes Alpha Vampire to continue interrogating it about Purgatory. Apparently he is unable to get anything from him as in "All Dogs Go To Heaven," he sends them after what he believes to be werewolves in hopes of locating the Alpha Werewolf.

When Eve is making her way across the country in "...And Then There Were None," Bobby mentions that her presence has caused a group of vampires to act up.

Castiel brings Lenore to Bobby's house so that they can ask her for Eve's location. She is hesitant, but eventually tells them where to find Eve: in Grants Pass, Oregon. She then asks to be killed. With Eve on earth, her nest has abandoned her and returned to feeding on humans, and even she has given in to her bloodlust on one occasion. Sam and Dean try to persuade her that after Eve is destroyed things will improve, but Lenore is doubtful. Castiel places a hand on her head and kills her to move things along.

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Dean finds a creature that has vampire teeth.

In Grants Pass, Oregon, they find Eve experimenting with creating hybrid monsters. On examination of some of the hybrids in a bar, Dean finds they have strange hybrid attributes, one creature has vampiric teeth in addition to the spike of a Wraith protruding from its wrist. Dean dubs these hybrids Jefferson Starships.

After capturing Red in The Man Who Would Be King, Bobby compliments him on taking down an entire vampire nest and capturing them in Swan Valley. At the same time, Crowley has a captured vampire he experiments upon, discovering that when he burns or impales Eve's brain, it causes the vampire pain because there is still a connection between them even though she is dead.

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The Alpha Vampire and his "daughter" Emily

In There Will Be Blood, after Crowley reveals to the Winchesters that the Alpha Vampire somehow escaped his prison before Castiel wiped out all the other Alphas. It's also revealed that the Alpha Vampire has made an alliance with Dick Roman and the Leviathans, and that the two races intend to jointly harvest humanity once the Leviathans have dumbed down the population with their DNA-changing food additives. In truth, however, the Leviathan have actually engineered the additive to also kill Vampires and other monsters, thus eliminating the competition for human prey. After the Winchesters expose this plot to the Alpha Vampire, as well as foil an assassination attempt by Edgar, the Alpha Vampire gives them some of his blood which is needed to kill Dick Roman. Sam and Dean take with them a child he'd abducted and reluctantly leave the Alpha alive.

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Dean meets Benny while in Purgatory.

While in Purgatory, Dean teams up with a vampire named Benny Lafitte, who feeds only on blood transfusions stolen from the blood bank, to find a way out into Earth, along with Castiel. The three make their way through Purgatory heading for a way out that Benny knows that will work for a human. Benny believes he can hitch a ride with Dean as he considers himself a former human.

Later, Dean succeeds in escaping Purgatory with Benny's soul and performs a ritual that resurrects Benny at his gravesite. The two go their separate ways, but Benny later contacts Dean and they agree to not keep in touch for a while, but that Benny can call Dean if he needs help.

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Benny is resurrected on Earth.

Benny, knowing that if his maker gets wind of the fact that he is alive will come after him, goes after his maker "The Old Man" to kill him first. He tries to get a vampire from his former nest named Quentin to tell him where his maker is, but Quentin ambushes him with two other vampires. Benny wins the fight and kills all three vampires, but is badly injured and calls Dean for help. Dean brings Benny blood from Benny's truck to help him recover and Benny explains what he's doing so Dean decides to join him. The Old Man and his former nest are vampire pirates or "vampirates" who ambush private yachts going on long journeys, drain the crew, then sink the boats. Benny fell in love with one of the people he ambushed, Andrea and left his nest for her. Consequently, was killed for it and Benny believes Andrea was killed as well. Benny wants revenge and knows his maker will come after him if he finds out Benny is alive again. Finding the nest on Prentis Island, Benny is shocked to find that Andrea has been turned into a vampire and is captured. Dean escapes and kills all of the vampires in the nest while Benny escapes with Andrea's help, kills a vampire named Sorento and confronts The Old Man who refuses to fight back.
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Benny confronts his maker "The Old Man".

Benny kills The Old Man and is shocked to learn that instead of wanting to completely destroy the pirating operation and start a new life with him, Andrea wants to take it over herself. Benny realizes to his heartbreak that the Andrea he loved is dead and as she goes to attack him, Dean kills her from behind. Benny is left completely distraught and heartbroken and wonders why Dean brought him back when he could've pretended to help. On the mainland, Benny meets Sam and leaves, recognizing that Sam and Dean need to be alone.

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Benny kills a vampire.

A rouge vampire named Desmond decides to create his own nest and tries to entice Benny, who has moved back into his hometown in Louisiana and is looking after his great-granddaughter Elizabeth secretly, into helping him. However, Benny refuses so Desmond warns him that he will kill someone every night until Benny agrees. Desmond's first victim draws the attention of mentally-unstable hunter Martin Creaser who is following Benny and believes him to be the killer. He calls in Sam and Dean, but Dean believes Benny's story even after finding him after he buries Desmond's second victim. Despite Dean's belief, Martin and Sam go after Benny until Dean tricks Sam into leaving. Dean and Benny go after Desmond after Benny pretends to agree to join him to learn where he is and in the confrontation that follows, Benny kills Desmond. However, seeing Dean bleeding from an attack stirs Benny's bloodlust.

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Martin lies dead at the hands of Benny.

Afterwards, realizing that the situation means he can no longer stay there, Benny leaves, but Martin, obsessed with killing Benny, kidnaps Elizabeth to force him to return. In the confrontation that follows, Benny pretends to allow Martin to kill him, but turns the tables on him and in the fight that follows, rips out his throat, killing him, before fleeing.

Benny calls Dean for help after his loneliness starts to get to him. Though Dean, who believes Benny's story after learning what happened from Elizabeth, promises to meet Benny for coffee once the case he is on is over, he later calls Benny to say a final farewell, having decided to cut all ties to the vampire.

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In Conway Springs, Kansas, a group of young hunters are killing vampires as they have supposedly killed their families. However, these vampires are revealed to have been newly turned and the true killer, Seth, is working with their mentor Victor Rogers in exchange for being left to roam free so he can create the next generation of hunters. After learning the truth, Krissy Chambers takes Seth down with darts filled with dead man's blood and he is presumably killed. Seth's blood is then used to cure his latest victim who hadn't drank human blood yet and was later, saved.

In Purgatory, a vampire attacks Sam, but after he stabs it in the stomach with Demon-Killing Knife, Sam decapitates him with the vampire's own blade.

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Benny is ambushed by vampires in Purgatory.

After learning from Naomi that Sam got to Hell through Purgatory and that Ajay is dead, Dean goes to Benny for help. Benny agrees to let Dean kill him and then lead Sam and Bobby Singer to the portal out as he doesn't feel like he belongs on Earth. After agreeing to see Benny when Sam returns, Dean decapitates him.

Three more vampires attack Sam and Bobby. Sam kills two, but the last one nearly overpowers Bobby before Benny rips out his throat. Recognizing Benny, Sam lets him lead them to the portal out where three more vampires, enraged at Benny working with a Winchester again, arrive to attack. Having never intended to return to Earth, Benny stays behind to hold the vampires off and is last seen fighting them as Sam escapes.

In Devil May Care, hunter Tracy Bell pretends to be having car trouble and a man who is really a vampire offers her a ride, planning to feed on her. Tracy takes the ride, but overpowers and kills the vampire in the struggle that follows, leaving his headless body and van on the side of the road.

During the events of Slumber Party, Charlie Bradbury later tells Sam and Dean that as one of the hunts she did she killed a teenage vampire.

While hunting down Cuthbert Sinclair during Blade Runners, Sam and Dean are confronted by two vampires from his "zoo" as a test and easily kill them.

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"Alex" and her "mother" Celia.

In Alex Annie Alexis Ann, a young woman named Alex is arrested in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and is attacked by her vampire "brother" Cody as she ran away from the "family." Sherriff Jody Mills kills Cody and calls in Sam and Dean to hunt the nest and protect Alex who they learn was kidnaped several years before and has been acting as a lure for people who won't be missed for her "family." Feeling guilt for her lifestyle, Alex ran away, but is recaptured by her "mother" Celia and her surviving "brothers." Sam, Dean and Jody hunt the nest down and are all captured, while Alex agrees to be turned into a vampire. Connor and his surviving brother try to drain Sam and Dean of blood, but Dean recovers, kills both and frees Sam before heading off to save Jody. Jody realizes that Celia kidnapped Alex to replace a daughter she lost a long time ago and Celia nearly kills her after Alex refuses to. However, Alex injects Celia with dead man's blood and Jody kills her. As Alex hadn't drank any human blood yet, Sam and Dean are able to cure her and Jody helps her through the ordeal.

During Bloodlines, while visiting a monster club, Ennis Ross is confronted by a waiter named Maurice who is revealed to be a vampire. Ennis tries to kill him with a gun armed with silver bullets to no avail and is nearly killed himself before Maurice is decapitated from behind by Dean. Sam and Dean later explain to Ennis what Maurice was as he'd never encountered a monster before.

Hibbing911

In Hibbing 911, a group of vampires led by Starr who consume all of a victim, not just their blood, go to Hibbing, Minnesota in hopes of regaining their former leader, Sheriff Len Cuse. Len covers up their murders of two people in town, but they draw the attention of Sheriff Jody Mills who calls in the Winchesters. After finding Len over one of the vampires victims, the Winchesters, Jody and Sheriff Donna Hanscum track him to an old farmhouse where they are captured by the nest. After Len refuses to kill the humans, Starr kills him, but Dean breaks free and kills Catfish and the other vampire. Star goes after Jody, but is killed by Donna before she can harm her.

During The Werther Project, Dean hunts a vampire nest alone to take some of the edge off of the Mark of Cain. He is able to kill all six vampires single-handedly before Sam even arrives. Also, Benny appears as a hallucination under the influence of the Werther Box.

During Brother's Keeper, Dean is called in on a vampire hunt by fellow hunter Rudy. Dean is able to rescue one of the two victims alive and kill the two vampires involved, but gets Rudy killed in the process. This causes him to realize he's out of control and summon Death in an attempt to die.

Don't You Forget About Me

Richard holding Claire and Alex hostage.

In Don't You Forget About Me, Richard Beesome comes to Sioux Falls, South Dakota to get revenge on Alex as she'd lured him to her nest, resulting in him being turned into a vampire and slaughtering his own family. Richard kidnaps and kills three residents to feed on while turning Henry to build Alex up so Richard can destroy her life before killing her. As part of this, Henry kills Mr. Phelps, Alex's favorite teacher, but in doing so draws the attention of the Winchesters who were called in by Claire Novak who believed there was a case in town. Richard kidnaps Claire and Sheriff Jody Mills before revealing his reasons for doing what he's doing to Alex. Richard starts to drain Claire, but stops to confront Sam when he arrives. As Sam and Henry fight, Richard takes Sam's machete and goes to kill Alex, but is stabbed in the back with a crowbar by Claire first. Before Richard can recover, Dean decapitates him. Sam is able to subdue Henry and Claire kills him as well after Alex punches him for what he did to her.

In Keep Calm and Carry On, as Lady Toni Bevell describes the British Men of Letters method of operation, they are seen capturing a vampire with dead man's blood after being alerted by wards to his presence and taking him to a warehouse where the vampire is executed by Arthur Ketch.

In LOTUS, Arthur Ketch shows the Winchesters and Castiel a weapon the British Men of Letters created through a combination of technology and magic to use against vampires. As beheadings are inefficient, especially against entire nests, the weapon irradiates vampires, reorders their DNA and makes their own blood toxic to them. The Winchesters are impressed by this method of killing vampires.

In First Blood, while the Winchesters are missing, Castiel notices a case of vampire killings in Lancaster, Missouri and attempts to solve the case by himself. However, Castiel is unable to locate the vampires and runs away after three more young women die. Castiel brings the case to Mary Winchester who offers to let Castiel help her, but he feels he will just get in the way. Mary locates the vampires and kills them all single-handedly just before Castiel calls her to tell Mary that he has heard from Sam and Dean.

In Stuck in the Middle (With You), Mary tells Wally that while she's been working with the British Men of Letters, they have taken out four vampire nests.

Alpha Vamp returns

The Alpha Vampire returns

In The Raid, the British Men of Letters have begun an effort to exterminate all vampires in the United States, starting in the Midwest. In the course of a month, the British Men of Letters have killed 230 vampires with only eleven being left alive in the Midwest. This draws the attention of the Alpha Vampire who leads an attack on the British Men of Letters compound. After the Alpha Vampire is killed by Sam Winchester with the Colt, the remaining vampires flee.

In Wayward Sisters, Claire Novak compares scars with Kaia Nieves. One scar is from a bar fight with a vampire. Later, after Sheriff Donna Hanscum arrives to help, its mentioned that Donna has killed "a lot of vampires" over her career as a hunter.

Doug being turned into a Vampire

Doug being turned

In Breakdown, the cashier Marlon is revealed to be a vampire helping Terrance Clegg's operation to butcher people and sell their remains to monsters. Marlon turns Doug Stover into a vampire after revealing his true nature. Doug is subdued by Dean with dead man's blood while Donna kneecaps Marlon with a shotgun and forces him to give up Clegg's location before killing Marlon. As Doug had not yet fed, Dean is able to use Marlon's blood to cure Doug and restore Doug's humanity.

In Beat the Devil, the Winchesters, Castiel and Gabriel rescue two teenagers from a creature that is revealed to be an Apocalypse World vampire. Now starving, the vampires have devolved into more bestial creatures who are ravenous for human blood. With a vampire nest blocking the only way to Mary and Jack's base, the group and the teenagers are forced to pass through. During the trip, one of the teenagers is dragged off while Sam has his throat ripped out by one of the vampires and dies.

Later, Sam is resurrected by Lucifer who is seeking his son. Lucifer is able to use his restored powers to hold back a ravenous horde of vampires in order to force Sam to hear him out and eventually leave with him.

In Stranger in a Strange Land, Sam sends some of his hunters out to deal with a nest of vampires that he receives word is menacing people. Later, he gets a call from Anael that they have a big problem as Michael meets with a vampire, having decided monsters are the perfect creatures to ally himself with.

In Gods and Monsters, Michael performs experiments upon Lydia Crawford's nest using their blood and angel grace in an effort to find a way to enhance the abilities of monsters. Though her nest mates are killed, Lydia Crawford manages to escape and later explains what she saw to Sam, Mary Winchester and Bobby Singer. Michael visits Lydia after they are gone and explains that he allowed Lydia to escape in order to bait a trap. Michael then kills Lydia as she is no longer useful to him.

In The Scar, Michael sends some of his grace-enhanced vampires, now immune to dead man's blood, after the alternate Kaia Nieves who owns a spear that can harm him. Kaia kills the vampires, baffling Jody Mills as tests indicate they are not monsters. Later, more of Michael's vampires attack and nearly kill the Winchesters and Jody, but Dean frees Kaia who uses her spear to kill the vampires.

In Nightmare Logic, manifestations of Apocalypse World vampires appear amongst the other manifestations conjured up by the enhanced djinn Neil.

In The Spear, a vampire named Brett acts as one of Michael's lieutenants in Kansas City. When Sam infiltrates the office building Michael is using as a base to rescue Jack, he kills Brett in the parking garage.

In Nihilism, a female vampire is part of the group of monsters that attacks the Men of Letters bunker to rescue Michael. Along with the other monsters, she is disintegrated by Jack.

In Atomic Monsters, the Winchesters investigate the murder of cheerleader Susie Martin whose body was chopped into pieces after death. Dean determines that they are dealing with a vampire after finding a vampire fang in Susie's corpse, though the Winchesters are confused by the chopping up of the body. Later, another cheerleader, Tori, is kidnapped. Using security footage of the abduction site, Sam is able to identify the kidnapper's car and trace it to Henry Whitman who the Winchesters suspect was attacked and changed into a vampire a few weeks to a month before. In the Whitman's garage, Sam finds and rescues Tori and its revealed that the vampire is Billy Whitman, Susie's boyfriend. After being attacked and turned by an unknown vampire, Billy eventually lost control of his bloodlust while making out with Susie and his parents cut up her corpse to cover up the killing and kidnapped Tori to act as a blood bag for Billy in their efforts to protect their son and give him a normal life. Guilt-ridden and knowing he will lose control again and hurt someone else he loves, Billy has his parents pin the murder and kidnapping on him while the Winchesters, with Billy's full acceptance, take him out into the woods to be killed so Billy can't hurt anyone else.

At the same time, Sam experiences a nightmare where he has become the leader of a demon army after becoming addicted to demon blood. Benny is a part of a force of hunters that tries and fails to stop Sam, resulting in Benny's death.

In The Trap, a Leviathan reveals that Benny Lafitte was torn apart by his own kind after returning to Purgatory. God later explains that Sam's nightmares, including the one with Benny, were of alternate reality versions of the Winchesters.

In the alternate timeline that God shows to Sam, vampires are one of the types of monsters running increasingly rampant across the Earth as a consequence of God getting locked away. Claire Novak is killed by vampires when a nest that she and Jody Mills go after proves to be much larger than expected. Sam and Dean are eventually turned into vampires themselves on a hunt gone wrong before they are hunted down by hunters including Bobby Singer and Jody. The Winchesters kill the other hunters and Dean kills Jody, but Bobby is able to kill Sam. The outcome of Dean and Bobby's fight is unknown, but this timeline is erased from existence when Sam chooses not to trap God.

In The Heroes' Journey, vampires are amongst the spectators at the monster fight club. Later, after capturing the Winchesters, Cutty intends to pit them against the massive vampire Maul. The Winchesters are rescued by Garth who blows up the fight club and all of the monsters inside, but Maul manages to survive. Ultimately, Garth manages to kill Maul by cutting downwards through his head with a machete.

In Last Holiday, after Mrs. Butters brings the bunker out of Standby Mode, the monster radar reveals a vampire nest located 50 miles away. At the nest, the Winchesters find two vampires watching Dark Shadows and complaining about the differences between how they and the vampires on the show live. When the Winchesters burst in, interrupting their show, the vampires get up to face them, but are decapitated in seconds without a fight.

In Carry On, the Masked Vampires target a family in Akron, Ohio, killing Lyle, ripping out the tongue of his wife and kidnapping his sons. When Sam and Dean investigate, they recognize the wife's drawing of the vampires' masks from their father's journal from a hunt he embarked upon in 1986 for a similar string of attacks by masked vampires in Akron, Canton and East Sparta. John was never able to find much, but his journal identifies the vampires as targeting families that are living outside of town and are isolated. By locating the family in Canton that matches that description, the Winchesters are able to kill one of the vampires before they can attack and capture the other. Threatened with a slow death if he refuses to cooperate, the vampire explains that his nest harvests a couple of children every few years, raises them up, feeds them and then eventually "juices" the kids as they don't eat "fast food." In exchange for a quick death, the vampire directs the Winchesters to the nest's location.

At the nest, Sam and Dean find and rescue the children, but are attacked by the four surviving vampires who armed with blades of their own. Sam and Dean each manage to kill one of the vampires before being overpowered. Jenny, the young woman who was turned into a vampire fourteen years before by Kate, encountered the Winchesters on their first vampire hunt and escaped with Kate after the destruction of Luther's nest, appears and is revealed to be a part of the nest as well. Though not the leader, Jenny has called dibs on killing the Winchesters. However, Sam recovers and decapitates Jenny from behind and they engage the two remaining vampires in a fight. Though Sam kills one, the other impales Dean upon rebar sticking out of a wooden post before Sam can kill him too, mortally wounding Dean. Dean dies for the last time of his injuries shortly thereafter before a grieving Sam brings the kids back home.

Known Vampires

Appearances

Lore

425px-Burne-Jones-le-Vampire

The Vampire, by Philip Burne-Jones, 1897

According to most lore, vampires subsist by feeding on the life essence (generally in the form of blood) of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person. Although vampiric entities have been recorded in many cultures, the term "vampire" was not popularized until the early 18th century, after an influx of vampire superstition into Western Europe from areas where vampire legends were frequent, such as the Balkans and Eastern Europe. This increased level of vampire superstition in Europe led to mass hysteria and in some cases resulted in corpses actually being staked and people being accused of vampirism. Local variants of vampires were also known by different names, such as vrykolakas in Greece and strigoi in Romania.

The Vampires in Supernatural resemble original vampire folklore, such as unable to be repelled by a cross, not supernaturally beautiful, can't be killed by sunlight, and can't be killed by a wooden stake to the heart, but could only be destroyed by beheading or by burning them to death. However, original vampire folklore also have vampires being repelled by garlic, iron, and can not cross a line of seeds, salt, and running water. Vampires appeared differently in folklore than just ordinary people with retractable teeth. Folklore vampires have ruddy or dark skin, bloated body, blood seeping through the mouth, long nails and grown hair, red glowing eyes, supernaturally strong teeth, and a smell of decay. According to folklore, Vampires traditionally slept in their graves and hunted at night, they would first feed on the blood of their whole family and once it had killed them all, the vampire start to feed on other people in its community and spreads its curse to others and turn them into vampires as well. Folklore vampires were said to possess the power of shape shifting into many different shapes, including animals and even mist, spread diseases (which killed the victim and turned them into a vampire), great strength and agility (but only strong enough to overpower victims), and were said to be sexually insatiable.

Trivia

  • Along with demons and ghosts, vampires are amongst the most recurring antagonists, and are the most recurring monsters in the series.
  • Vampires have appeared in every season but Season 4 so far. In Season 4, a shapeshifter disguised itself primarily as the movie vampire Dracula however. Also, the Season 5 appearance was just a quick cameo at the beginning of Free To Be You and Me where Dean hunted a vampire and killed it on the hood of the Impala.
  • Season 8 is the season with the most vampire appearances in it, due primarily to the recurring character of Benny Lafitte who was a vampire though multiple other vampires appeared throughout the season as well.
  • Charlie Bradbury killed a teenage vampire on one of her hunts. This may have been a reference to the fact that Felica Day, the actress that played Charlie played a Vampire Slayer on Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
  • Dean Winchester has proven to be a skilled vampire hunter whenever the Winchesters encounter the species, once killing five vampires single-handedly out of a nest of ten, three of the others having been killed before the hunt during Blood Brother. While briefly a vampire himself, Dean single-handedly slaughtered a massive nest, including a powerful vampire who had easily overpowered him only minutes before. While Sam has killed a number of vampires himself, he doesn't seem to be as skilled at it as Dean.
  • Vampires tend to be predictable about where they nest: they can usually be found in an abandoned building such as a warehouse or condemned house. Once a hunter knows where to start looking, they usually find the nest easily by searching abandoned buildings in the area. In Alex Annie Alexis Ann, Sam and Dean found Celia's nest through a bus ticket and a search of the abandoned buildings in the town the ticket pointed to.
  • In Dead Man's Blood, John Winchester somehow tracked Luther's nest's location after looking at one of their crime scenes and finding one of the vampire's teeth, somehow finding a trail there. However, how he did this is unknown as he refused to tell Sam and Dean feeling it to be "need to know", something that pissed Sam off.
  • Before 2006, most hunters such as John Winchester believed vampires to be extinct to the point that John didn't even mention them to his sons. This was because there were hunters such as Gordon Walker and Daniel Elkins who were dedicated to wiping out the species. However, in recent years, there seems to have been a resurgence of the species given how much Sam and Dean encounter them.
  • In Season One, vampire eyes gave off a shine like animals that are nocturnal, but this was no longer used in other seasons of Supernatural.
  • Vampires in the anime vary from the main series. They are similar to rugaru, being capable of reproduction, and their young appear human until "Awakening" (although unlike rugaru, a vampire's metamorphasis is triggered by rage rather than consumption of human flesh). In their "vampire form," their eyes were shadowed, and they developed bulging veins on their faces. While vampires in the anime are still immune to sunlight and must be decapitated in order to be killed, they can be weakened with silver, although it is implied Dead Man's Blood will still hurt them. It is also suggested that the practice of living exclusively off animal blood to avoid detection is a more widespread practice amongst vampires than in the TV series. 
  • Ironically, Dean Winchester and Gordon Walker, both vampire hunters with Gordon being obsessed with it, were both turned into vampires themselves. Gordon was killed while Dean was cured however.
  • Vampires are one of only five types of enemy in the show that can be cured, the others being demons, Nachzehrers, Werewolves, and Rabids. With vampires, however, there is a time limit on when a vampire can be cured due to the requirement that the vampire not drink blood and the intense bloodlust they feel.
  • Despite Supernatural frequently dropping references to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the vampire lore that John Winchester labelled "crap" were all effective methods in repelling or destroying vampires in the latter.
  • Three vampires have been victims of the Colt on-screen: Luther, Gordon's Victim and the Alpha Vampire. It was also the death of Luther that proved the legend of the Colt true to the Winchesters. Vampires are also the only type of monster killed on-screen by the Colt aside from a Phoenix.
  • Sheriff Donna Hanscum is implied to specialize in hunting vampires in Wayward Sisters. Jody Mills introduces Donna to Kaia Nieves and Patience Turner by telling them that Donna has "killed a lot of vampires" with Donna replying that "I do what I do." However, she was unaware of the vampire cure.
  • Despite it being stated in their first appearance that they need human blood to survive, it was later discovered that they can survive on animals blood.
  • The formation of vampire fangs was drastically altered throughout the show. Mainly, there can be seen a great variety in the particular number of fangs vampires have - sometimes, it changes even within the same season.
  • Vampires are the last monsters to appear on the series.

See Also

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