Vampires continued, what makes them tick.

And now for the next installment in vampire lore.

With vampires, it's all about the blood. Not just as food, but litterally, a vampires power is in the blood.

As a vampire ages, he or she becomes more powerful. Yet there are some relatively young vampires out there, stronger than vamps twice their age.
How have they become stronger? They've taken the power of an older, stronger vampires. drank his blood and taken his power.

Okay, this is a rather complicated issue, I think better start with the basics. How does someone get turned into a vampire?
By being bitten, drained to the point of death and granted a measure of the vampire, who bit you's blood. The vampire blood mixing with what little you have left as you die and you will rise as a vampire.
Just getting bit doesn't affect you. (except for possibly dying if they feed enough, varies from vampire to vampire)
Now a newly turned vampire, it's body drained of blood will seek to feed as soon as possible, most people will feed on the first person handy as soon as they realize what they need. (the vampire doing the turning will often have a snack handy, as his newly turned servant can't be running through the streets killing at random)
The newly turned vampire is bound to it's master, the one who turned them. via the bond of blood. depending on the strength of the vampire, they can utterly control their subjects and are in telepathic contact with them.
But keeping such a hold on a servant or more is taxing, each time a vampire creates a bound vampire offspring, he divides a little of his own power into the new vampire and grows a little weaker for it. So there's a natural limit to how many bound vampires, one master can hold. well technically their ain't but a vampire that grows too weak will have his slaves turn on him or other vampires take advantage of his weakness. so it's a self maintaining system.
Now, there is one way for a bound vampire to be freed from his masters bond. His blood, another measure of his masters blood will set him free. Given or taken doesn't matter, but it's safe to assume that when taken, it doesn't stop with the one sip. see the reference to young vampires with old vampire strength earlier.

A vampire can use his blood to bind living people to his will. Giving a measure of blood to a living human, will like with the babyvamp, take a measure of the vampires power and bestow it on the human, giving the vampire some control over them. essensially creating a loyal familiar on the fly. 
Familiars arn't living vampires, they're just regular humans with a small powerboost from the bond to the vampire and the blood.
There's actually some brotherhood of hunters that siphon captured vampires for their blood and use it as a combat drug, giving them greater strength and speed. ... EW if you ask me.

A person drained dead by a vampire, can be raised by a bit of vampire blood as a feral undead creature. They're like rabbit dogs and will attack even former loved ones without hesitation if their master commands it and gorge themselves on their blood afterwards.

A vampire can also use it's blood to raise a corps as a zombie like creature. The body having no real mind of it's own, just a puppet of the vampires will acting as it's master without thought or qualm.

That is the power of blood. It binds the vampire Courts together.
At the top of the hierarchy in a coven is the Count, or duke or baron or Marquis. For some reasons they insist on these titles, possibly to infer what rank one master vampire has to another amoung the covens, a collection covens is refered to as a Court. Now the strongest vampire of a Court is called the King (or Queen) who is also the leader of the strongest and/or oldest Coven in the court.
Below the master of a Coven are his liutenants. His confidants and advisors, some bound by blood, others with free will. it varies. Below the liutenants are the rank and file vampires, the real body of the court.
The Master and his liutenants range between 3 and 7, The rank vampires are usually three or four times that in the coven. 
The familiars make up the bottom of the hierarchy, but top of the food chain. Some may even be turned if they've served faithfully and well. Otherwise they'll be feed on and disposed of when their usefulness is at an end.

Vampires

This post has been a long time comming, the lore on vampires is quite extensive and will properly take me several posts to cover this particular species of monsters.

But first off; vampires don't sparkel, doesn't glitter, glimmer or shimmer. Some of them properly mousse their hair into ridiculas hairdues and are exceptionally emotional.
Seriously, that book series and the accompanying movies has given vampires more free meals than anything combined.
I could accept if it had been a clever scheme from the courts to "chum" the waters of easily duped teenagers with some crappy writing. But as fare as the rumor goes, the books were actually written entirely ignorent of the true state of things (well that much is evident, but it's be less sad if it had been intentionally misleading)

But just to clarify, vampires are predators. some of them are sadistic assholes, some don't really care which way or either and some of them might even been relatively pleasent and decent people. Just like regular humans beings.
And just like regular human beings they'll eat even their favorit sheep, if hungry enough.
We're livestock, some are shepards or some are predators. But we're livestock to them.

Origins:
Where do vampires come from? There's not much data on it to be honest, much is myth really, hearsay and legends.
Lilith, the first woman, said to have fleed eden and born children with demons. Her offspring was later slain by angles sent to bring her back. It is entirely resonable that Lilith found other ways to make childeren, which would be very much in tune with vampires tendency to refer to their "offspring" they've turned, as their children and have an almost parental regard for them.
Another possibility is Cain, the first son of Adam and Eve, that slew his brother Abel. Punished by God for his fraticide to wander the world forever and destroy the souls of men.
Also a good source for the MO of the vampire.
It must be assumed that Lilith and Cain crossed paths somewhere and began the scourge of nosferatu. They are both pegged as father and mother of the creatures in their legends.
But information is scarce, the younger generations of blood suckers honestly have no idea and noones crazy enough to go asking one of the ancients.

But the fact remains, for the last 6000 years there has been vampires lurking in the shadows, feeding on humans.

sound advice

When fighting faries, get a nailgun. Remember that.
Oldfashion, compressed air, nail gun. Jury rig to fire with one hand and you got yourself the perfect anti farie weapon. over the counter, no questions asked in any hardware store.

Pardon me for feeling exceptionally clever right about now.
Now I want a beer and an icepack, Ive had a long night and day.

Cause, nail guns fire nails and nails are made of iron and faries can't take iron. real toxic to them, kryptonit to their mojo.

Gods

Been taking some days off this past week, recovering from a spell backfiring, don't see spots anymore, but I still hear whispers occationally. Hope it'll pass soon.
But while lying love, a friend took me to see one of the new Marvel movies: Thor. okay movie, really. You should go see it.
But it gave me an idea for a post on this blog. You see, gods exist and they're still around.

Well, so the claim goes anyway, I have never personally meet a god (not knowingly anyway)
Ironically, people believe in God (captial G and and everything) Though there's no proof he's around. As I understand it, the angels themselves havn't heard from him in thousends of years.
But, while most people write off most of the old gods as superstition and don't really BELIEVE in them. They are very real. (and not to be trifled with I'm told) and they've been around for looong time.
Some of them even from our worlds creation, if you interpet the scripture a little creatively, they could have given God and hand in it's creation possibly.
I'm no expert on this whole deity buisness, but it's quite obvious that some of them have been around for a good long while. and since they've been alot more forth comming with letting people know what was what. Not too hard imagine they were there at the beginning, or showed up shortly after.
One theory I've heard is that they were they were they were the original angles or possibly a link between angles and humans. you'll notice that they tend to be quite human like and yet have some pretty impressive skill sets and super human powers and immortality.

But it's not really important, interesting, but not important.
What is important is what the gods are doing these days. Broadly you can put them into three kategories. MIA, retired or active.
Missing in action gods, are the ones that just dropped off the grid, wanting to get lost or got lost or maybe even killed. short, no one knows where they are. Trick is, gods can throw some serious weight around (well duh. they're gods) so most organizations that know what's what in this world of ours, keep an eye out for them.
Retired gods. These gods are the ones that dropped the mantle as god and just make it as regular people. They've stepped of the playing field so to speak and lead regular human lives or as regular as you can get being immortal. Word is that Styx (one of the titans) lives a quiet existance in New York, but makes a hobby of flaming people on the internet.
Active gods. Are well, still doing what is their call. Loki is surposedly still around playing mischief, which I find odd since he's suppose to be tied up to a rock with his own childs intenstines (ew) untill the end of all things or so Wiki says. But asking around for an exsample he kept popping up, but he sound like a guy who's hard to keep locked away.

Kind of a strange thought really. Beings that have been around for, well, ever or almost as long.

Ogres

Ogres, the word usual puts into a mind a large, crude and cruel brute. It's mostly true, but only a part of the pictures of these nasty bastards. While ogres arn't winning any sciences fairs, they're cunning. But their most defining feature is their hunger. They are vocarious, hungering for power, sex and money. But eclipsing all that is their very litteral hunger. Ogres simply live to eat.

Ogres, like many other supernatural creatures have learned to blend into our sprawling society, to greater and lesser success. They are rather easy to spot when you know what to look for, large, thickset and loud. But believe me, when they shed their disguise, they get bigger and louder.
Your average Ogre stands 7-8 feet tall and tend to start at 300 pounds at the lean ones. (If you read comics, think Kingpin from Spiderman, but rarely as sharp a dresser, that'd give you an idea of your standard ogre.) Don't let their width fool you, most of that is muscle. they're wickedly strong and very tough.   
So they look like huge, fat humans, with some serious nasty teeth, I'm talking english royals here. But will still bite through through an arm and the kevlar sleeve it's in.

Ogres as such arn't inherently evil, they're just pathological egocentric assholes. They inherently believe that might makes right and consider themselves the apex predatores so to speak. which puts everyone not an ogre into three categories. competition, slaves and eatiables. 
They don't usually make a meal of people, But if food get scarse, they want some variation or develope a taste, they will put man the menu just as cheerfully as beef.
Don't let their relatively human appearence fool you, they're monsters through and through.

Ogres tend to form clans, with the strongest and smartest (or just strongest) male calling the shots. They tend toward crime syndicates, cause it's easier to saten their vices in that enviroment. But these are general guidelines, Ogres show up anywhere there's power to be had. Just look at secretary of defense during the Bush adminestration.
The trouble with these massive SOBs is that they don't listen to reason, well most of them don't. You can't reason with them or try to reach a compromise. They really think they're doing you a favor by letting you breath and thus you shouldn't borther them or they might revoke this allowance.

Slaying an ogre isn't that different from killing a regular person, it's just alot harder. As ogres got skin like rhino hide and their dense muscles will soak up bullets like you would not believe, wrapped around a skeleton that put old english oak to shame.
When you go to kill an Ogre, load for bear, on coke.

I don't know if the whole, grind bones for bread is true. But I wouldn't be suprised if it were.

The walking dead.

Or undead as they are also called. A sentient being, who's body is animated though quite dead. There are actually rather few things out there that fall under this category.
Vampires ofcause, but that's so big a subject that it warrents it's own post or maybe several.

Zombies, while not sentient, are the generic undead. There's a real craze these days about zombies, almost as big as vampires really. But is also another can of worms I won't open here.
First off, there are no such thing as zombies, atleast not as they are potrayed in movies and games, virus transmitted via bite, that kills people and raise them as man eating, feral corpses. and thank god for that. Because if they did, the end of the world senario we see in movie after movie would be pretty much a given.
Something that spreads that fast and aggressively, would wipe out humanity in no time.
That is not to say, there there are not things that would qualify as zombies. But they are vampire related and I'll elaborate on it in my post about the blood suckers. But sufficient to say, is that vampires can raise a corps as an obidient slave.
Some of these raised corpses sometimes retain enough sentience to be feral like dog and will, if not controlled, attack and eat anything living it comes across. Though it's victims won't come back (luckily) But I guess that's a scant consolation, with a corps gnawing on you. But they're most likely the course of the zombie myth.

Another form of undead are Liches, mages who's become so strong that when their bodies expire, the magic keeps their soul anchored to their bodies and gives it unlife.
They are immensly rare, I've only heard of two in my life time and while not dangerous per say, they're suppose to be a bit eccentric.
But I must admit that amoung mages, they are like the sort of rumor that everyones heard about, but noone really believes possible or will admit to have taken seriously. Sorta like penis extention. Everyone knows a guy, who knows a guy who heard about someone who meet one.

Now, the final form of undead are actually a little misunderstood. Graveyard squatters, corpse eaters, discount vampires. Ghouls have very few flattering nicknames.
Ghouls are species of undead, who have a really bad reputation, personally I think it's undeserved, but I'm biase on the subject, but I'll get to that.
The theory is that Ghouls are an abiration of vampires (just don't mention it to a vampire or anyone assosiated with vampires, unless you want to insult them grossly) I have to admit that they share several traits, but not many.
There are several reasons for the Ghouls bad reputation, first off is their looks. When someone becomes a Ghoul they go through a transformation and it is not a pretty thing. The skin pulls tight over the body and the body dries up, leaving them a distorted husk. Their eyes sink in and their teeth grow to fangs and their toughs grow long and rough, for better digging out marrow. Their nails lengthen into claws.
That's the obvious reason why Ghouls are hunted so feriously, because they look like genuine monsters (and some are, but that's another matter)
The one, that really marks them are their diet, like a vampire has to drink blood, a ghoul has to eat corpses, human corpses and for some reason they take their dinner seasoned, thus their tendency to hang around graveyards were they can dig up a properly aged dinner.
This is the reason I don't get the hate levelled at them, as a rule they don't kill humans they eat, their chosen victims died of natural causes. I agree digging up your relatives and eating their bodies arn't exsactly a good thing, it's better than them taking live humans and making a meal of them.
All the same they are treated as pestes, hunted ferousiously as monsters and this is odd as most Ghouls are quite harmless, unless you're dead and as they retain their intelligence from their human life, the ones that have also retained their sanity are as such not bad people. Most just wanna be left alone.

Ofcause there are exceptions to the rule, the ones that ruin it for everyone else. Some people, who turn into ghouls lose their minds, either go insane or were insane to begin with or go feral. These bad seeds will hunt and kill and pickle their victimes (ghouls can't eat fresh meat) or even try and force people to become ghouls (that was one ugly job)
So if you end up facing a feral ghoul, be careful. These are dangerous bastards, cause Ghouls are strong, fast. agile and tough and don't have the classic weaknesses of vampires. You can stake just about every organ in their body and they'll just keep truckin. A ghoul will regrow what ever he eats off a corps. so the only sure way to kill a Ghoul is taking off it's head.
They don't like sun light, but mostly couse it dries them up and hurts their eyes. Alot of hunters underestimate Ghouls the first time they encounter them, most are so lucky they meet a ghoul that chooses flight over fight. The ones that meet one that doesn't usually don't get the chance to meet one a second time.

A ghoul is created when a Ghoul feeds him some of it's own flesh, (not as romantic as the vampires, I know) The ghouls flesh is poisonous and the human soon dies, the body then reanimates and come back to unlife. over a periode of time, the person change into a ghoul and must saten it's hunger for corpse flesh or go feral, as it's body will shut down it's mind to get what it needs. this is where most of the insane ghouls come from, because sane people won't want to be turned into a ghoul and tend to go insane as their new reality dawns on them. and if you did choose to become a ghoul, then you most likely had a few loose screws to begin with.
Alternatly, If a ghoul takes a recently dead person (doesn't have to have killed them themselves) and then shoves it's flesh down it's throat, the body will come rise and over time change into a ghoul. This is the most common way for a Ghoul to be turned. At first they will be feral, not much brighter than dogs, but over time their sentient mind will reassert itsel. Most, if not all of their former life forgotten. These have a much better chase of accepting their new existance.

My personal experience is that Ghouls have been given a bad hand in unlife and mostly don't want to make trouble and just be left alone. So they look scary as hell, eat corpses and have a breath that could knock out a rhino. But I still think they're alot nicer than your average vamp and don't deserve the rep that they got.
But again, I owe a Ghoul my life, so I'm not as unbias in my oppinion as others.
But that's a story for another time.

The old bedsheet and chain

When something goes bump in the night, it usually not the Bogeyman (sneaky bastards that they are) but infact ghosts.
Ghosts are a breed on to themselves and pretty unique in the supernatural scheme of things. The best way to explain a ghost is to think of them as an echo, shadow or footprint of a living persons soul. Ghosts that are actually sentient remanents of a persons soul are extremely rare.
Most are just a piece of a persons soul, that left a mark upon death. Due to trauma, stress, sadness, fright, anger or hate. The stronger the emotion, the greater the chance of a "impression" being made.
So the ghost isn't the real person, The ghost is more like a copy made of spirit energy and there are no desernable rules for the way a persons death creates a ghost.
Some claim that people with magical talent make ghosts when they die, but then there'd be a shitload of mage ghosts around and there ain't, so that's one theory out the window in my oppinion.
The ghost is by no way an exsact copy of the deceased person, most are just scattered fragments, repeating patterns or specific actions. Moving things or making noises, your typical poltergiests. 
Others are more coherent and will appear as translucent shapes or bodies, following specific paths. But unaware of their surroundings.
Some ghosts might be such strong impressions that they are aware of their surroundings and can act with them. These are your typical hauntings, relatively harmless in most cases. The ghost may move stuff, make noises or appear randomly. spooky and unnerving, but ultimatly harmless.
However, this is not always the case, most people react to ghosts or in some instanses the ghosts react to them. The classical exsample is that a new family moves in and this for one reason or another "wakes" the ghost. where it before just misplaced the occational book or shifted stuff in the drawers or made the roof creak. Something will trigger it and it will lash out at the family.
Don't look for reason in a ghosts actions, they arn't sentient, like you and me. More like frayed patchwork of personality, with some stitched on random thoughts and occational feelings. it's doubtful they even perceive the world like we do.
So a Ghost may lash out seemingly at random or stalk one particular person, or strike at a person or people for a specific reason. I once helped exorcise a ghost that tore the hair of girls at a school, if they had long hair and wore it loose on sundays.
Also, A ghost is bound to something. it's impression is imprinted on something. usually a place, but a thing can also be haunted, the ghost follow it.

The trouble here is, if a Ghosts has enough presense to lash out, it's usually powerful enough an entity to do some damage. ranging from knocking stuff and people around and tossing things at them, not really lethal unless it shoves you down a stair. To tearing at you, breaking limps, tossing people and furniture around. To Ghosts so powerful they can warp their surroundings, litterally turning you're surrounding against you. Ghost possessed Earthmover, bad news, take my word for it.

So, how do we deal with ghosts you ask.
There's some simple facts and rules. First up, the bad news; Ghosts are already dead, so you can't kill them. but despair not, there's plenty of other possibilities.
Ghosts are either incoporeal or coporeal, meaning that they are invisible without form, meaning you can't see or harm them. but on the bright side, they can't hurt you either.
To affect you, a ghost needs to take form, it might still be invisible, but there are ways around that.
There's spells that will show ghosts and they show up on photos, cameras, dogs and cats sense them to (but can't really point) Be aware, that a ghost is strongest when it's corporal and visible, so when you can see it is when you have to be most careful.
A ghost, when it has taken coporeal form and affecting their surrounds will often turn the immedeat area cold, a handy headsup if they're still invisible.
Ghosts possessing something or moving stuff around for a longer periode of time will leave a residue of ectoplasma (magical byproduct, sort of a universal spirit go) it evaporates after a few minuts without trace.
Being composed of spirit energy, a form of magic. Ghosts affect electrical circutes, so their presents can sometimes be heralded by flickering lights and tvs going on the frizz (some hunters rigup little scanners that pick up the interferance, but I'm not tech savy enough for that)
Being spirits, Ghosts aren't fond of Iron and salt, it tears up their form and depending on how good you got them, it'll take a while for them to get themselves together and come at you again. anything blessed by a holy person will work fine too. Supernatural, tvshow with two brothers hunting otherworldly stuff (most things in it are totally off the gird, but some they do get right) shotgun shells with salt, works wonders, if it plays merry hell with the wall paper and be careful with friendly fire. bad enough to be shot, but with salt? That'll ruin your weekend.
A ghost cannot escape a closed iron container or a closed cirkle of salt. Binding cirkles can also lock them in or out.
Destroying or exsorcising a ghost is trickier: if you can get hold of something of the person body; hair, teeth, bone or close personal belonging, such as favorit necklass, glasses, jockstrap (true, if smelly story) or dog tags. There's rituals for banishing a ghost, even non mages should be able to manage. But depending on the strength of the ghost, you might only piss it off.
If you can find the burial place of the ghost how ever, you exhume the remains, salt them, burn them and douse them with holy water (not nessasary in that order) That'll take care of any Ghost.

Ofcause, such extrems arn't always nessasery. Ghosts of that magnitude tend to have left an impression for a reason, either they died something unfinished or never done, or were wronged. Finish the job, do the deed or rigth the wrong and the ghost will calm right down and go back to knock on walls or even dissolve altogher.
Ofcause, with ghosts nothing is absolute, seeing as they are copies of people and as such don't make sense either. So some ghost might just carry on their haunting or even step it up a bit. It's rare, but don't let you guard down right away.

Finally, true Ghosts. not that the others were false, but some rare ghosts, are perfect copies of peoples souls and actually think they are the dead person. (being a copy they, for all intent and purpose, are) and act accordingly, there's even been records of ghosts not realizing they were dead or trying to keep on living their life after they died.
These are easier to deal with if you can reason with them, but far more dangerous if they get pisssed off.

So, to sum up. Most ghosts you barely notice are there, and if you do, most are just a little spooky. But if they go all "Ringu" on you, be on your toes and don't think you're safe just cause you got your back against the wall.