The Science of Vampirism

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Extended Edition: Part VI

By Robert Lomax

Note from Dr. Pecos: Here is the third and final section of Robert Lomax's overview of vampire biology. Click on the links to read Part IV and Part V.

Body Temperature & Dormancy

Seen through thermal vision, a vampire attacks its prey.

Like a reptile (or a corpse), a vampire's core body temperature depends largely on its surrounding environment. They aren't completely cold-blooded, however, as they'll still shiver and produce heat to keep their temperature at a bare minimum of 60 degrees Fahrenheit (compared to 98 for humans). This proved to be a great help for modern vampire hunters, as it made vampires easily distinguishable from humans when viewed through infrared imagery.

Although warmer weather makes them feel more energized, vampires can't handle temperatures past 100 for more than a few minutes without overheating and possibly dying—especially since they can't sweat much. They'll dive into water to cool off, but will avoid it like the plague at colder temperatures. In fact, diving into a large body of water is one of the better ways to escape from pursuing vampires. That's not to say they won't attempt to follow you into the water, but if you can stay out far enough and long enough, they'll hopefully consider you more trouble than you're worth.

A vampire's cold feet on a heating pad.

Despite their aversion to the cold, vampires cannot freeze to death. Similar to some organisms in Arctic regions, their bodies produce a special anti-freezing protein that prevents the formation of lethal ice crystals. Once thawed, a vampire will eventually wake up and shiver itself back to a functional temperature, with no apparent tissue damage.

If vampires did in fact live during the last ice age, then it makes perfect sense why they would develop an immunity to freezing. For more information, see the 1942 case titled Vampires on Ice.

If food is scarce, or if the situation is less than hospitable, vampires are also able to go dormant and hibernate voluntarily, provided they can find a safe place to construct a lair. Abandoned buildings, mines and caves are high on the list of potential lair sites. Once safely ensconced, the vampire will fall into a deep sleep, during which its bodily functions slow to a level just enough to sustain it. The longer a vampire hibernates, the more dried and withered it becomes as its body uses up nutrients. In time, it may resemble a mummified corpse, which can be dangerously deceiving to whomever may discover it.

Unlike bears and other hibernating animals, a vampire can quickly snap out of its dormancy in full attack mode. Still, they are much easier to sneak up on while in the dormant phase. The outer limits of this dormancy phase have yet to be discovered, although FVZA scientists in the 1940s and 50s observed vampires remaining in the dormant phase for over 10 years. In 1964, a construction crew in London uncovered a vampire that had been dormant since 1688—almost 300 years—although it was quite lethargic and barely able to move.

Reproductive Organs & Sexuality

One of the few upsides to the vampire menace is their inability to reproduce sexually. Not only are they rendered infertile during the coma, they can't even experience any kind of arousal. However, their overwhelming lust for blood more than makes up for this, and feeding can be thought of as a form of rape, with the virus serving as their sperm. In a way, this method of reproduction is far more frightening, considering that it produces fully-grown offspring within two days of "conception."

What little sperm that can be harvested from vampire testes is always highly deformed.

Vampire impotency is mainly caused by a chronic lack of blood flow to the genitals, as well as hormonal insufficiencies. Altered brain chemistry is responsible for a vampire's apparent asexuality, which would explain why they aren't picky as to which gender to feed on. That's not to say vampires don't feel affection for the people they knew. But tragically, most of them can't stop themselves from making loved ones their first victims.

Aging & Life Expectancy

While no vampire on record has ever died of natural causes, vampires do undergo an aging process—just not in the same way as humans. Vampires do not age on a molecular/genetic level, but their life of hunting and eluding capture creates tremendous wear and tear in the form of injuries to bones and tissue.

Because they presented such a danger to society, most vampires were destroyed long before the outer limits of their lifespan were determined. Ancient history offers some clues, however. In Ancient China, there was said to be one vampire in the Emperor's court through the entire Eastern Zhou Dynasty, which would put his age at 550. More accurate modern records have certified vampires of over 300 years old.

Chromosomes (purple). Telomeres (pink).

Contrary to the opinions of many theologians, vampiric longevity is not the result of some pact with the Devil, but rather an ability to ward off the DNA damage that occurs during cell division in normal humans. Specifically, the protective caps on the ends of chromosomes (known as telomeres) become chewed up over time in humans, but not vampires. This is due to an increased production of telomerase, an enzyme that adds DNA sequence repeats. In addition, higher levels of the antioxidant enzyme catalase protect the cells from free radicals and ambient radiation, preventing oxidative and ionization damage to the DNA. This also prevents proteins from clumping together, which can accumulate inside tissues and cause them to stiffen and function less efficiently—a process known as glycation.

A 125-year-old vampire photographed in Spain; 1901. Note the curved spine, lack of hair and emaciated frame.

These genetic mutations completely prevent cellular senescence, allowing flawless cell division to continue indefinitely—no somatic aging or cancer formation. The implications for this have not been lost on scientists: the Santa Rosa Institute is still (carelessly) working to apply these very abilities to human cells, as part of their Methuselah Project since 1987.

Though their DNA may have the ability to resist aging, mutations that take place during the initial coma cause a vampire's appearance to change dramatically within the span of a decade. It will lose all of its hair as its fat and water stores shrink away, causing its skin to become thinner and more transparent. This gives it a distinctly withered and dried appearance, with smaller muscles and a pronounced curvature of the spine. Once that period is over, however, they'll generally look and perform the same way over many years—as long as they can avoid disfiguring or debilitating injuries, of course.

Five vampires at an FVZA facility in 1918.

Elmer McCurdy, an Oklahoma outlaw who was turned in 1911 at age 31. The second photo was taken after his sunburnt body was found hanging from a tree in 1959. He had also filed his fangs down and inserted needles into his flesh.

Despite their rather feeble appearance, older vampires are still extremely powerful and agile. Many a vampire hunter has made the mistake of underestimating them.

It's also worth noting that the growth of an underage vampire becomes permanently stunted upon transformation, while an elderly vampire will always bear an aged, wrinkled appearance.

Cross-Species Infection

Because HVV is zoonotic, humans aren't the only mammals capable of infection, as documented by countless experiments performed at facilities like the Plum Island Animal Disease Center off the coast of New York. Depending on the species, symptoms can range from similar to outright identical to those of humans, with fever, chills, increased metabolism, itching and coma remaining universally consistent. The same applies to incubation time and coma duration, though the death toll is quite high compared to humans. Primates have the most chance of surviving, while larger mammals have better odds than smaller ones.

A rabid canine.

Bloodshot eyes, dilated pupils, skin discoloration, sun sensitivity, darkened blood and reduced body temperature also remain consistent in coma survivors, along with increased muscle power and aggression. As for heart stoppage, only primates seem affected by this change. This is likely due to the size of their limbs, which are large enough to adequately pump blood through skeletal muscle contraction. Fasciculations still occur in non-primates, but they beat only enough to support the slowed heart rate. This has also been brought up as evidence as to how this form of circulation evolved in vampires.

Unlike vampires, non-humanoid coma survivors do not experience dental growth, and are completely rabid from brain swelling. Cancer, tissue necrosis and immune disorders occur as well, and also shed light on how early proto-vampires may have started out. One reason for these problems is that not as many cells can be infected and transformed, causing tissues to become mismatched and identified as foreign by the rest of the body. In addition, some degree of viral production will continue even after the coma, which only causes further cell destruction. This biological incompatibility with the virus is always fatal: the vast majority of primates live less than a week; non-primates even sooner.

The virus' effect on animals raises an important question: why us? Why is the virus so much more compatible with our bodies? After all, the rabies virus doesn't treat us any better than other mammals. While it's perfectly plausible that millions of years of natural selection could craft the vampires we know today, it would require relatively constant exposure, death and re-exposure to weed out the problems seen in other animals. As disturbing as it is to consider, vampires could have very well been bred like dogs.