Vampires

Vampires 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, there only needs to be one for them to repopulate.

All vampires originate from the Alpha Vampire.

Characteristics
They live forever, and several depicted vampires are hundreds of years of age or older. Their diet is based strictly on blood, and while Human blood is preferred, they can survive by ingesting the blood of other animals (although one such vampire, Lenore, refers to cow blood as 'disgusting'). Vampires must keep their victims alive or their blood becomes toxic to them. Vampires can only be killed by beheading, and then, they leave behind a corpse that can be examined to find their vampire teeth.

Type of Hierarchy
Vampires are organized into nests, with eight to ten vampires residing in each, with a mate for life. 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.

Reproduction
Vampirism is a blood-borne monster strain, spread by the ingestion of infected 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 virus 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 of the contagion is required to cause infection, 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.

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.

Cure
Vampirism is rarely curable, with the only known cure being a ritual recorded 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. 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.

Appearance
A vampire's appearance is that of a normal human. 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 on the vampire's will, usually when about to feed, or when threatened or attacking.

Powers and Abilities

 * Super strength - All vampires possess great strength, but it is known to increase with age. All vampires are capable of lifting heavy objects and overpowering humans. Older vampires, however, can overpower their own makers and other creatures. Boris, a 600 year-old vampire demonstrated his superior strength over Dean, who was at that time a "new" vampire, by easily overpowering him.
 * Fangs - Vampires possess a set of retractable fangs. Their teeth are superhumanly strong and can rip open a human's neck and leave huge bite marks on the corpse of the victim it has fed on.
 * Super Speed - Vampires speed is greater than humans. It is possible that a vampire's speed, like their strength, increase with age.
 * Super agility - Vampires possess amazing agility. They can climb up walls and jump off buildings without hurting themselves. Vampires also have greater reflexes than humans.
 * Superhuman Senses - Vampires have extremely keen senses that are superior to those of humans. They can see in the dark, hear a human's heart beat, and possess enhanced sense of smell. A vampire can track a human's 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, while none of the younger vampires could.
 * Immortality - Vampires can potentially live forever. They can't grow old and don't acquire conventional diseases that affect humans. Only one known cause of fatal disease could affect them.
 * Invulnerability - Vampires can not be killed by conventional methods, such as stab wounds or gunshots.
 * Regeneration - As long as they have enough human blood, vampires can quickly heal any wound that does not include amputation.
 * Durability - Vampires have an extreme durability to pain. Kate was shot in the stomach with an arrow and merely sighed in annyonace. Also the Alpha Vampire had gallons of Dead Mam's Blood pumped in his veins, and recieved eletric shocks, and felt none of it.

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


 * Beheading - Beheading is the most commonly used method to kill vampires.
 * Dead Man's Blood - The use of blood from the recently deceased can also be used as a method to incapacitate vampires briefly.
 * 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. They can also find other types of light uncomfortable, as vampires have increased sensitivity to light.
 * The Colt - As it can kill almost anything, can be used against vampires.
 * Angelic Touch - The Angels can kill them without difficulty. Castiel killed Lenore by just placing his palm on her head.
 * Vamp-Tonite - Human blood with DNA altered by Leviathan corn syrup: This altered blood kills them quickly as though they have ingested a powerful acid.

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.

Season 1
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 used her as a bargaining chip to force Luther to hand over the Colt, after which the vampires tried 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 were presumably later decapitated, however, Kate and the turned victim escaped with their lives after Luther got killed.

Season 2
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.

Season 3
A vampire called Dixon has been infectingyoungblonde 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.

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.

Season 4
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.

Season 5
Dean decapitates a vampire on the hood of the Impala, quoting: "Eat it Twilight!".

Season 6
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 vamp 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Later, The Alpha Vampire is mentioned when Crowley asks Sam and Dean to find another Alpha. Sam and Dean ask if the Alpha Vampire wasn't enough for him. It is unknown what happened after.

Season 7
Vampires return in the Season 7 episode "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.

Season 8
While in Purgatory, Dean teams up with a vampire named Benny, who feeds only on blood transfusions 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.

In We Need To Talk About Kevin, Dean escapes from Purgatory with Benny's soul in his arm and resurrects Benny as per their deal. The two go their separate ways, but agree that if Benny gets into trouble he can call Dean for help.

In Blood Brother, Benny goes teams up with Dean to go after his maker The Old Man. 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. 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.

Known Vampires

 * Alpha Vampire
 * Andrea (Deceased)
 * Beau (Deceased)
 * Benny
 * Boris (Deceased)
 * Conrad (Decased)
 * Desmond (Deceased)
 * Dixon (Deceased)
 * Eli (Deceased)
 * Gordon Walker (Deceased)
 * Kate
 * Kristen (Deceased)
 * Lenore (Deceased)
 * Lucy (Deceased)
 * Luther (Deceased)
 * Old Man (Deceased)
 * Robert (Deceased)
 * Dean Winchester (temporarily)

Appearances

 * Season 1
 * Dead Man’s Blood


 * Season 2
 * Bloodlust


 * Season 3
 * Fresh Blood


 * Season 5
 * Free To Be You and Me (cameo)


 * Season 6
 * Live Free or Twihard
 * Family Matters
 * Caged Heat
 * Mommy Dearest
 * The Man Who Would Be King (cameo)


 * Season 7
 * There Will Be Blood
 * Season 8
 * We Need To Talk About Kevin
 * What's Up, Tiger Mommy? (Flashback)
 * Blood Brother
 * A Little Slice of Kevin (Flashback)
 * Citizen Fang

Lore
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.

Trivia

 * They have appeared as monsters of the week in Season 1 episode Dead Man's Blood, Season 2 episode Bloodlust and Season 6 episodes Live Free or Twihard and Family Matters, and the Season 7 episode There Will Be Blood.
 * Along with the demons and the ghosts, vampires are amongst the most recurring antagonists, and are the most recurring monsters in the series.
 * The vampires in supernatural resemble original vampire folklore, such as unable to be repelled by a cross, are not supernaturally beautiful, can't be killed by sunlight, and can't be killed by a stake to the heart, but could be killed by beheading or by burning them to death. However, original vampire folklore also has vampires being repelled by garlic, iron, and can't cross a line of seeds, salt or running water. Vampires also appered differently in folklore than oridinary humans with retractable teeth. Folklore vampires have ruddy or dark skin, bloated body, long nails and grown hair, blood running down their mouth, glowing red eyes, and have supernaturally strong teeth. Folklore vampires were said to have the power of shape shifting into many different shapes including animals or mist, spread disease (which killed victims and turned them into vampires), and were said to be sexually insatiable.