The Sorcerer's Companion: A Guide to the Magical World of Harry Potter (76 page)

olitary and friendless, they walk the night in an eternal search for fresh blood. They while away the daylight hours asleep in musty crypts and mountaintop castles. They never age, and they don’t fear death, for they are already dead. And if you should see one in the street, you might have no idea that you’re staring a monster in the face.

Of all the
ghosts, ghouls
, and
demons
studied in Defense Against the Dark Arts, none is as universally recognized as the bloodthirsty vampire. Physical descriptions vary from culture to culture, ranging from a red-eyed beast with green or pink hair (China), to a snake-like creature with a woman’s head (the Greek
Lamia
), to the tall, sophisticated gentleman in a high-collared cloak derived from Eastern European legend. In most tales, a vampire is a human being who, once dead, rises again with a compulsion to drink the blood of the living.

Vampires have been part of folklore for hundreds of years, but did not achieve real notoriety until the 1897 publication of Bram Stoker’s classic novel,
Dracula
. The canine teeth of Stoker’s title vampire were slightly elongated and pointed, he had hair on his palms, and he was unusually pale, but he was otherwise relatively human in his physical appearance. In all likelihood, Count Dracula was based upon Vlad Tepes, the notoriously bloody and violent ruler of Walachia (part of presentday Romania) in the fifteenth century. Vlad was known for impaling his enemies through the heart with wooden stakes, as well as bathing in the blood of the slain after particularly grueling battles. With time, these habits evolved into important elements of the vampire legend. Vlad, apparently a dramatic sort of fellow, signed his letters “Vlad Dracula,” which can be loosely translated as “Vlad, son of the Devil.”

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photo credit 86.1
)

The powers of the vampire have been elaborated over the centuries. In the sixteenth century, Spanish conquistadors in Central and South America encountered a species of bat with eating habits not unlike those of Count Dracula and his kin. Ever since, it has been said that vampires can turn into bats at will. They are also believed to be capable of transforming into wolves, rats, or mice. Some are thought to control and communicate with these creatures as well. Vampires are blessed with strength and dexterity far beyond that of a human being, and some have the power of flight. Finally, some of the more powerful vampires have the ability to hypnotize human beings with a gaze, controlling that person’s actions and even seeing through his or her eyes.

For all its powers, however, the vampire also has many weaknesses. It is common knowledge that vampires cannot abide sunlight. The sun has long been considered a symbol of truth and goodness, concepts that go against the nature of vampires. Consequently, exposure to direct sunlight will destroy the vampire, usually reducing it to a harmless pile of dust. Other well-known ways to destroy a vampire include beheading, cremation, and driving a wooden stake through its heart. Contrary to popular belief, most legends hold that vampires are not vulnerable to weapons fashioned from silver; rather, iron is the metal of choice if you plan to fight one of these creatures. In Slavic folklore, a vampire can be destroyed by dousing it with holy water, conducting an exorcism, or by stealing its left sock, filling the sock with stones, and then throwing it in a river.

As Professor Quirrell knows, vampires cannot stand the smell of fresh garlic. Garlands of the potent herb may be placed in bedrooms (or classrooms) in order to protect their occupants. Superstitious folk will stuff the eyes, ears, and nostrils of the newly dead with cloves of garlic to keep them from becoming vampires. (The belief that garlic is a vampire repellent may have originated in ancient Egypt, where the smell of garlic was believed to ward off supernatural beings, and a mixture of crushed garlic and beer was sprinkled around a home to protect it against ghosts,
snakes
, and scorpions.) Vampires are also believed to have a powerful fascination with counting; if a vampire should come across scattered seeds, it will begin counting them, not stopping until it has finished—even if it means a dusty death in the early rays of dawn. Finally, a vampire must sleep each night in earth from its homeland. Thus, when Stoker’s Dracula comes to England from Transylvania (a region located just south of Vlad’s Walachia), he brings with him several crates of Romanian earth and installs them in his new London residence.

Different legends provide varying accounts of the vampire’s personality. Some stories depict the creature as a mindless, soulless killer. Bram Stoker’s Count Dracula, however, was intelligent and charming, with impeccable manners and good breeding. Other tales imagine vampires as essentially decent beings, eternally tortured by the terrible things they must do in order to survive. This versatility is probably one reason that the vampire continues to inspire new legends to this day.

ports fans have often fallen under the spell of cheerleaders, but
rarely
have they tumbled out of the stands as Harry and Ron nearly do at the sight of the veela, those beguiling mascots of the Bulgarian Quidditch team.

Female spirits of Eastern European folklore, veela are shapeshifting creatures believed to dwell in forests, lakes, mountains, and clouds. In their animal forms they can appear as swans, horses, falcons
snakes
, or wolves, but they are at their most alluring and dangerous in human form, as beautiful young girls with long flowing hair who dress in misty robes and dance under the midsummer moon. Young men who fall under their sway lose all reason: They become dazed and forget to eat, drink, or sleep, often for days. Anyone unlucky enough to come upon veela dancing must join them and dance, dance, dance until they die of exhaustion. And woe to anyone who steps on a
fairy
ring—the tamped down circle of grass where the veela have danced—for bad luck or illness is sure to follow. Although veela can be benevolent toward humans and share their gifts of healing and prophecy, they are quite temperamental. They will not tolerate being lied to or deceived and can inflict terrible punishments, especially on anyone who breaks a promise.

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photo credit 87.1
)

In some traditions, veela have been known to marry humans, settle down, and raise families, apparently without ill effect for either species. Just ask Bill Weasley.