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Do vampires have ethical view points, moral standards? Or are they all just as cold blooded as the world portrays them to be? please explain. and while we're on the topic what are the most popular moral or ethical or unethical view points that have been concocted about vampires throughout history?

-TheWhiteRabbit

Are you asking about the Hollywood genre, or are we discussing the real Vampire Community, here?

Oh um, sorry I didn't think to specify I meant the Hollywood for the first question I asked but then I kinda was hoping the two would blend in the second question kind of talk about both you know?
-TheWhiteRabbit

ok, I'm going to pitch in here and comment on the 'Holywood' type as that's the type I'm most familar with. We have seen vampires in t.v series and popular films depicted as both good and evil with an equal and opposite moral adgenda's but mostly the vampires are endowed with some kind of moral code.

For example there's a great example of a vampire named Mick St John with a very moral outlook on life/justice and values and struggling to balance this with his basic vampire nature in the t.v series Moonlight. The Vampire character Henry Fitzroy in Blood Ties was fairly simular in character although not so morally torn. Even the 90's t.v. series Vampire: The Masquarde depicted vampires/kindred with very defined ethical code not to mention a very strict law.

In fact thinking about it, its harder to think of a classic evil vampire with no code killing and draining morals needlessly being depicted recently on our screens. In books however is another story.

Not to mention Nick Knight from the older series: Forever Knight.

His moral compass was his background story through the entire series.

(I won't make an ethical mention regarding the vampire community at this time, due to circumstance)

Of course I remember that series, it was great:) Although Nick Knight was a extremely torn character as he was originally a crusader turned in 1228 and was constantly battling his vampire nature to the point where it seemed he had psychological disorder. His character turned darker gradually in series 2 and 3 with the presence of his master Lacriox, who was originally a roman general.

Ok here goes:
Vampyres depicted in Hollywood and the social media adhere to whatever rules their world is based off of, same goes for role players.

The real Vampyre community doesn't have such a set up. There are covens, and churches, and homes, and everything that relates to small groups of vampyres co-existing and helping each other. The head of those covens and the Elders of the covens will set the rules for the vampyres within them, and at times through talks with neighboring covens will set up a uniform net of rules for their entire community.

If you are looking or thinking of the Black Veils, written by Father Sebastiaan van Houten and Michelle Bellanger, they are not so much rules as theoretical guidelines set down by some very prolific vampyres, both psi and sanguinarian alike.

As far as the brutality expressed in Hollywood to our actions, it is an over exaggeration on what people would percieve vampyres to be. 30 Days of Night being a great example. In that film the vampyres are savage blood-thirsty animals that are driven by their unquenchable thirst for blood, blah, blah, blah.

Vampyres are not as blood-thirsty as the Hollywood people would have you think. Besides the ingrained thirst for blood, it rarely goes to any theatrical extreme.

There is obviously no such thing. Even if there were, no one would know. Vampires wouldn't be idiotic enough to let people know.

Ahhhh...Those pesky Vampires from the Hollywood movies...so, in tune with a reality where feelings and emotions are always part of the agenda. Do you noticed that is always a human who get so attracted to a Vampire and at the end, love will conquer everything. The End!!!.. Now reality, Vampires don't have feelings and emotions and they can not let their guard come down. They must be alert and always keeping in mind who the enemy is: The Humans, our blood supply!!!

Well I mean do vamps think ethically about it's actions??

-TheWhiteRabbit

Ethics are based upon standards of what is right and what is wrong among a people. Ethics vary accordingly to cultural and religious bias as well as the psychological profile of each individual. As with all cultures, sects, religions, and governing bodies, ethics are the basis by which individuals within such groups conduct themselves accordingly within the guiding laws and/or tenants that define them.

Therefore, in answer to that question: Do vampires have ethics? Do humans? I believe it easiest to look to the atrocities readily available by our news media to find the answer to those questions and satisfy the notion within reason.

Well said Silverhawk. To determine if vampires have ethics to really have to look at a number of things. Firstly did the human have ethics, if so, would the vampire or would any kind of moral code be overruled by the vampires baser instincts?

For any kind of creature to have an ethical code also depends entirely of its experiences, upbringing etc Basically the whole nature Vs nurture debate plus of course would the vampire gain anything by having a code?

White Rabbit,

To answer this question is hard, and at the same time very easy. All that is needed is to observe the Community, its history and present stand. This would answer your question. One thing to keep in mind however, is that the Community is very diverse.


I still look forward to the observations wished to be shared by others.

I think that with all things, Humans, Vampires, and animals alike it is all how we look at life and how we are raised...

Take a dog for example... most dogs baser instincts are to eat, sleep, protect its home and family, fight... if raised right, the dog will still do those things, just a little differently, they add the humans taking care of them as family and will protect and possibly kill if need be.

Humans are born with inherent knowledge of what our ancestors knew, we just have to know how to tap into it... are we born evil or is it genetic or an ethic value of your mother/father/forefathers... who is to say, it all depends on what choices/decisions that we make as we grow, we choose to be good or evil.

As Vampires we also have the right to choose what we will become... Will we let our baser instincts to maim and kill take control, or will we strive to not follow those instincts and do what feels right in our minds and hearts?

If we take into consideration those vampires that were 'turned' (lol), then I would imagine that they'd still have whatever morals they had beforehand.

in reall life its up to the individuall wether he or she had a code of ethics or religion,wether they are vampires or not.a merchant banker is a super -vampire who feeds of millions of people and he never knows their names.
i liked dance of the vampire bund.where mina tepes creates the first open vampire state.mina isa nice person when she can be but shed sacrifice anybody for the sake of the state she rules over.her twin sister runs the vampire terrorits group temorer whos memeber are perfectly happy to be used as suicide bombers.there is a thrid group of dissidents called the fangless who remove their fangs as they believe its morally wrong to take somebodys blood.
i wrote a short story once about a group of christian vampires who only feed if its consentuall.

we do what is in our nature,and if it makes someone uncomfertable,then we could seem evil if that is the word to use

I believe that the moral codes followed are set by conscience and thought. Making each moral code different in a sense.

I think most have one form or another of an honor code. Only the ones who have given into their inner beast are totally unscrupulous.

Of course! Vampires are people too just those of a higher spiritual awareness. We tend to have ethics on who we feed on, how we feed; many even have a "normal" religion like most people do.

From what I have observed I have come to know that Vampires do not or hardly socialize with beings outside their own group. This is how their lives are. Also, hardly a day goes by where there is no fight to be faced with by that Vampire. I guess this is where Ethics come in. Although most of the codified rules are based mostly on energy control-which is very difficult-they are based on the mindset of a Vampire.
So it can be said that the Vampire, having read the rules, like the Vampire Temple'd Creed and so on, will come to develop his/her own Ethics.

Regardless of ethics or intent, has anyone ever fed upon a human too much by accident and caused them unintentional harm or worse?

I wouldn't say that they have a complete lack of morals or ethics.
I would think it would depend on how the person was before they were turned.
My assumption would be that they would have whatever morals they had beforehand.
Though I suppose that can change depending on whether or not immortality and the like gets to that person's head.

I hope you don't mind if I share but I wrote a paper pretty much about this same topic. Here is a copy of what I wrote.

Shadows in the Darkness
We all live in a world full of hate, self-righteousness, and among many others utter chaos. In these dark times vampires seem to be everywhere, more than normal. In books, movies, television shows and all over the internet. What is the lure for humans to constantly want more of the vampire genre as some would call it? It seems that more and more vampires are solicited through the media in all kinds of ways but yet humans still do not believe we live among them. As vampires we, yes myself being a vampire, are looked at as creatures that lurk in the darkness looking for our next kill to feed on. In the entertainment media vampires are given a dark romantic side where they can love eternally and never die, are rich beyond anyone’s imagination, can turn others into them, among many other traits a vampire is supposed to possess. Maybe the human population are so infatuated with vampires because a vampire has what so many humans crave…immortality, riches, romance, power and control, being able to live with their “dark side” that most cannot. But yet, we are still shunned as being real and are looked at as being insane or crazy if we dare to spill our soul proclaiming that we live among them. Still…..we live in the shadows longing to become part of the world around us free from ridicule…free from feeling as though we may have a disease that will spread if there is some kind of contact. We have formed communities on and off the internet to have some sort of camaraderie, a sense of belonging, a place to be able to discuss and also put forth our emotions. It’s nice to be able to go to a place where you know you belong and to be able to voice your concerns or feelings you may be having without fear of ridicule or being made of fun of.

From the beginning of time vampires have lived among humans whether they knew we existed or not. Every region in the world has their own stories and legends of the beginning of the vampire and no one has yet to figure out where the first vampire has originated. Some say vampires have started from Lilith and she was the first vampire, some say the beginning was from ancient Egypt, some say vampires may have been from another world such as Nephilim that came to this planet for some unknown reason. There are so many stories of the origination of the vampire but regardless of where we came from we are here, vampires live their lives just as humans do only just a little different. Vampires are people just like humans but we require different things to survive. Some vampires are what are called Psi which meaning they require energy to stay healthy. Others are Sanguarian meaning that these types of vampire need blood to keep them healthy. Some vampires have other gifts that most humans don’t have such as telepathy, empathic, higher sense of self awareness and of nature around them among other things. Each vampire is different just as each human is different including how we live our lives. We all have jobs, have children, bills, daily life issues, downfalls, upsides, etc. Vampires do not die if they consume or come in contact with garlic, holy water or burst into flames when we are out in the son. We do not sleep in coffins or turn into bats. And we can be killed just as a normal human. Vampires walk among humans and look as normal as they do, we can walk side by side and no one even knows the difference. A vampire can be your next door neighbor, someone you work with, another person walking down the street and no one seems to know the difference. So what makes a human look at us as animals or a monster? Are they afraid they are no longer considered the top of the food chain and therefore do not have the utmost control of their lives? Vampires are not freaks or monsters as humans would portray us. We do not lurk in the night looking for our “next kill” as they would think of us to be doing. We do not come into people’s rooms at night sucking the life force from their body or putting them in a trance to turn them. Yes we require another form of sustenance to be able to stay healthy but that does not by any means mean we are a monster as the media would portray us. We would just like to live our normal everyday lives just like humans do without ridicule and free from fear. People fear what they do not understand and since we are not considered to be of the “norm” we as vampires are shunned from the usual society guidelines that most have and are cast out into the shadows. Humans fear us because what has been imbedded into their brain as a child of what we are but they also envy us for the same thing. Vampires are considered a phenomenon that causes confusion and fear among humans and with that we are pushed aside as something that should not be let into the real world because we are misunderstood. Until vampires can be known as real and not fiction or a movie character we will forever remain in the shadows of darkness waiting for our turn to live a free life.

i dont think that they would have ethics for what they do they do as they please

Every one has Ethics and there not all the same.

Ethics are a matter of what you personally believe to be the difference between right from wrong. What I believe is right and ethical may be totally wrong and distasteful to someone else. This is not just true on the individual level but on a societal level as well.

In short ethics are a consensus of opinions, and opinion change... A LOT!!

Sorry for desturbing, but i have to intervene. why should be vampires moral?? humans are not, they are killing each other for money, food (how many animals die evry day because of human caprice),fame. i think evry creature on earth have own predator.and humans have there own too, its called VAMPIRE. Not the fake ones in books and movies. those are full of lies except Valvazor who uncover lamia or štrigon Jure Grando.

That some Humans act immorally and unethically is not at all the same as ALL Humans doing so.

vampires are as different as you or me, some are raging homocidal lunies and some are very moral upstanding citizens( besides the blood drinking lol but thats nature)

I think that answering a definitive yes or no answer to a question like this is a bit presumptuous. No two beings are guided by the same moral compass. Additionally, motivation, circumstances, and expectations are going to differ from individual to individual.

I think everyone agrees that the morals are up to the individual to set, some set high morals while others are happy to follow the beast within. One thing i have noticed from other sites is that there seams to be an increase in vampires looking more towards their bestial nature, that's a worrying thought for the future of the vampire sociaty

we pretty much are humans,just a different model,if you will.so yes,we have morals,love our familys and,yes,get angry at times.

Many Houses, Covens, etc. have their own Code of Conduct in addition to the rules within the Veil.

Some individual vampires/vampyres have their own Code as well, either from thoughts of former lives, or from what they themselves have formulated over time to be what they feel is right and just.

It really depends on the circumstances.

No cuz earlier vampires did not have ethics

A.) - Vampires of the past did have ethics, and the intelligence to be selective... if we saw fit to.

B.) - A check ff history would reveal what is known as "the seat of atonement"... a Christian Jedeo ritual were a sacrificial lamb was burned at the stake or slaughtered for God's forgiveness of man's sins. A practice that was very much alive during the days of the Vampire and Witch trials. They would hysterically stake anyone they thought might be a vampire for God's favor, and or forgiveness. Mundanes would murder others by the dozens, vampires, witchs or not, for the hope of better days... Nice Ethics!!

Fact is they hunted us far more than we ever hunted them and we did so for survival not to appease our conscious or our God.
So for me questioning the past ethics of vampires is a lot like questioning the motives of the alter boy for what the Priest did to him.

Ethics, smethics! A vampire is a vampire...I wonder if they really care?!

Vlad the impaler and elizabeth bathory early vampires did not gave ethics.

Vlad and Elizabeth weren't vampires...they were sadistic psychopaths.

Vlad wasn't necessarily a psychopath, he just knew that psychological warfare had an impact on his enemies and exploited it but human nonetheless.

Vlad was the reason people recognize vampires count dragula is also name for vlad

He was the inspiration for the fictional character of Dracula if that is what you're referring to however he was a Romanian prince not the prince of darkness either. If you studied history the reason why he was this inspiration is he would dip his bread in the blood of captured prisoners of war as they were impaled which proved as an excellent terror tactic, after all he must of been a demon in their eyes and who wants to fight a demon?

One would think that if the vampire before he/she was turned had a set of ethics, it would carry on the same way after they became a vampire.

Actually a vampire is really souless demon or someone thats take rather then give.

vampires do have ethics and morals and they can even go to heaven, it's just that there are a few who are evil monsters who give a bad name to the vampires that are productive memebers of society

mindgeeee

Soulless demons...??

There are so many things wrong with that statement that I'm not even sure where to start... or whether I should even get started in the first place.

I will say this much, if you go by biblical standards the only things for which God gave a soul was man.
This would mean that demons and angels alike are soulless.

Mindgee you do realize I wasn't advocating he was a souless demon but rather his actions would have given that impression to his Muslim enemies as his kingdom fought on the side of the church.

Vlad was not the inspiration for the book Dracula and it is well known that to be true. Ask Elizabeth Miller, Dacer Stoker, J. Gordon Melton and others, In fact the character in the book identifies himself as Hungarian and not Romanian because it was right about the time the book came out that Romania even existed. Transylvania didn't firmly belong to that country until around 1919. Before that it was clumps of people that descended from occupying soldiers of the Roman army in Transylvania. They were there a very long time and many stayed and intermarried. No one knows exactly the descent of all of them because the Romans if they didn't kill all those they conquered put them in their armies.

Whether fictional vampires had any ethics would depend on the author and how he/she portrayed them and nothing more. If they are more aligned to the blood thirsty aspect then there vampires would be more like 30 Days of Night as mentioned. If the writer sees them with feelings as an evolved individual due to whatever caused them to become a vampire then they will be more moral like Louie in Anne Rices stories or some of the vampires in the Twilight Saga or Vampire Diaries on TV. The sky is the limit really on how a vampire could be portrayed and none of it would be wrong because it is merely fiction.

As for the community, like anyone else it would depend on the individual.

Sinistra is correct.
I know Dacer Stoker and a few of the people who consulted on the sequal he wrote Dracula. I can tell you that conceptually Bram took insparation from many sources but the only true connection to Vlad Tempest, aka Vlad the impalier was his father and family's religious order... Dracul, for the order of the dragon.

Bram Stoker liked the name Dracul because he thought it sounded deeply ethnic. In fact he tired so hard to make the book ethnic sounding that he spelled Vampire with a y... Vampyre. Even though it is really spelled the same way we spell it as Vampire.
The book publishers thought it was to much given the climate of racial hatred in Europe at the time, and the books release was actually delayed for a year so that all the ethnic terms could be changed... Bram insisted that Dracula remain the name for the lead character.

As long as people recognise behaviours as good/evil, then they're bound to realise where ethics abide