this is a small bit of information that i have found about the folk lore of vampires that i belive has helped creat the book and movie legends what is every ones opion? taken again from
wikipedia
"Some common traits of vampires in folklore
It is difficult to make a single description of the folkloric vampire, because its properties vary widely between different cultures. It tends to share many features with evil spirits in general.
The appearance of the European folkloric vampire contained mostly features by which one was supposed to tell a vampiric corpse from a normal one, when the grave of a suspected vampire was opened. The vampire has a "healthy" appearance and ruddy skin, he is often plump, his nails and hair have grown and, above all, he is not in the least decomposed. The creature's appearance outside of its grave may be more or less different from that of a "normal" human body, depending on the region that the legend orginates from.
The most common ways to destroy the vampire are driving a wooden stake through the heart, decapitation, and incinerating the body completely. Ways to prevent a suspected vampire from rising from the grave in the first place include burying it upside-down, severing the tendons at the knees, or placing poppy seeds on the ground at the gravesite of a presumed vampire in order to keep the vampire occupied all night counting. Chinese narratives about vampire-like beings also state that if one comes across a sack of rice, he will have to count all of the grains. There are similar myths recorded on the Indian Subcontinent. South American tales of witches and other sorts of evil or mischievous spirits or beings have a similar aspect to it.[27]
Apotropaics, i.e. objects intended to inhibit or ward off vampires (as well as other evil supernatural creatures), include garlic, sunlight, a branch of wild rose, the hawthorn plant, and all things sacred (e.g., holy water, a crucifix, a rosary). In similar stories of other regions, other plants and objects of holy or mystical properties sometimes function as apotropaics. In Eastern legends, vampiric creatures are often warded by holy devices such as Shintō seals.[23] Aloe vera plant hung backwards behind the door or near it has the same function in South American superstition.[27] Holy places such as churches may also be inaccessible for vampires.
Vampires are sometimes considered to be shape-shifters not limited to the common bat stereotype depicted in cartoons and movies. Rather, they are said to morph into a wide variety of animals such as wolves, rats, moths, spiders, and so on.
Some vampires in European folklore are said to cast no shadow and no reflection, perhaps arising from folklore regarding the vampire's lack of a soul.[23]. However this was not universal as the vrykolakas/tympanios (Greece) did supposedly cast shadows and reflections.
Some traditions hold that a vampire cannot enter a house unless invited, although they only have to be invited once after this they can come and go as they please without further permission.[23"
