Vampire hunter

For the character, see Vampire Hunter D

A vampire hunter or vampire slayer is someone who specializes in finding and destroying vampires. In dark fantasy fiction, they may sometimes also deal with other harmful supernatural creatures. The most well known vampire hunter is Professor Van Helsing from Bram Stoker's horror novel Dracula.

Vampire hunters in folklore

"Professional" or semi-professional vampire hunters played some part in the vampire beliefs of the Balkans (especially in Bulgarian, Serbian, and Romani folk beliefs). In Bulgarian, the terms used to designate them included glog (lit. "hawthorn", the species of wood used for the stake), vampirdzhiya, vampirar, dzhadazhiya, svetocher etc.

They were usually either born on Saturday (then called Sabbatarians^[1], Bulgarian sâbotnichav^[2], Greek sabbatianoí^[1]) or the offspring of a vampire and a woman (typically his widow), called a dhampir in Romani or a vampirović in Serbian. It was also believed that someone born on a Saturday could see a vampire when it was otherwise invisible^[1][2][3] (and sometimes other supernatural entities as well); similarly for the dhampir. In the case of the Sabbatarians, it was believed in some places that they needed to be fed meat from a sheep killed by a wolf (Bulgarian vâlkoedene); this would enable them not to fear the things that only they were able to see.

In some traditions, the killing of vampires was only performed by vampire hunters. Aside of the well-known manners of execution (staking the corpse, burning it etc) that were normally entrusted to them, the hunters were also capable of using other methods such as enticing the invisible creature with music and then shooting it, or throwing its hat or head-cloth into the water and telling it to go fetch it (which caused it to drown).^[2][4][5]

Vampire hunters in fiction

The vampire hunter has found new popularity in modern fiction and popular culture.

The most widely known example of a vampire hunter is Abraham Van Helsing of the novel Dracula and in other works of fiction adapting or modifying that work. Other more recent figures include Buffy "the Vampire Slayer" Summers from the television show and film of the same name. Buffy's spin-off series Angel (TV series) is also focused on a vampire hunter, the titular star, Angel "the World's Champion," a vampire himself, is often portrayed battling vampires. Vampire hunters have also appeared in video games, such as BloodRayne.

As well as being knowledgeable about vampire lore, vampire hunters in fiction are often armed with an eclectic mix of items and weapons which are designed to take maximum advantage of the monster's traditional weaknesses. These have included firearms with silver ammunition, appropriate religious symbols, crossbows that fire all wood bolts and even waterguns filled with blessed holy water in the movies The Lost Boys and From Dusk Till Dawn.

The organizational strength of depicted vampire hunters can vary wildly. Most hunter characters are in small groups working alone and in secret. By contrast, the Hellsing Organization in the anime television series, Hellsing is a British government paramilitary strike force with access to troops, heavy combat vehicles and weapons and even allied vampires.

While predominantly depicted as human, examples of other types of vampire hunters also exist. Dhampiric figures, having a mix of human and vampire blood, are a popular form. Alucard from the Castlevania series, and the eponymous hero of the Blade series of comic books, movies, and television episodes are both dhampir vampire-hunters. Even rarer are vampire hunters that are vampires themselves, one example being Morbius from Ultimate Spider-Man.

The image of the vampire hunter is often a mysterious and dramatic avenging hero, an eccentric extremist, or sometimes a bit of both. A hunter may be a heroic figure, a lonesome avenger, or sometimes, although not usually, a bounty hunter-style character, hunting Vampires for profit. Vampire hunters have also popularly been depicted as hunting various creatures such as werewolves, demons, and other forms of undead as well. Others have been depicted as mages and cyborgs.

Having vampire hunting become a family tradition handed down to future generations of a bloodline is a popular use of the archetype in fiction.

A vampire hunting kit is on display at the Ripley's Believe It or Not! museum in Niagara Falls Ontario.

List of vampire hunters in fiction

• Abraham Van Helsing, Quincey Morris, Jonathan Harker, Dr. John Seward, and Arthur Holmwood from the novel, Dracula, and some of its adaptations and spin-offs.
• Vampire Hunter D - A half human, half vampire, vampire slayer from the Manga and Anime Vampire Hunter, Vampire Hunter D, Vampire Hunter D+, and Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust. He is defined as a solo man who professionally hunts vampires during the year 12080, a time in which all demonic and mythological terrors run ramped and control the noble lands.
• Alucard (Dracula backwards) is a vampire from the Hellsing Organization, who, along with his servant, Seras Victoria, and (retired) old friend, Walter C. Dornez, hunt other vampires.
• Django from the Boktai game series is a Vampire Hunter who seeks revenge over Count of Groundsoaking Blood (known as Count Hakushaku in Japan) for killing his father, Red Ringo. The sequel series of Boktai, Lunar Knights, known in Japan as Bokura no Taiyou DS: Django & Sabata (ボクらの太陽DS: Django & Sabata lit. "Our Sun DS: Django & Sabata"), also feature another vampire hunter named Lucian, known as Sabata in the Japanese release, who seeks revenge upon Duke Dumas for kidnapping and killing his beloved Ellen.
• Alexander Anderson works for the Vatican's secret Iscariot Organization (AKA Section XIII), who act like the Hellsing Organization, but are more fundamental, and serve to fight for Catholicism, as opposed to Hellsing protecting the Commonwealth. Iscariot is more radical and fundamental exterminating any humans who ally themselves with the undead. Other members include their leader, Bishop (later Archibishop) Enrico Maxwell and other assassins, Heinkel Wolfe and Yumie Takagi.
• Angel from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer spinoff show Angel, the only vampire with a soul~ until the vampire Spike gains a soul and joins the rest of the cast in vampire hunting.
• Nick, Sean, and Megan from the film The Forsaken race against time to hunt down one of the first Vampires in existence.
• Dr. Hesselius, from J. Sheridan Le Fanu collection of supernatural tales In a Glass Darkly.
• Buffy Summers, Slayers and other characters from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer film and TV series.
• Dominic Garcia, Vampire Slayer from the original novel Dominic the Vampire Slayer.
• Father Callahan from the Stephen King novels 'Salem's Lot and the Dark Tower series.
• Solomon Kane, a character appearing in many works by Robert E. Howard.
• The Belmont Clan, the Morris family and Adrian Farenheits Tepes a.k.a Alucard from the Castlevania series of video games. Almost all the main characters of Castlevania could be called vampire hunters.
• Blade, a vampire hunter featured by Marvel Comics and a trilogy of films of the same name. In his original comic appearances, Blade is a highly skilled human with immunity to vampirism. In later appearances as well as in the films, he is a Dhampir, a half-vampire.
• The Sinclair Family from the anime version of Karin is sworn to hunt down the vampires of the Marker Clan.
• Vampire Hunter G, a Werewolf Vampire hunter, who is one of the Lycans who has a soul. Fights in a war against the Vampires. Fell in love with a human, and swore to a code of Chivalry and honor to gain her trust.
• The Sarafan knights from the Legacy of Kain series of video games. Also, the non-Sarafan Vampire slayers, from the first game in the series (Blood Omen 1).
• Donovan Baine, of the Darkstalkers series of video games, also a Dhampir.
• Rayne from the video game series BloodRayne is a vampire hunter and also a dhampir. Also, most of the Spookhouse members, from Nocturne (BloodRayne is a spin-off of Nocturne).
• Jack Crow, and his "Team Crow" from the book Vampire$ by John Steakly, later adapted by John Carpenter for his movie Vampires.
• Derek Bliss, from the movie Vampires: Los Muertos, also presented by John Carpenter as a pseudo sequel to the first movie.
• Anita Blake from Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series of novels.
• Gabriel Van Helsing from the movie Van Helsing. Van Helsing is a member of a large organization called the Knights of the Holy Order who protect mankind from an evil they 'have no idea even exists'.
• Edgar Frog, Alan Frog, and Sam Emerson from The Lost Boys movie.
• Geralt from the Polish The Witcher series. He hunts vampires and all other kinds of supernatural creatures.
• Harry Keogh and others with E-Branch in Brian Lumley's Necroscope series.
• Sam Winchester and Dean Winchester from the television series Supernatural
• Victoria Gardella from the The Gardella Vampire Chronicles series of historical novels beginning with The Rest Falls Away.
• Abraham Whistler, Abigale Whistler and Hannibal King from the third film of the Blade Series, Blade: Trinity. Hannibal takes the form of an ex-vampire who was subsequently cured of his affliction and took up hunting out of a desire for revenge.
• Steve "Leopard" Leonard, from the Cirque Du Freak books by Darren Shan.
• Captain Kronos, Vampire Hunter, from the 1974 film of the same name.
• Peter Vincent and Charley Brewster from the film Fright Night and its sequel Fright Night Part II.
• Hoss Delgado of The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy is a spectral exterminator who claims to have confronted vampires, among other paranormal entities.
• Dr. Von Goosewing, an inept German goose that claims to be an expert, "greatest wampire hunter in ze vorld" in the Cosgrove Hall show Count Duckula.
• Carlisle Cullen, In the novel Twilight by Stephenie Meyer, Carlisle hunted vampires with his father, a local priest, before becoming one himself.
• Magiere and Leesil, the former a Dhampir and the latter half-elven hunt vampires with fey-dog, Chap. From "Dhampir" by Barb and J.C. Hendee.
• Adrian Kane, a vampire hunter trying to find the vampire who has his brother's soul from Teresa Medeiros's "After Midnight"
• Robert Neville in Richard Matheson's novel I Am Legend, kills vampires while they sleep during the day.
• Gregory Salazar in Vampire Lesbians of Sodom, a play by Charles Busch. Salazar disguises himself in drag as a gossip columnist to get close to the two titular vampires who are 1930s movie stars.
• Mercedes "Mercy" Thompson, a character created by Patricia Briggs, a Native American coyote shape-shifter who can see ghosts and is a Volkswagen mechanic of Tri-cities, WA. Slew two vampires in the book, Blood Bound the second book of the Mercy Thompson novels. Additionally she killed two rogue werewolves in the first book in the series Moon Called, a human rapist in Iron Kissed (third in the series), and another vampire in in the fourth book Bone Crossed.
• Michael Colefield and the covert paramilitary forces of Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith from the 1998 British television serial Ultraviolet.
• Zero Kiryu from the manga Vampire Knight.
• Touga Yagari from the manga Vampire Knight.
• Damali Richards and The Guardians Team from the Leslie Esdaile Banks books The Vampire Huntress Legend Series.
• Christiano Pena from the Brazilian soap-opera Os Mutantes - Caminhos do Coração. He is a mutant with vast psychokinetic abilities such telekinesis, pyrokinesis, hydrokinesis and atmokinesis, and he is fanatical vampire slayer. He desires to destroy the series' one protagonist, the benevelont female vampire Natália.
• Special Deputy Jameson Arkeley, A U.S. Marshal tasked with hunting down the last remaining vampires in David Wellington's Thirteen Bullets
• In Tsukihime, Arcueid is a True Ancestor, a variation of a vampire, tasked with eliminating Dead Apostles, another variation of vampires. Ciel is a member of the Burial Agency, an organization within the Vatican, that specializes in hunting vampires and other supernatural beings.
• Joss Mcmillian, Became a vampire slayer after his sister was killed by one. from the chronicals of Vladimir Tod
• Rashel Jordan from the Night World series by L.J. Smith became a vampire hunter after her mother was murdered by a vampire and her toddler friend was changed by one.
• Jefferson Twilight from The Venture Bros. is a blacula hunter whose mother was killed by one when he was ten years old. He is a parody of Marvel Comics' Blade. Jefferson wields two katanas and wears a necklace of blacula teeth.
• The Soldiers of the Sun, a militia run by the Fellowship of the Sun, a Christian anti-vampire group from the television series True Blood. Members include Jason Stackhouse and Luke McDonald.

Vampire Hunters in the Media

In March 2007, self-proclaimed vampire hunters vandalized the grave of former Serbian president Slobodan Milošević and staked his body through the heart into the ground. Although the group involved claimed this act was to prevent Milošević from returning as a vampire, it is not known whether those involved actually believed this could happen or if the crime was simply politically motivated.^[6][7]

Vampire Hunters in Games

Hunter: The Vigil is a tabletop roleplaying game in which players control character who hunt monsters, including vampires.

There is a board game from Milton Bradley called Vampire Hunter. Vampire Hunter is also the name of a novel by Michael Romkey.

Other

One person claiming to be a modern vampire hunter is Seán Manchester of Highgate Vampire fame.

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b c} Abbott, George F. 1903. Macedonian Folklore. Pp.221-222. Cited in Summers, Montague. 1929. The Vampire: His Kith and Kin. Republished 2008 by Forgotten Books. P.36
2. ^ ^{a b c} Димитрова, Иваничка. 1983. Българска народна митология. Online article (Bulgarian)
3. ^ McClelland, Bruce A. (2006). Slayers and Their Vampires: A Cultural History of Killing the Dead. University of Michigan. pp. 62–79. ISBN 9780472069231. 
4. ^ Маринов, Димитър. 1994 (first edition 1914) Народна вяра и религиозни обичаи. Online excerpt (Bulgarian)
5. ^ Петровић, Сретен. 2000. Основи демонологије. In: Систем српске митологије. Просвета, Ниш 2000. Online (Serbian)
6. ^ Vampire hunters drove stake through Milosevic's heart, Ananova.com, retrieved 9 November 2007
7. ^ Vampire slayer impales Milosevic to stop return by Gabriel Ronay, Sunday-Herald.com, retrieved 9 November 2007

Bibliography

• Bruce McClelland, Slayers and their Vampires: A Cultural History of Killing the Dead. (Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, 2006).
• Jan Perkowski, Vampire Lore. (Bloomington, IN: Slavica, 2006).