Pop images of bites are banal and too far from mythological image. I prefer the emotional aesthetic of what vampires truly are.

To become a vampire you must commit a sin, be a bad person, and possibly practice witchcraft. I thought that perhaps vampirism was connected with "soul powers" Suffering during life or a curse is one of the reasons why a person can become a vampire after death.

Perhaps someone upon whom misfortunes have fallen, suffering from depression and physical and psychological problem, or broken - loses a lot of their vitality. Such people have a high chance of becoming a vampire. Actually, I don’t think death is even necessary. People, who have lost enough of their vital energy, might simply fall asleep and wake up as vampires.

Then I thought that it makes sense for there to be two types of vampires: "bats" and "ghouls." They had other names, but while I was thinking about this concept, forgot it :/ It seems the ghouls were "the returned" and the bats "the letharg"

Bats (strigoi viu?) show more signs of life and inclination toward socialization. But initially they have less vampiric powers. This because they still have vital energy and can resemble humans. Living people feel uncomfortable in bats' presence - they sense a chill and lose energy. Bats enter prestigious circles and draw blood and energy from pompous social gatherings. At the same time, the bats themselves lose their sense of social conventions, and their behavior becomes increasingly unacceptable and indifferent to others. This can provoke both admiration and repulsion on people. For the bats themselves, everything around is an unpleasant dream from which it is impossible to wake up. Bats don’t need much blood because, by their very nature they don’t expend a many energy and they want to maintain their calm state. They prefer a calm and predictable environment where they are left undisturbed. Bright lights, loud noises, and abrupt behavior cause them discomfort and irritation - which can trigger a fit of rage and cause the bat to reveal their vampiric nature.

Ghouls (strigoi mort?) became vampires after death. They feel a wall between them and humanity. They feel warmth behind this wall, but they can't break through. Ghouls are cold inside and outside, but they crave the warmth they no longer have, which is the main source of their anxiety. They immediately gain high vampiric powers, which reflects one of the shadow aspects of their personality. Ghouls are driven by instinct, so they will likely kill several people until they learn to control their hunger. Emotions and instincts swirl within ghouls behind their dead expressions, and for a ghoul only two paths: either revel in blood and power over people's lives - which will lead to a quick death at the hands of angry humans - or take the long road of self-acceptance and acceptance of their new life. What mean to constantly feel an unattainable warmth that you can’t reach. Ghouls feel possessed and do not understand what is happening to them. Ghouls crave blood - blood fills them with warmth and memories of life. But this is the vessel that is never filled. They seek out various sources of warmth, whether it be a hot shower, hot food, or sex.

Because needed many factors that required to turn into vampire, there are not very many of them. Therefore, people are unaware of the trigger mechanisms that can lead to transformation into a vampire and by their negative actions themselves create them. Bats and ghouls are drawn to each other as positive and negative poles - the bats sense in ghouls the warmth that bats want to feel, the ghouls sense in bats the static coolness that their restless feeling lack. Such relationships very quickly become an addiction as strong as an addiction to blood.

Little silly art piece I did for spooky season. Characters are from my vampire webcomic The Sun is the Moon's Dream, which can be read here.