Vampire

Vampires in the Twilight series have certain distinctive characteristics that set them apart from other fictional vampires, some of which include appearance and hunting styles.

Appearance
Vampires are normally extraordinarily good-looking. This is one of several features meant to attract their prey to them - more specifically, to attract fascinated, unsuspecting humans.

How aesthetically appealing their prey find them is determined by how appealing they were as humans themselves. If an already very appealing human were to be transformed, their physical beauty would be scarcely imaginable, "breathtaking". If they were only of average appeal, they would still become enviable, although not nearly as. And if they were not particularly pleasing to the eye, they would become average. This is a rare occurrence, because vampires normally select exceptional humans when wanting companionship.

Their skin is described as "chalky". They owe their unnatural pale complexion to their complete lack of blood flow; once they reach the one-year anniversary of their transformation, they possess no blood of their own at all. They become slightly flushed after feeding.

If they are wise, they will avoid exposure to direct sunlight (that is, being among humans during the day when the sky is not overcast). Although their skin still serves the same basic purpose of protecting the body, their cells become hard and reflective, like crystal, bouncing any bright light as though the vampire were a giant prism - a "walking disco ball".

They bear strong resemblance to marble statues not only because of their angelic beauty and pale white skin, but also their skin's granite-like hardness and impenetrability, and their lack of need to blink or move at all.

Eyes
A vampire's eye color changes with their diet - whether they sustain themselves on human or animal blood.

Only the Cullens (the Olympic Coven) and the Denali Coven are known to be "vegetarian" vampires, feeding exclusively on animal blood and painstakingly abstaining from a natural human diet. Their "liquid topaz", or golden-brown, eyes are viewed as strange and unnatural by other, "normal" vampires.

"Normal" vampires (like James and Victoria), adhering to the natural human diet that they expect upon their transformation's end, have vivid red eyes. The color becomes even more vivid as they feed, and a darker burgundy as they abstain.

Given no other indication such as a display of speed or strength, a newborn vampire is chiefly recognizable by their eyes. A small amount of their own human blood lingers within their tissues, producing a shockingly bright and vivid red that "fades slowly over the course of a year".

Meyer writes that, "If a Cullen were to drink human blood, his/her eyes would turn burgundy. If that Cullen then returned to an animal diet, his/her eyes would return to dark gold. If two weeks pass without. . .blood, the vampire's eyes go entirely black."

As a vampire grows thirstier, their eyes grow darker, until they at last become "coal black". In contrast, the more a vampire feeds, the lighter their eyes become.

In addition, as a vampire grows thirstier, the purplish-black bruises under their eyelids become more pronounced. These bruises signify the fact that they never sleep.

Speed
When vampires run, they become "all but invisible with speed". Once they've chosen their hunt, no human or animal in the world can outrun them.

The human eye can barely follow their movements, if at all. They can lying down and then sit up within the same second, almost not having to even think about going through the motions to do so.

They can also talk faster than a human can hear.

Strength
The ability to use superhuman strength is one of the characteristics that set vampires apart. A vampire's diet does not have a massive impact on the levels of strength, in fact hunger or intimidation can increase strength much like a human when in danger. Human blood does make them stronger than animal blood, but only fractionally. Big game (bears, wildcats, predators) makes them stronger than the "weaker" blood of herd animals. Ultimately, physical strength is always going to come down to the individual vampire, rather than secondary factors like their diet. However in the case of newborn vampires, the large amount of human blood in their system vastly increases their strength. Bella says that someone so small like Alice would have the strength to cripple a car easily. Edward told Bella that when she became a vampire, she would be able to beat Emmett Cullen in an arm-wrestling match. As Emmett is the strongest Cullen, Bella was very surprised to hear this news. Strength, of course, is not always physical. It is impossible for a vampire to die through physical starvation, but a lack of blood intake does alter a vampire's mental state.

Physiology
As a human is changed into a vampire, their physical appearance is enhanced, their eye color changes, and they no longer need to blink, sleep, or move.

In addition, they no longer need to breathe, though they often still do so out of habit, and because they feel uncomfortable without their sense of smell - their first warning of an impending threat. This ability to stop the flow of air to their lungs allows them to remain submerged underwater for as long as necessary, and contributes to their excellent swimming abilities. They can also attempt to use it for control over their bloodlust.

As they grow older and more disciplined, a vampire can learn to smell differences between the scents of various humans' blood. They can even discern between different fabrics - the unique scent of denim, for example.

Their hearing and eyesight becomes more acute.

They can hear sounds coming from several miles away, and even with their eyes closed, they can be sure that there are multiple people in a room due to their varied breathing patterns. They can hear the sound of a pulse thudding in a human or animal's veins. They can hear words spoken too quietly or too fast for humans to detect.

They can see the smallest details - dust motes swimming through the air, ultraviolet rays of light, etc. Their vision is unhindered by darkness, and is so acute that they view humans as almost blind, "mud-eyed", in comparison. They will never need glasses or contacts; they are distracted and irritated by the numerous imperfections (ex. scratches) in the lenses.

Their heart ceases to beat.

Their voice becomes more alluring, melodic.

Their scent is pleasant not only to humans, but to other vampires as well.

Their body's natural changes no longer occur. They cannot age or grow taller. Their fingernails, toenails, and hair cannot grow - they are gone forever if removed.

However, if an arm, leg, nose, or other such appendage should be removed (causing pain to the vampire losing them), it can be easily reattached by coating the severed end with venom. The venom acts as an adhesive.

Venom replaces all of the natural chemical processes and functions in the body. It wets and pools in the mouth instead of saliva. It exists in the veins instead of blood. It coats the eyes, burning through contacts after a few hours, protecting them from damage and thus eliminating all necessity and ability to cry. It also lubricates them, allowing them to move around easier within their sockets. It is what allows a vampire to move at all.

As vampires describe themselves, they are unchanging, "living stone" frozen exactly as they were when they were transformed. (Though to another vampire, the stone skin feels smooth and soft, and is room temperature, not ice-cold like it would be to a human.) That is why male vampires can have children (with human females), but female vampires cannot - males require no change whatsoever to produce sperm, but females must physically change to bear children. In male vampires, their venom takes on a form so similar to seminal fluid that it can bond with a human ovum, making possible the creation of a human-vampire hybrid.

Vampires, although essentially immortal and indestructible, can be killed. Even a human can accomplish it under the right circumstances - their venom is extremely flammable. However, humans are unable to compete with vampires in speed, and therefore escape is virtually imminent. It is likely that the necessity of ripping a vampire's body to pieces before incinerating them into ashes is to prevent them from putting out the fire before it can do serious damage. This is the only way to kill a vampire.

Werewolves and Shape-shifters are very capable of killing vampires, as at least the latter is at a slight advantage over them as long as their combat techniques are up to match (they're faster than vampires).

Vampires themselves are the most likely to succeed in killing their own species, as they are equal to their target in physique and mentality, unless the target has a special ability or "gift".

Emotions
A vampire is said to have stronger emotions than normal humans. Sadness, happiness, anger, all emotions are said to be much stronger than when being a human. Newborn vampires are very tempered and have mood swings because they need to adjust to the new emotions. That is why, in larger groups, newborns are likely to kill one another. When Bella was transformed into a vampire, she could not only resist blood easily, but could also keep herself in tone. The only time she lost control is when she attacked Jacob for nicknaming Reneesmee "Nessie". When a mate of a vampire is killed, the feeling of loss and revenge is so strong than they have no other choice to kill the vampire or being that did this by, for example, killing the vampire or being that killed the mate or killed their mate so that they feel the same pain. This is shown when Edward killed Victoria's mate James and Victoria does everything she can to kill Bella so that Edward feels the same pain.

Transformation
Transformation from human to vampire is described in Twilight as being "...the sharpest memory they have of their human life." A human is bitten, and venom from glands inside the vampire's mouth is injected into the bloodstream. Depending upon "how much venom is in the bloodstream, and how close the venom is until it enters the heart", the transformation could be anywhere from 3–5 days, but it is interesting to note that if directly injected into the heart then it could only take 2 days. During that time, the human will endure indescribable pain," The warmth inside my heart got more and more real, warmer and warmer. Hotter. The heat was so real it was hard to believe I was imagining it. Hotter. Uncomfortable now. Too hot. Much, much too hot" as described by Bella Cullen as the venom slowly circulates through the blood and eventually reaches the heart. Once the venom is injected, it is described as being "...the beginning of the greatest pain you will ever understand. The venom then has to make its way all through the body. Next through the heart, and it will pump again and again in the heart until it starts meeting itself in the veins. Then it will burn all the veins until the heart stops beating. It moves slower than blood because it’s thicker. Each beat of the heart can only push it so far. The changing/burning process is slow. The venom has to saturate every cell in the body before it ends.

Abilities
All vampires possess superhuman strength, speed, agility, reflexes, stamina, durability, and regeneration. Their senses are incredibly keen. They can move, jump, climb, and run incredibly fast; running is described as being second nature.

They are immune to aging as well as all diseases and viruses. They will live forever unless dismembered and burned - detached limbs do not lose their resilience, and can still move and reattach themselves.

They have photographic memories, and thus they have a greater learning potential than a human.

Vampire Agility
Alice jumping over a werewolf in cooperation with it to kill a newborn vampire.

Special talents/abilities
All vampires gain special talents when they are transformed into their new form. The characteristic or personality that was very dominant in their human life (such as charisma or sensitivity), it would be magnified into a power or talent after their "change". Although some talents of Vampires are much more useful or pronounced than others, all vampires have special talents besides their speed, strength, beauty and other such gifts. Some of the talents more often designated powers are mind reading, second sight, the ability to change others' emotions, cripple people with their mind and distinctive feels for other vampires' gifts. While gifts like Esme's maternal instincts and Rosalie's breathtaking beauty are examples of the gifts that are less commonly considered talents in the vampire world.

Deviations from traditional vampire legend
Vampires in the Twilight world are different from most other literary vampires. They are immortal and hard to destroy, as they have very few weaknesses - they are not harmed by holy water, the sun, garlic, or crosses. They are also unhindered by running water as traditional vampires seem to be. Vampires in Twilight are not burned by the sun, but rather their skin sparkles like diamonds in sunlight. Additionally, they have a reflection in mirrors, cannot be killed by wooden stakes and will show up in pictures. At the same time, vampires traditionally never had to reproduce and they turned humans through biting. Vampires in the Twilight series are also incapable of sleeping. It is unknown what happens to a vampire after they die, though Edward thinks they're damned.

In physical appearance, vampires in Twilight do not have fangs, as their teeth are incredibly sharp and strong. Vampires in Twilight also do not sleep in coffins. As for the similarities between vampires in Twilight and traditional vampires, they are both gifted with some psychic and supernatural abilities, for example, mind reading. Vampires in Twilight tend to show more of their humane side. They are shown to blend more with humans: for example, the Cullens - despite the fact that they are vampires - still attend school.

Enemies
Vampires are said to have one natural enemy: werewolves or shape-shifters.

Vampires often fight among each other. There have been many cases throughout history where vampires created armies of newborns to challenge one another and gain territory.

If a vampire's mate is attacked or killed, then they will likely hunt down and plan revenge on the killer.