Vampire Mythology

Appearance
All of the Cullen family in ‘Twilight’ are described as breathtakingly beautiful; in fact, this and their aloofness in the cafeteria of the school is the first thing that draws Bella’s attention towards them

Their faces, so different, so similar, were all devastatingly, inhumanly beautiful. human to vampire intensifies everything, including looks. "The change into a vampire makes an average person stunning and a beautiful person absolutely beyond breath-taking. The reason Rosalie is such a beautiful vampire is because she was the most beautiful girl in Rochester, New York when she was human."

Eyes
Edward’s eyes are a very prominent feature in the book; in fact, it is one of the first things that Bella ever notices about him. His eyes change colour very frequently, depending on how thirsty he is, or when he last fed. Bella initially notices that: "His eyes were black, coal black."(TW1) When Edward’s eyes are so dark, his thirst for blood is at the fore. When they are his lighter "golden" (TW12) or "topaz" (TW11) colour, that reflects that his thirst is sated and he has been hunting recently.

The shared colour of the Cullens eyes is not co-incidental. It is a hallmark of the "vegetarian" vampire who does not feast on human blood. We can see the clear contrast between their eyes and those of James, Laurent and Victoria which are "a deep burgundy colour that was disturbing and sinister." (TW18). This redness of the eyes indicates that these vampires feast on human blood. Meyer writes that, "If a Cullen were to drink human blood, his/her eyes would turn burgundy.

It takes about two weeks without blood for vampire eyes to go entirely black. If that Cullen then returned to an animal diet, his/her eyes would return to dark gold. Brand-newly created vampires are recognizable by their eyes, which are a vivid, bright red due to the massive amount of human blood (the blood that was already in the human at the time he/she was changed) that lingers in the tissues. That red fades slowly over the course of a year."

Speed
When vampires are changed from humans, they acquire certain superhuman abilities; speed is one of these. Edward is capable of moving so quickly that no one spots him at all The speed with which he races is shown to be entirely effortless, and is pure exhilarating enjoyment It is not just physical movement that can be exceptionally fast. Speech too can be faster than the human ear can make out

Strength
The ability to use superhuman strength is one of the characteristics that set vampires apart. Edward’s physical strength is seen in stark contrast to the fragility of human Bella vampire’s diet does not have a massive impact on the levels of strength. "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. Strength, of course, isn’t always physical. It is impossible for a vampire to die through physical starvation but what the lack of blood intake does alter is a vampire’s mental state.

Physiology
As a person is changed into a vampire, their physical appearance is enhanced, their eye colour changes, their hearing and eyesight becomes more acute, their heart ceases to beat, they no longer need to breathe.Natural changes in the human body would not occur any longer Other things, such as fingernails, also cease to grow, but it is worth noting that a vampire’s body is like granite, so broken fingernails are unlikely! There are certainly some perks to this lack of change Vampires can be killed, but humans and human tools are too weak to do it. The only sure fire way is for another vampire

Blood
Apart from the physiological differences with blood between a vampire and a human, blood is also important as the sole diet of a vampire. Whether animal or human blood it is important to consume it regularly; without it, they will weaken mentally and be less capable of rational thought and action. Human blood is what vampires truly crave, but even then, there is a vast range of types of human blood available, some more potent to different vampires than others

Becoming a vampire
The transition from human to vampire is said to be very painful, in fact it’s so bad that "The pain of transformation is the sharpest memory they have of their human life The transformation process is simple, assuming the vampire doesnï¿½t drain the human body of blood. A human is bitten, and the venom is allowed to spread for a few days. The actual length of time a transformation takes is dependent upon "how much venom is in the bloodstream, how close the venom enters to the heart." (TW20). The venom is pumped around the body as the heart keeps beating, and various physical changes occur as the poison moves. One of the changed that happens is the body’s "healing The greatest pain begins when the venom is all the way through the body, through the heart, and it starts meeting itself in the veins again and then burning them dry. 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 leak through to every cell before it ends."