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Why don't Vampires cast shadows?

Cainkane1

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Cainkane1
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Vampires of course don't exist but how could the folklore concerning them come up with the idea that Vampires don't cast a shadow?

I think it might be a allusion to Vampires not supposed to exist in nature and the light shines through them because they aren't supposed to be there????

Thoughts?
 
When they stand in the sun, they dissolve, so no shadows.

Yeah, I know, that's totally a movie trope and not in real folklore. However, considering the reality of vampires (as you say, none), does it matter?
 
I don't have a reference handy, but I remember reading somewhere that that aspect of the European vampire legend was rooted in the Gypsy folklore that came out of ancient Egyptian philosophy. I think they believed that shadows were the mark of all things natural, and supernatural entities had no shadow.
 
In the Buffyverse, vampires don't cast shadows or have reflections in mirrors because they don't have a soul.
 
Cainkane1 said:
Vampires of course don't exist but how could the folklore concerning them come up with the idea that Vampires don't cast a shadow?

I think it might be a allusion to Vampires not supposed to exist in nature and the light shines through them because they aren't supposed to be there????

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

Because the writers said so.

The writers of vampire stories often change and/or create vampire attributes to fit the story that they are writing.

In some stories vampires casts shadows, in other stories they do not.
In some stories vampires cannot handle exposure to sun light, in other stories they can.
In some stories vampires cannot look at Crosses, in other stories they can.

And so on.
 
The body of vampiric and supernatural "lore" invented for the series. Wheadon and his writers actually concocted a pretty consistent "world" for the series, with vampires essentially being possessed by "demons", who were actually the inhabitants of alternate dimensions.
These dimensions occasionally finding access to our world by means of weak spots.... Like Sunnydale.
 
They don't cast shadows, they expel them. Besides, isn't it Vampum Mechanics? You can know where a vamp is, but not how thirsty it is.
 
If vampires don't cast shadows, why was a show about vampires called "Dark Shadows"?

IXP
 
HighRiser said:
I don't have a reference handy, but I remember reading somewhere that that aspect of the European vampire legend was rooted in the Gypsy folklore that came out of ancient Egyptian philosophy. I think they believed that shadows were the mark of all things natural, and supernatural entities had no shadow.
Click to expand...

Does not sound right to me. Gypsy, as a word, is a reference to Egypt, but that is not where they came from.

Read a book years ago called "Vampires, burial and death." It was a fairly serious look at vampire folklore. One of the things the author pointed out was that various cultures had their own versions of vampire folklore and they reflected the rest of the culture. Gypsy vampire tradition had it that the vampire was doomed to wander the earth forever. Serbian vampire lore had it that the vampire was tied to the land and the grave. Serbia was just emerging from serfdom at the time that was believed.
 
Lisa Simpson said:
Angel and Spike have souls and don't have reflections.
Click to expand...


I agree. I don't think Buffy/Angel ever gave any reason why vampires don't have reflections.

On the British show "Ultraviolet," vampires don't even show up on video camera.

On "Being Human," I'm pretty sure vampires do have reflections.
 
Cainkane1 said:
Vampires of course don't exist......
Click to expand...

Yeah they do. They don't cast a shadow in principal because all 3 species are nocturnal, but of course, they would cast one in moonlight. Quite fascinating little creatures. They regularly share their food (blood) with those who failed to find any, and with those who had to stay behind to look after the brood, even if non-related.

Mike
 
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Some of the legends say that Vamps are ephemeral vaporous creatures, which is also why bullets don't harm them.
 
It's to do with souls. Apparently they are alphabetized and vampires are "A" souls and don't cast shadows.

Humans, on the other hand, are "R" souls and this means that we can't see ourselves as others see us.
 
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