When I first saw a vampire in cyroddil , I thought it was a terrible creature , a disease that warps the mind and body , on - par with things such as the blight and corpus

But now I bring forward new evidence to change your opinion on this bizarre illness , evidence with case studies from both skyrim and oblivion ( so minor spoilers ahead , watch out )

Like many , I have often asked myself what vampirism exactly was , why did it make the person need blood , why did it burn their skin in sunlight , how did it dramatically prolong ones lifespan ?

The question I will attempt to answer today is on lifespan , how can a disease allow mortals to live for centuries if not millennia ? Its beyond biological possibility for a human to live anything beyond 85 - 100 years in the world of tes .

There is a two - pronged theory to this question , the first theory is the more conventionally accepted theory , the second is my own , I think possibly new theory.

The first theory is that vampirism effectively kills the body , that the disease kills the organs of the body , living the person medically dead , but that in doing so the body lives and does not decay , the mortal effectively becomes literal " the living dead" .

But there are many holes In this theory , the biggest one being " so im cured...but im not 6ft under?" - if somebody is cured of vampirism , they should by all means die instantly , because the body is effectively already dead , yet this isn't the case , the mortal emerges perfectly normal , possessing normal traits . Of course until skyrim the only person to test this theory was yourself, which as we all know is patchy .

My theory is that sanguinare vampriris is far less sinister than we may believe - it could even have massive positive effects.

The diease does not In fact kill the body , stifling the organs and poisoning the mind , what it in fact does is freeze the personas genetic compound - freezing their DNA- thus making them "immortal" because the ageing process has been "frozen" . It does not change the persons personality , it is in fact the persons conviction which causes this , a "placebo" effect

How this happens , I haven't a clue , but I have two case studies from skyrim to help me prove my theory , and one from oblivion , which is based more on the psychological side.

*spoilers ahead*

Case study one : Babette - child vampire - advlt mind -

Babette is a vampire in skyrim , but shes unlike any vampire ever seen in tes , because shes a child , age around about 9-12 , she ins in fact 300 years old . Her race is Breton , who probably having a lifespan closer to humans than elves.

She was bitten as a child , and physically this was where her biological development stops - she posses the body of a child . Yet she has the mentality of a 300 year old woman ...with some philological "issues" ( shes a cold blooded killer in the dark brotherhood...) . Nevertheless her mental makeup is at its proper development .

This study shows that vampirism will freeze the biological factors of the body , but nots its philological factors . The brain seems unaffected but vampirism . It also shows that vampirism can infect a mortal of any age with the same effects . Babeete should be a grown woman , she is in fact tapped inside a childs body - because vampirism froze her genetics.

Case study two : Count Janus Hassildor - troubled man - sane mind

As all oblivnators know , janus hassildor is a rare species amongst vampires - a good decent man , one who doesn't prey on innocents during the night , a man generally concerned for his people.

But as we have observed , vampires are all savage beasts, with no ethics and personality ? I think not . Janus is a well developed vampire , but hes no savage , he seems a calm collected man who can be within reasonable contact with even the best neck . This suggests that vampirism only affects the biological factors in the body , the mind is left untouched and is not affected by the disease , that the person continues to have an independent personality and will.

Case study three : Serana - a Nordic beauty bites the dust ?

Serana is a nord in skyrim , she is ancitent , quite possibly many millennia years old , and yet has the biological composition ( and mental composition) of a nice normal young Nordic woman . Like janus she isn't savage , and, being locked away for many centuries , presumably hasn't touched blood for many years - which is a strong factor suggesting again the phycology remains completely independent of the body , and its need for blood to maintain supposed "sanity".

The player has the opportunity to cure her , yet when cured she is...normal , by all means she is a paradox , how can a mortal whos normal lifespan she has lived many times over emerge mortal again and not simply dissolve to dust , it seems biologically impossible .

In her mortal life , she was bitten at that age , so what we are seeing is effectively a millennia old "snapshot" of her all those years back - because her genes were frozen.

Presumably , when she is cured , she effectively begins ageing like a normal mortal again .

So , I have given you all my evidence , if you can read through it all and give your own educated findings , well I would be most gratified .

Do you agree or not agree ?

I have to disagree with your idea that it puts the body in a kind of stasis, and to be frank I object to the inclusion of Skyrim vampires. Though I've never played Skyrim I know they got their own expansion, which portrays vampires in a very different light to Oblivion vampires, who are in turn different to Morrowind vampires. You've based your assumption that it doesn't change the persona on an entirely different strain of vampirism, as you get in different provinces. Find the book Immortal Blood in Oblivion, it's about vampires, very interesting.

In Oblivion the majority of vampires are insane, bestial monsters lurking in the dark. There are a few like Hassildor, but the majority are the monsters, making Hassildor and those like him the exception. This points to a severe degeneration of the victim's mind, stripping them of their higher reasoning skills, turning them into a monster. And then there's Hassildor's wife, also a vampire, who's basically in a coma from the psychological trauma of being or becoming a vampire.

Consider also that peculiarity, vampire dust, obtained from the bodies of slain vampires. If the body is in a form of stasis, or having had it's genes frozen, then there can't possibly be the sort of change that results in the creation of this dust.

A vampire does not age or decay, so it's internal organs are presumably kept in the same condition as when they became a vampire and died. This is likely the reason they need to consume blood, to prevent the body and organs from decaying, but since the brain remains active it isn't protected in the same manner, leaving only those with the strongest wills able to fight off it's degenerative effects. Curing vampirism would be as simple as reversing that state, restarting the heart and organs while purging the body of the disease, because the body has in effect only been dead for an instant, no matter how long they've been a vampire.

Thank you for an educated response

Their are holes in every theory , first of all you ask about vampire dust ? Perhaps you can explain what exactly results in its creation ? If the organs don't decay ( as you say ) then where does the dust come from ? The brain cannot be held in exception to the other organs , the brain also requires the same blood that the other organs , as you say , continue to require . Of course if the body is dead the organs are no longer required to function , so you are in fact suggesting another theory , good work !

I agree with you that their are very different strains of vampirism , but they all essential come from the same disease , I also think things like mechanics and graphics have to be taken into account on this . Serana is a vampire , and yet she hasn't tasted blood for centuries ,and yet she still functions normally , in both brain and body ...so how can this be then ? Its really very interesting .

I can assure you I have read immortal blood many many times , having played all three titles for some years now , and this comes as a conclusion to the evidence I have found . Your probably right about how different strains of vampirism can affect the biological / psychological factors of the body , I don't think we have enough evidence yet to see how great these differences are .

I personally find it hard to believe vampirism affects somebodies mind-set , for the simple fact that there are exceptions to the rule - and whilst I accept its not a "one size fits all" scenario a disease does tend to duplicate the same symptoms between people . Its even possible that Janus might have a rare antibody or some such ( perhaps he was seriously ill before he contracted vampirism) which saved him from the worst of it .

Finally , I would like you to explain how Babbete maintained the physical makeup of the child , something you didn't mention ?

It's a magical disease created by the God of Corruption and Enslavement as an insult towards Arkay and the cycle of life and death. The immortality is the point of the disease and everything else is just Molag Bal being his dikeish self.

A vampire has to feed on blood or their condition gets worse and they can eventually go comatose if they refuse to feed (Count Hassildor's wife). It's implied there is a strong urge to feed but it can be resisted. The madness of most vampires is probably due to the stress of resisting this urge or despair at failing or their realization/acceptance of the monster they are. If a vampire feeds regularly, relieving the stress of the urge and preventing the escalation of their condition, and accepts their nature they're often quite collected and amicable and able to interact with other people (Janus Hassildor, Babette, Vincente Valtieri, Jakben Earl of Imbel, Seridur). Vampirism also is accompanied by nightmares. Meaning that though the disease doesn't directly cause madness there is ancillary effects that would drive most people mad.

Wasn't Serana in some sort of stasis before the Dragonborn freed her? That would explain why she doesn't show effects of lack of feeding.

As for the dropping dead the the moment they're cured bit. Why? Their bodies aren't decayed at all, why would there be no ontological inertia that would prevent them from "snapping" to a state correct for their chronological age? Their biological functions are halted (effectively "dead") and that includes any decay processes. Their bodies are just as capable of living on as they were before the person turned, it's simply a matter of purging the disease and then kick-starting the stopped biological functions.

How is the bodily functions halted ? I agree with a lot of what your saying , I don't think serana had any special "magic" to protect her from lack of feeding . Also your discussions into madness are psychological, NOT biological - exactly what I believe.

Unfortunately you don't really give an answer to how their "bodies arnt decayed at all" , of course "magic" is always the answer to everything...or it could be more about biological changes the disease causes.