deviations from generic vampire legend

Almost since the dawn of time, vampires have existed in a variety of cultures. Bella’s observations from her online research are: speed, strength, beauty, pale skin, eyes that shift colour, and then Jacob’s criteria: blood drinkers, enemies of werewolves, cold-skinned, and immortal.
Vampires in the Twilight universe are different from other vampires created for other purposes, although some generic vampire beliefs somewhat intertwine with the Twilight “brand” of vampires—there are frequent divergences from the vampires of legend, although some features remain the same.

1. Vampires feel cold to a human’s touch.                                 The vampires in the Twilight universe have skin that feels ice-cold to a human’s touch. 

2. Vampires do not need oxygen for survival. 
The vampires in the Twilight universe are no longer considered to be “living,” therefore; they do not depend on oxygen for survival. Their only reason for breathing would be to trigger their sense of smell. It becomes a habit for them—breathing, although, while they don’t actually need to breathe, it allows them to use their sense of smell. How long could a vampire go without breathing? Indefinitely—if he wanted to.  

3. Vampires have pale skin and fangs.
Vampires in the Twilight universe all have very pale skin and features; their skin is regularly described as “marble” in both its colour and perfection. Beneath the eyes of a vampire are dark purplish, bruise-like shadows that are indicative of their lack of sleep. However, the vampires do not have fangs—their teeth are so sharp and strong that fangs are hardly necessary. In several ways, Stephenie Meyer’s “brand” of vampires is much more violent than the vampires of legend, as their drinking of blood involves much more than the two tidy holes in the neck left by the fangs. The vampires usually rip through the flesh of a human and drain the body of its blood. If the vampire leaves only a bite, then a crescent-shaped scar will be left behind. This scar will always be a few degrees cooler than the rest of the body. 

4. Vampires can shift shape and even fly (sometimes in the form of a bat.)   
This expectation is so far from true that it is even laughable to the vampires in the Twilight universe. Stephenie Meyer’s “brand” of vampires is instead gifted extreme speed and strength. Their equivalent of flying is running—they can reach very high speeds in a short and limited amount of time. A vampire’s superior strength is also picked up in their driving—it is similarly fast, but also very safe due to their quick reflexes.  

5. Vampires don’t cast reflections in a mirror. 
In the Twilight universe, vampires do have a reflection. The belief that they do not cast reflections in mirrors is simply old vampire lore.

6. Vampires cannot enter a certain place if he is invited in. Vampires can enter any place they desire without invitation.      

7. Vampires may be burnt or killed by sunlight.  
The belief that vampires couldn’t come out in the daytime—that the sun would burn them to a cinder, is completely false in the Twilight universe. In order to keep their vampire identity confidential, though, it is important that vampires stay out of the sunlight. This is not because the sunlight will harm or kill them, but because of the dazzling diamond-like facets in their skin that reflect sunlight. When a vampire is exposed to sunlight, their skin will sparkle much like a diamond—revealing their true identity.

8. Vampires cannot eat human food—their sustenance comes from blood alone.
It is possible for vampires to physically eat in the Twilight universe. However, due to the physical changes which occur as a result of undergoing the transformation into a vampire, the vampire would have to couch the food up later in order to get rid of it. This is not the most pleasant thing, which is why the vampires only eat food when they absolutely have to in order to blend in.

9. Vampires can be warded off by crosses, garlic, holy water and similar items. 
These beliefs about vampires being warded off are completely untrue about vampires in the Twilight universe—the vampires cannot be warded off by any of these items—they were simply created to comfort the people in fear of vampires, making them believe they had ways of protection.  

10. Vampires can be killed by decapitation, a wooden stake or a consecrated bullet through their heart. 
Vampires in the Twilight universe are able to be killed, but only by another vampire, or by a werewolf. This is due to the fact that the vampires have very hard skin, much like marble in both hardness and appearance, so driving a stake through it would be next to impossible for a human to accomplish. Vampires and werewolves possess superhuman strength however, which allows them to rip through the skin of another vampire, or werewolf. And, this is not even taking into consideration their ability to reach speeds much too fast for any human to keep up with, much less overcome. Again, this belief was most likely created to comfort the meek humans in fear of the vampires, giving them a feeling of safety and security—they wanted to believe they had a way of protection from them.

11. Vampires sleep in coffins.                                            Vampires in the Twilight universe do not sleep in coffins—much less, they are not able to sleep, period, so coffins would be entirely redundant.