• To begin, we must start by defining vampires. This is no easy task. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word vampire can be traced back to the early 1700s.Wikipedia: Vampire - Etymology However, the traits that define a vampire have changed through the ages.

1. Originally, vampires were undead creatures that escaped from their caskets. Some believed that this was caused by an evil spirit possessing the victim's corpse.
2. Eventually, the beliefs were complicated by the notion that vampires drink blood. At that point, other myths that involved with drinking blood were connected to vampire mythology.
3. Today, the only characteristic that seems to connect various offshoots of vampirism is the need for blood-- they may or may not be demons or even dead.By Light Unseen: What's in a Word? How "Vampire" Came to Mean Anything Not Under the Sun

• For the purposes of this page, vampires may be reanimated corpses, drink blood or both.

• Since vampires are frequently thought of as being dead, it might seem strange to suggest that someone can be born a vampire or be predisposed to becoming a vampire after dying.

1. According to South Slavic beliefs, children born or conceived between Christmas and Epiphany are more likely to become vampires.Google Book Search: Slayers and Their Vampires, p.58
2. In Romania, being born the seventh child is enough to make one a vampire if the previous six children were the same sex.Monstrous Vampires: Natural-Born Vampires Crystalinks: Vampires
3. Being born the illegitimate child of parents who were themselves illegitimately conceived.Mental Floss Blog: How Do You Make a Monster? (October 31, 2008)
4. Being cursed either in the womb or at birth.Scribd: What is a Vampire, p.4

• Sometimes there were physical signs that indicated people who were destined to become vampires. According to Slavic folklore, children with red hair and blue eyes would become vampires. Luckily, dark hair and eyes were most common in that region.Monstrous Vampires: Natural-Born Vampires It was also believed that a child who possessed any of the following traits upon birth was destined to one day become a vampire:

1. Teeth.Monstrous Vampires: Natural-Born Vampires
2. An extra nipple.Monstrous Vampires: Natural-Born Vampires
3. Extra hair.Crystalinks: Vampires
4. A tail.Crystalinks: Vampires
5. A distinctive red birthmark.Scribd: What is a Vampire, p.4
6. Two hearts.Scribd: What is a Vampire, p.4
7. Missing cartilage in the nose.Monstrous Vampires: Natural-Born Vampires
8. A split lower lip.Monstrous Vampires: Natural-Born Vampires
9. A membrane, known as a caul, covering the head.Monstrous Vampires: Natural-Born Vampires

• According to Romanian beliefs, a pregnant woman had to guard herself from specific things that could make her unborn child a vampire. These things included:

1. Having a black cat cross her path.Crystalinks: Vampires
2. Not eating enough salt.Crystalinks: Vampires
3. Being looked upon by a vampire or witch.Crystalinks: Vampires
4. Giving birth prematurely.Crystalinks: Vampires

• One of the origins of the idea that vampires are born and not made comes from Jewish texts. According to the story, Eve was not the first woman created by God. Instead it was Lilith.HowStuffWorks: How Vampires Work - Early Vampires: Lamastu and Lilith Unhappy with her life, she left the Garden of Eden. She then made a deal with the angels who were sent to retrieve her, resulting in her transformation into a witch and the mother of all demons.Ghosts of Earth: The Origin of Vampires She later paired up with Cain, after he killed his brother Abel. Some say that vampires are the offspring of Lilith and Cain. Although this story is not mentioned in either the Bible or the Torah, it can be found referenced in the story of Beowulf.HellHorror.com: Vampire Origins - Where Did Vampires Come From?

• If you are not born with the predisposition to become a vampire, then there are certain actions or events that, when they happen during your life, are likely to make you a vampire after you die. Examples include:

1. Eating the meat of a sheep which was killed by a wolf.Scribd: What is a Vampire, p.4
2. Being weaned too early.Scribd: What is a Vampire, p.4
3. Breastfeeding after being weaned.Scribd: What is a Vampire, p.4
4. Stealing ropes that were used to lower a coffin into its grave.Scribd: What is a Vampire, p.4

• More commonly, the act which would destine you to become a vampire was something specific which the Christian church considered highly sinful. For example, anyone who was excommunicated would become a vampire because they were unable to receive the sacraments and would therefore die without receiving forgiveness for sins committed.Google Book Search: Slayers and Their Vampires, p.55 A few other examples of this include:

1. Living an overall sinful or immoral life, such as a living as a thief, prostitute or murderer.Google Book Search: Slayers and Their Vampires, p.55 Scribd: What is a Vampire, p.4 Monstrous Vampires: How to Become a Vampire
2. Dying unbaptized, according to Greek lore.Crystalinks: Vampires
3. Desecrating a holy day.Crystalinks: Vampires
4. Practicing black magic or witchcraft.Scribd: What is a Vampire, p.4 Monstrous Vampires: How to Become a Vampire
5. If you're a priest, taking Mass while "in a state of mortal sin."Scribd: What is a Vampire, p.4
6. Being cruel or violent during your life.Monstrous Vampires: How to Become a Vampire

• Werewolves have long had a connection with vampires. In fact, many believed that when a werewolf died, he or she became a vampire. This also held true for any people that the werewolf killed. Unlike common beliefs, those killed by werewolves would come back as vampires-- not werewolves.Monstrous Vampires: How to Become a Vampire

• Throughout Europe, the manner in which one died could cause that person to become a vampire. Part of this had to do with their beliefs about life and death. For example, according to South Slavic beliefs, the soul must remain on Earth for a certain amount of time. Therefore, if someone died before that time they were doomed to roam the earth as a vampire.Google Book Search: Slayers and Their Vampires, p.56 Some of the many other ways a person could become a vampire by the way they died include:

1. Dying a premature death before being baptized.Google Book Search: Slayers and Their Vampires, p.55
2. Dying due to natural forces such as fires or drowning.Google Book Search: Slayers and Their Vampires, p.56
3. Being killed by an animal or another person.Google Book Search: Slayers and Their Vampires, p.56
4. Dying in childbirth.Google Book Search: Slayers and Their Vampires, p.56
5. Dying between Christmas and Epiphany, according to South Slavic beliefs.Google Book Search: Slayers and Their Vampires, p.58
6. Dying alone.Crystalinks: Vampires
7. Committing suicide.Google Book Search: Slayers and Their Vampires, p.56

• Once you have died, you might think you are safe from becoming a vampire. Sadly, (or happily depending on how you view it), no. How a body is treated during the time after death and before burial can transform someone into a vampire as well. Some examples include:

1. If a cat or dog should jump over the body while it is lying in state before it is buried, according to Balkan folklore.Google Book Search: Slayers and Their Vampires, p.53
2. If a chicken flies over the body before it is buried.Google Book Search: Slayers and Their Vampires, p.53
3. Giving a person an object or shaking someone's hand over the body .Google Book Search: Slayers and Their Vampires, p.53
4. If the shadow of a living person falls onto the body.Google Book Search: Slayers and Their Vampires, p.53
5. Passing a candle over the body.Scribd: What is a Vampire, p.4

• However, there were a few other things that, should they happen, would make a person return from the dead as a vampire. These things include:

1. Not receiving the proper religious burial rites.Google Book Search: Slayers and Their Vampires, p.55
2. If their brother sleepwalks.Scribd: What is a Vampire, p.4
3. If their murder has been unavenged.Scribd: What is a Vampire, p.4
4. If the wind from the Russian Steppes blows over their body.Scribd: What is a Vampire, p.4
5. In Romania, if they are buried face up.Scribd: What is a Vampire, p.4
6. If the corpse swells before burial.Crystalinks: Vampires

• This fear that a corpse would become a vampire was so common in the 16th and 17th century, that graves were often dug up so the bodies could be checked for signs of vampirism.HowStuffWorks: How Vampires Work - Later Vampires Churches even documented some cases where corpses exhibited signs of being a vampire.TheTrukstoP.com: Vampires: Folklore explained by Science

• Depending on the mythology, the vampire may or may not be inhabited by the soul of the person who died. Sometimes, corpses were reanimated by demons. An example of this is the Indian belief of vetala, which were demons who possessed recently deceased bodies.HowStuffWorks: How Vampires Work - Lamia and Other Early Greek and Asian Vampires

• No page on how to become a vampire would be complete without discussing how a vampire's bite and blood can turn an otherwise normal human being into a vampire. It is also one of the more modern beliefs which has become so prevalent that it has overshadowed all the other traditional means of becoming a vampire. According to various beliefs, a person can become a vampire through blood or biting by:

1. Being bitten by a vampire and dying or nearly dying.Vampyrus: Vampire Lore and Vampire Myths
2. Receiving multiple bites from a vampire.Crystalinks: Vampires
3. Drinking the blood of a vampire after being bitten.Monstrous Vampires: The Vampire Kiss

• These beliefs, although not created by, were hugely popularized by Bram Stoker's novel Dracula and the numerous books and movies which came after it.By Light Unseen: Vampire Myths and Realities In fact, many beliefs about vampires can be traced back to that particular story, including the idea that vampires and the story of Dracula are both based on the Vlad Tepes, better known as Vlad the Impaler.Dracula's Homepage: Traits of the Vampire In reality, Stoker only borrowed the name "Dracula" from Vlad.Dracula's Homepage: Filing for Divorce: Count Dracula vs Vlad Tepes

• If you enjoyed this how to, you might also want to check out Mahalo's How to Become a Werewolf. If you are looking for more vampire stories, then you should check out the Twilight series or True Blood series. For other vampire information, check out Vampire Cupcakes, How to Do Vampire Makeup, Vampire Bats and Vampire Costumes.

Interestingly, the belief that Judas Iscariot is the first vampire comes from this myth. According to the New Testament, after betraying Jesus with a kiss, Judas hung himself. Some believe that Judas did not die but rather was forced to live with his actions.