Staten Island Technical H.S. Gods, Monsters, & the Apocalypse
Mr. Mark Erlenwein, Principal Mrs. Kristen Fusaro-Pizzo, Instructor
Build Your Own Vampire Project
Objective: The goal of this project is for your team to create the rules and attributes of your own vampire universe. While creativity is necessary, research is actually the focal point. The caveat is that your vampire universe must be based on research your team completes about stories associated with vampires from any point in time, history, folklore, or fiction.
Rules: Make a COPY of this document and place it in the appropriate folder. Each question must be completed. In the area of “justification,” you will include BOTH your written analysis (can be 1-2 sentences) AND a citation to your research. Please use MLA format AND make the title a hyperlink so this also serves as a hyperdoc. Finally, one student from your team should be selected as the “Student Blogger.” He/she will receive special instructions from me on GLOBALLY PUBLISHING your final work product on my school blog.
Grading: Your grade is holistic based on 1) Research, 2) Teamwork, 3) Creativity, 4) Timeliness. Teams will SHARE grades, so it is imperative you SHARE the work.
Deadline: 4/12
| Team Name: Digging Our Own Graves | Class Period: 1 |
| Team Members: Clarisa Yee, Teresa Chen, Yu Fei Lin, Yerim Lee, Thomas Zheng, Tommy Lin | |
| Student Blogger Email: Clarisa.yee@sitechhs.com | |
| Vampire’s Ethnicity: Romanian |
| Justification: The earliest vampire legends originated in Romania with 2 different types of vampires to as the Strigoi. The living strigoi vampires are believed to have two hearts or soul and can appear like regular humans during the day (sunlight does take a toll on their bodies) and at night they send out their souls to prey on livestock and human blood (Long, Romania, Dracula and Vampires. Fact, Fiction and Origins) . Romania folklore also believed in the dead strigoi which are reanimated corpse with a stronger bloodlust and lack of mentality. Romanian vampires are believed to have distinguishing characteristics such as being born out of wedlock, has red hair and blue eyes, died before being baptized, born early, unnatural death, and was bitten (Romania). Works Cited- Long, Alyson, et al. “Romania, Dracula and Vampires. Fact, Fiction and Origins.” World Travel Family, 23 Mar. 2019, worldtravelfamily.com/romania-dracula-vampires-fact-fiction-origins-of-count-dracula/. “Romania.” Vampire Legends Around the World, vampiresaroundtheworld.weebly.com/romania.html. “Vampire Folklore by Region.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 4 Apr. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampire_folklore_by_region#Romania. |
| Vampire’s Abilities:
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| Justification: The Romanian Vampire, Strigoi, have been associated with the ability to transform into animals and become invisible (“Strigoi”). These characteristics were prominent aspects of Romanian oral tradition regarding vampires, such as the story of the Croatian Jure Grando Alilovic in the late 1600s (“Strigoi”). Many of our vampire’s abilities are derived from the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker (published 1897) which describes the tale of Count Dracula, a Transylvanian vampire (“Count Dracula”). According to the novel, Dracula’s superhuman strength matches those of 20 strong men and he had an ability to climb vertical surfaces in ways that seemed to “defy gravity” (“Count Dracula”). He has limited command of animals which he attempted to use to fend off his enemies and can also hypnotize his victim, largely Mina in the novel (“Count Dracula”). Additionally, our vampire’s ability would be greater if it drinks human blood rather than animal blood and also strengthen with age as shown in the TV Series The Vampire Diaries (“Super Strength”). Furthermore, as our vampire ages, it will gain the ability to imitate voices of others and utilize telekinesis as shown in the HBO series True Blood (“Vampire”). Works Cited "Count Dracula." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 5 Apr. 2019. Web. 10 Apr. 2019, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Count_Dracula "Strigoi." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 3 Apr. 2019. Web. 10 Apr. 2019, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strigoi “Super Strength.” Vampire Diaries, https://vampirediaries.fandom.com/wiki/Super_Strength. Accessed April 10, 2019. “Vampire.” True Blood, https://trueblood.fandom.com/wiki/Vampire. Accessed April 10, 2019. |
| Vampire’s Weakness(es):
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| Justification: These weaknesses are compiled from three sources, which are the Greek myth of Ambrogio and Selene, the book Dracula by Bram Stoker, and the book I am Legend by Richard Matheson. In the myth of Ambrogio and Selene, Ambrogio is turned into a vampire-like creature that continues to love Selene. In the processes of trying to get together with Selene, he is cursed by both Artemis and Apollo to be burned by silver and sunlight respectively (Gibson). In the book Dracula by Bram Stoker, there are various weakness that are distinctively mentioned in the book. The two I compiled from the work are the inability to enter a house without invitation and decapitation. Unless a vampire is specifically invited into a residence, they will be unable to enter, thus restricting their mobility (Harris). The last two weakness of fire and being impaled come from the book I am Legend by Richard Matheson. In I am Legend the main character has to survive in a post-apocalyptic world plagued by a vampire-like disease called Vampiris. Vampiris works as an infection and turns its host into a vampire-like monster that feeds on blood. In his process of survival he discovers ways of killing the infected- burning and stabbing (Editors, IMDb) Works Cited Gibson, Lyn. “Ambrogio: A Greek Vampire Origination Theory . . .” Author Lyn Gibson, 27 Sept. 2014, Harris, Tom. “How Vampires Work.” HowStuffWorks Science, HowStuffWorks, 8 Mar. 2018, Editors, “I Am Legend.” IMDb, IMDb.com, www.imdb.com/title/tt0480249/plotsummary |
| Vampire’s Reproduction:
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| Justification: According to the source, humans can contract vampirism and undergo 4 stages to become a vampire. The virus takes about a week to turn a human into a vampire. Stage one is when the virus destroys the immune system and takes over. During stage 2, the human will symptoms like high fevers, dilated pupils, cough, chills, body and stomach ache, and irregular heartbeat. Stage 3 is when the human will start to gain vampire traits like the affinity towards blood and being afraid of sunlight. Stage 4 is when the human goes to sleep and wake up as a vampire.(“List of Vampire Traits in Folklore and Fiction”) Reproducing through a human is present in European Folklore and in the Vampire Diaries.(“List of Vampire Traits in Folklore and Fiction”) In both sources, vampires can reproduce with humans. In Romanian folklore, when humans and vampires reproduce, the can produce a Dhampir that can track and kill vampires.(“Vampires”) Works Cited: “Vampires.” Unnatural World Wiki, unnaturalworld.fandom.com/wiki/Vampires?fbclid=IwAR06HotkrhKtVeXazaoE9d-hF8NbdodqEstNPHSY9DeZvh4JopuyQToDJXw. “List of Vampire Traits in Folklore and Fiction.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 4 Apr. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_vampire_traits_in_folklore_and_fiction. |
| Vampire’s Camouflage:
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| Justification: In “Dracula” by Bram Stoker, Count Dracula is portrayed as a handsome and charismatic man with an aristocratic charm and our vampire will reflect the same characteristic (“Count Dracula”). This trait benefits the vampires by allowing them to walk amongst humans and undetected and often at times, their charisma can draw their prey in. In Romanian folklore, they the pricolici, a type of vampire that is believed to be a hybrid between a werewolf-vampire. The pricolici has the ability to control their shapeshifting transformation, unlike werewolves (Vampire Folklore by Region). Our vampire will be able to shapeshift into a bat or a different animal which gives them another advantage when hiding from humans. Our vampires will also wear dark clothes which allows them to blend into shadows since they are often capable of staying very still. (They also look hot, Damon Salvatore from the Vampire Diaries is a perfect example!) Work Cited “Count Dracula.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 5 Apr. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Count_Dracula. “Vampire Folklore by Region.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 4 Apr. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampire_folklore_by_region#Romania. |
| Vampire’s Home:
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| Justification: These are the typical characteristics of a vampire’s home. According to the various sources, most of the furniture are usually in a Victorian style (from the influence of Dracula). The overall color theme is black, purple, or crimson red. The lighting inside the home would also be dark with various candles spread through the room. Objects such as bones or skulls also represented death (Leggett). Wine glasses are also used by vampires to drink human blood. According to Bram Stoker’s tale about Dracula, vampires needed to sleep in a coffin with soil. Sleeping in soil helps maintain their powers and immortality. (Where do Vampires Live and Sleep). Vampires also fancied lavish and luxurious items such as jewelry and cars according to the sources below (Shari). Works Cited Leggett, Rochelle. "How to Make a Vampire-Themed Room." Home Guides | SF Gate, http://homeguides.sfgate.com/make-vampirethemed-room-57810.html. Accessed 11 April 2019. “Where do Vampires Live and Sleep.” Reference, 11 April 2019. Shari. “What Attracts Vampires.” godsandmonsters.com, 11 April 2019. |
| Vampire’s Preferences:
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| Justification: Unlike zombies, vampires retain their mind, so their preferences from when they were a human would carry over into their vampire lives (Kaka). Due to this, preferences can vary from vampire to vampire. Our vampire hunts big victims because he likes to eat, or in this case drink, a lot. Our vampire also likes to sleep. As previously stated, sleeping allows vampires to maintain their abilities and immortality. Our vampire also likes to look at paintings and sculptures. He frequented the art museum before he became a vampire. An interest in paintings, jewelry, and other luxury items are something many vampires tend to share. Another preference shared my most if not all vampires is the dislike of garlic. Any strong scent is disliked by vampires, but raw garlic especially because of its antibacterial properties, which counteracts the process of transmitting “vampire disease” where the exchange of bacteria in the blood in crucial in beginning the vampire-making process (Matthew). Garlic has also been seen as a way to ward off evil in many cultures such as the Chinese and Malaysian. Therefore, vampires, being seen as evil, would be hesitant to go near garlic. These are possible explanations to why vampires hate garlic. Also our vampire doesn't like horror movies because they’re too scary for him. He never liked them as a human either. Works Cited: Matthew Garlic Shaker. “A CLOVE OF GARLIC: 9 REASONS WHY VAMPIRES FEAR IT!” garlicshaker.com, found on https://garlicshaker.com/blog/a-clove-of-garlic-9-reasons-why-vampires-fear-it/ [February 02, 2018] Kaka (Pourgial). “What Don't Vampires Like?” gods-and-monsters.com, found on |
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