# Vampires -- at least in Sunnydale **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 31, 2000, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vampires-at-least-in-sunnydale/47931 "2000-12-31T20:05:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![RawkStah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/46a35a/32.png) [@RawkStah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RawkStah)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2000, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vampires-at-least-in-sunnydale/47931/1 "2000-12-31T20:05:23Z")
OK, I’ll admit I’m new to watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Perhaps this has already been covered in the show’s mythology, but how do vampires heal? For example: Spike, a vampire was staked thru the heart, but with a plastic stake. This didn’t kill him. Now, is he going to spend the rest of his antilife with a gaping hole in his chest? If vampires are undead, and they don’t have a pulse, presumably they have no cellular action going on. But, apparently they heal. How? The only things I know about Vampires comes from Cecil’s bit in one of the books going into the various species of vampire and how to kill them. Didn’t go into healing, tho… ---
**Author:** ![andygirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9adbd/32.png) [@andygirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andygirl)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2000, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vampires-at-least-in-sunnydale/47931/2 "2000-12-31T20:35:21Z")
As a diehard Buffy fan, I would humbly suggest that the mechaniations of a TV show’s mythology can be found only in the mind of it’s creator. BTW, Buffy, like everything dealing with vampires, has its own mythology- there is great overlap, but details can be very unique. It’s been said that vamps have accellerated healing. Like slayers, no? Vamps are demons, and who knows the metabolism of demons? It’s magic, and the magic on the show leaves a lot of the explaining to the wayside. Just as well- I’m all for more Faith in leather pants, less serious talk. If you want to see people passionately hash out your question, though, I suggest the message boards on [buffy.com](http://buffy.com), [mightybigtv.com](http://mightybigtv.com), or any of the 80 million fan sites. Brace yourself for horrible spelling, an f-you approach to the English language at large, and people who have virtually every single script memorized and will refer to proof from a line in an episode 3 years ago. Or you could just be content that it’s magic. ---
**Author:** ![RawkStah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/46a35a/32.png) [@RawkStah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RawkStah)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2000, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vampires-at-least-in-sunnydale/47931/3 "2000-12-31T20:45:17Z")
Mmmm… Faith… I’m more a Willow guy myself. If I can just convince Miss Hannigan that I’m the guy for her… OK, back on topic, I realize that the show has its own mythos, but what about vampires in general? Has any culture addressed this? The only stuff I come up with in my searches is creepy goth kids… ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2000, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vampires-at-least-in-sunnydale/47931/4 "2000-12-31T21:09:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by andygirl \* > \*\*Or you could just be content that it’s magic. \*\* _Yeah…uh, anytime you see something like that…a wizard did it. But- Wizard!_ Had to put in a Simpsons ref. Andygirl, I see you are fast approaching your 1000th post. May i throw you a post party when you reach it? ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2001, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vampires-at-least-in-sunnydale/47931/5 "2001-01-01T03:12:24Z")
It gets into the question of just what vampires are. The most popular mythos is that they are walking corpses kept animated by blood. But I seem to gather that originally they were considered a sort of psychic projection, or a solidified ghost. That was why they didn’t show in a mirror- they weren’t really _there_ in a sense. The actual body stayed in it’s coffin, and destroying that would eliminate those super skeeter bites. ---
**Author:** ![andygirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9adbd/32.png) [@andygirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andygirl)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2001, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vampires-at-least-in-sunnydale/47931/6 "2001-01-01T03:16:51Z")
Zoggie, As you like, babe. Quietgirl and I were going to celebrate my 1000th/her 10th, but then she got all prolific… Anyway, back to the OP. The Monster Book is a BTVS book that explains the mythology behind the show quite well. ---
**Author:** ![nOmega](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nOmega](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nOmega)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2001, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vampires-at-least-in-sunnydale/47931/7 "2001-01-01T06:17:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lumpy \* > \*\*It gets into the question of just what vampires are. The most popular mythos is that they are walking corpses kept animated by blood. But I seem to gather that originally they were considered a sort of psychic projection, or a solidified ghost. That was why they didn’t show in a mirror- they weren’t really _there_ in a sense. The actual body stayed in it’s coffin, and destroying that would eliminate those super skeeter bites. > \*\* No, there was definitely a body, hence the stake to keep the bugger in the coffin.