The Bestiary (On Hold)

Vampires

To start off with this thesaurus of myth and folklore I decided to begin with a legend that has almost been completely watered down and romanticized by cinema and literature. Historical figures that have been convicted of being vampires themselves, such as Romania's Vlad the Impaler of house Drăculești and Elizabeth Bathory of Hungary who had a reputation of killing her lady servants and has been rumored to be seen bathing in her victim's blood.
The legends of vampires have been around ever since 9th century from Africa to Asia, described as having dark facial features, and bloated physical forms that have been known visit living family members. But of course these beast are nowhere close to gentle for they would cause an increase in death and missing reports in whatever area they stayed. These species of vampires are more likely to have been correctly portrayed in movies such as Blade II and 30 Days of Night. In short they are the opposite of what we see today on the big screen.  The pale skin, handsome, romantic, and of course dangerous breed of vampire were culturally introduced in the 18th century. 
Places like Rhode Island and Eastern Connecticut which had fallen under an tuberculosis epidemic was one of many places. Not knowing how the disease had began to spread they had fallen back to the traditional European methods. While having a low medical infrastructure followed with a poor lack of understanding when it came to the disease, the townsfolk had began to believe that the undead had been preying on the healthy, causing the disease to spread.  They believed it so much to the point where that they would up dig up their deceased. If the deceased looked well too preserved to be dead then it would be the culprit and its heart would be removed or staked. If the heart were to be removed it would be burned in the center of town for the townsfolk and its officials to witness, even the minister of the church would be present for this moment.
As time had began to move along into the 1800's these practices had began to die down do to advances in medical technology and advancement.  Instead these invents had inspired authors to put them in novels that romanticized the species. One of these famous authors was the Irish writer, Bram Stoker who had created the legendary horror novel known as Dracula which has lasted over a hundred years.  In the novel it is written that Dracula was not killed by a wooden stake but a Bowie knife to his heart by an American known as Quincy Morris after being a mortally wounded by a Dutch Van Helsing who had sheared the count's throat with a khukri knife.
When it came to vampires in places like England there was mass hysteria. It was common practice to drive an ash or aspen stake through the heart of a suicide victim until it was made illegal in 1823. Eastern Europeans would use garlic and rub it on their livestock or hang it from their windows to ward off the creatures and protect their investment.
It is also known that vampires have a small pet peeve of being obnoxious counters. It was said if you spill a bag of seed he or she would have no choice but to count them all until they were completely done meaning they could not pursue you.  
Although there are some weaknesses that we all know can kill or stop a vampire dead in its track. Some of the most famous methods is the crucifix, holy water, and of course the suns ray.
Some have tried silver bullets, but do to the metal being soft it would never work with modern technology.

This creature has been around since before the birth of Christ, and of course all things change through time, meaning it could either be weak or more powerful than before.