11.10.2012

Mind Games

Everyone knows that vampires have super strength and super speed. In pretty much any vampire story, that's a given. Today's vampires also often possess some sort of mind powers, such as mind control or reading people's thoughts. As per usual, examples follow.

In a series of young adult books by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes, called the Den of Shadows, vampires have a few interesting supernatural abilities, apart from their strength and speed. This series is interesting because vampires possess the ability to dematerialize, change their form (i.e. become any animal at will), and employ glamours, all of which are demonstrated in the first book of the series In the Forest of the Night. Also, vampires can communicate telepathically and can trap people in their gazes, making them unaware of the world around them. All of this makes them dangerous predators that can come and go, undetected. 

In the pilot episode of The Vampire Diaries, Damon reveals his ability to control fog and a crow. Throughout the first few episodes we become acquainted with compulsion, where a vampire can compel a human to forget, say, or do anything he wants them to. Damon is also able to summon Caroline to him because he had previously formed a  strong mental connection with her through drinking her blood and heavily influencing her mind. It is explained that drinking human blood is necessary for making these powers work correctly and thus Stefan is unable to use compulsion 100% effectively. 

In Twilight some vampires possess special abilities, some physical and some mental. Among the Cullen family Edward can read minds, Alice can see the future, Jasper can control emotions, and Bella has the ability to shield her mind and anyone else's she chooses from other mental abilities. In Breaking Dawn we meet a character with the ability to control the elements and another who can channel an electric current through their skin. 

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