Origin
Vampires were created by the Pillar Men with acupuncture techniques that they developed through the use of the Stone Mask. The purpose of the vampires were to become food for the Pillar Men and for the exploration of human potential. This would then lead the Pillar Men to discover the Red Stone of Aja, which can be combined with the Stone Mask to make them perfect, granting them immunity to sunlight and allowing them to rewrite their DNA.
Vampires can be created in two ways. One way is to wear the Stone Mask while exposing it to blood. The other way is for a vampire to give a corpse some of his own blood.
Zombies
A secondary undead, created by a vampire who dons the stone mask, is commonly referred in part I and II as a Zombie. Those who have their blood sucked by a vampire are turned into zombies who don't feel pain. Another way to turn someone into a zombie is injecting the victim with a special extract vampires create, even though skilled Hamon users are able to reject it. Zombies then can turn people into zombies by eating their flesh instead of sucking blood. While the zombies found in Part I: Phantom Blood were typically lesser beings that had no vampire abilities, the discrepancy between the two is much more vague in Part's II and III.
As lesser beings, the majoritThe Blood Vessel Needle Attack might be their primary ability, as at least four individuals were capable of using it. It consists of small antennas coming out of their heads capable of sucking blood of their victims.
Powers and Abilities
Vampires have numerous superhuman traits. The most obvious abilities are their raw strength, regeneration, and near-immortality. On top of that, many vampires are capable of manipulating their bodies in creative and unique ways. Some as skilled as Dio have created their own unique abilities.
Abilities discovered by Dio Brando
- Space Ripper Stingy Eyes: Creates two pressurized fluid jets from the eyes. Strong enough to cut through a whole column.
- Regeneration: The body is able to live even after having vital body parts amputated. It will regenerate and the body parts can reattach themselves. Vampires can also control their detached body parts.
- Kikareitouhou: A freezing touch able to freeze their body parts and transfer this to over objects. It is able to cancel out the Hamon by freezing the blood in the user's body.
- Fusion: Can create half-man half-beast creatures by fusing different species.
- Spores: Can generate Evil Implants generated from his hair and insert it in the brain of living beings to control them.
Individual-Based Abilities
- Hamon: The vampire Straizo, for having previously learned the art of the Ripple, could use it after turning into a vampire. As the two sources of power are oposites, its possible that this essentially made him weaker.
- Spikes: The vampire Wired Beck had the ability to grow numerous spikes from all over his body.
- Two-Faced: The vampire Nukesaku displayed the ability to grow a second face at the back of his head with female features. With it he can trick people into thinking he's just a innocent woman, but needs to manipulate his body to match the way his new face is looking and cover his original one with his hair.
- Stand: Like anyone with unusually strong spiritual power and determination, vampires also can develop and control Stands, as they are typically a reflection of the wielder's spirit.
Differences with Popular Culture Vampires
- The crucifixes and garlic have no effect on JJBA vampires. Hamon as a sunlight force could affect normal vampires.
- JJBA vampires have reflections and can be photographed.
- Vampires are commonly converted when they are bitten by another vampire. In JJBA the vampires are created wearing a Stone Mask or receiving blood from a vampire.
- Another myth of popular culture is that vampires can turn into bats, wolves or other animals. In JJBA vampires can manipulate their own body becoming humanoid monsters. This also means JJBA vampires can't fly as bats.
- Normal Vampires suck blood through a bite to the neck of their victims. JJBA vampires suck blood through tentacles in their fingers. However, like traditional vampires, JJBA vampires are shown to bear fangs.
- In some myths, killing the main vampire, cures all the humans. In JJBA killing the main vampire does not reverse the transformation of other vampires.
- In some myths vampirism is genetic. In those myths, cases of male vampires conceiving a child with human woman result in the child being a half-vampire (Dhampir). Dio Brando's sons show no indication of having inherited his vampirism.