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Reader Comments: (Page 5)

Dave Haber - just wanted to say thanks for bringing a new debate for us to 'sink our teeth into' again, I miss debating Harry Potter!

I have been thinking a lot since I posted my previous comment and I have come to a conclusion as to a possible reason why Severus Snape is portrayed as a vampire - but without him actually being a vampire.

A vampire is the un, the living - and what is (was) Snape but a man on the inside - living merely to exact revenge against the of his one true love.
To quote a certain Mr. Oldman from the film, Bram Stoker's Dracula as he holds Madam Mina's hand to his chest - 'There is no life in this body'. The quote would fit well for Snape, the moment Lily d there was no life left in his body.

A vampire can be anything, they can shape shift, be as smoke, mist. Snape is mist - nobody could grasp him, vampires traditionally have powers to control, to mesmerize and Snape certainly had those powers - even over Voldemort.

So perhaps Snape's vampiric tendencies are symbolic rather than actual and it was a huge clue to the character of the man who was the living as his heart d the day Lily did.

Posted by Orlando from England on September 5, 2007 06:13 AM

Though this is a great discussion topic, I have to disagree that Snape is a vampire.

Granted, he may look like one, but I do believe thats just to bad hygiene and just not taking care of himself.

As preferring the color black, I agree that he is associated with that due to his fascination with the dark arts.

The silvery thing that is not gas nor liquid, is not vampire blood. Its a memory that he yanked from his head to give to Harry(refer back to GoF when Dumbledore pulls out a thought to put into the pensive. This is when Harry first discovers the pensive).

As for preferring dark cold places, such as a dungeon, I believe this was done for two reasons. A closed room means that all potions are contained within (in case one blows up), and because he is a loner, he has privacy.

In regards to him being a loner, I think that is strongly because Snape gave up on himself when Lily d (he still blames himself for not helping). And he only continues on because of the fact that he gave Dumbledore his word to protect Harry out of love for Lily.

Now, the only thing that gives somewhat merit is the gliding through the air. The problem though, is for him to glide, he would need to sprout wings, which I think would be very obvious if he did that. If anything, he might know a Levitate spell, so when he does jump out the window he uses it. Please remember that he did have a few of his own tricks, as stated in his potions book from HBP as well as being able to use these spells without saying them aloud.

The fact that he doesn't eat in front of anyone, perhaps he has horrible table manners. Or even maybe he believes since he is disliked by so many people (students of course) that he didn't want to eat in front of them because he is afraid what it might have (mimicking Moody so to speak. And frankly, with George and Fred around, I'm not sure I'd eat with them around either).

OR, being that fact that Snape seems to love misery, perhaps he just doesn't eat because he has no appetite during the meals with all the happy and content people around him in the great hall.

His batlike appearance is just to give you an general idea of his physical appearance, as it has been stated in here.

Love the theory Dave, but again, I believe your reaching as you did when this site first opened for Dumbledore. I'm just happy to see that there is still loads of people wanting to discuss this matter.

Posted by Espirito from Ollivander's Shop - Portland, OR on September 5, 2007 08:22 AM

i read other books that are written by the author Darren Shan about vampires and the main character is a half vampire. in his book, a half vampire can go out during the day and they dont need to drink as much blood as full ones. And they can live to ages such as 800. they also have special remes and POTIONS! i dont really believe the theory but it may be possible.

Posted by Mark Campbell from N.Ireland on September 5, 2007 11:23 AM

Thanks a lot Dave for giving us fans something else to talk about. I agree with Orlando: I miss discussing Harry's world and theories and such!

This is a very convincing article, and I have to say, it makes a lot of sense. But I don't really believe that Snape could be a vampire. A part-vampire would seem more likely, but even then, I think it's just a way of describing Snape so readers can have a visual image of him. Why would J.K keep information from fans when there is no need for secrecy?

It made great reading though, because all the clues put together make sense!

Posted by Rashida from Northants, England on September 5, 2007 12:21 PM

I agree with Raven, in Stephenie Meyers books, vampires and werewolves HATE each other (and one vampire can read minds, like snape).

Posted by unknown on September 5, 2007 1:25 PM

I think, we sometimes sort too soon...

Posted by Honza from Czech Republic on September 5, 2007 3:38 PM

nice one Honza from Czech Republic

This is a weird, yet interesting theory. But yeah I think it more likely to be literary than practical. I think its what JK associates Snape with. Yeah, the batty potions master.

I'm getting to miss snape already. Can't take it in that he's . And such sweet theories make me feel he's still with us.

Posted by vinay from Bangalore India on September 5, 2007 6:30 PM

i have wondered about this for a while now, but i have only ever noticed the clues where he is described as being bat-like. now having read the article and the other clues i am positive that snape is a vampire or at least part-vampire. it would would be great if he is because it would give him a similarity to the marauders although mostly like moony because his would be genetic and not learned like an animagus e.g. prongs, padfoot and wormtail.

Posted by carl from england on September 6, 2007 02:50 AM

I don't think he is vampire, not even a part. First of all, Quirrell didn't really had garlic in his head, it was the smell of another mans head in his head. He only had the turbin to hide Voldemort.

About the vampire essay, I don't think Lupin would do anything like that. He doesn't have any grudge towards him, and no antipathy as he says to harry in book 5 I think. And the flying thing, he learned from Voldemort, of course he looks like a bat when he has a large black coat.

The only odd thing is the drawing off Snape from JK's hand. He does look like a vampire there. But never is it stated that he has long teeth, and I think that is the most essential point of being a vampire.

Posted by Claudia on September 6, 2007 05:36 AM

I can't be sure if Snape really was a half-vampire. I guess it's possible. There was one thing that I noticed that I didn't really think about until I read this article. My first thought when I looked at the picture of Snape in ly Hallows in "The Prince's Tale" chapter was, "He looks like Dracula!" I thought it was hilarious. But maybe it means more than that.

One thing that makes this difficult is that vampires have different traits and abilities depending on the author. So what one author considers a mark of the vampire, another considers it to be just a description.

Then again, he might not be, since JKR specifically mentioned this when she talked about fans overanalyzing details in the books. It's definitely something to think about, though, and the article was great.

Posted by Mia C. from New Jersey, USA on September 6, 2007 08:50 AM

Actually the one I thought was part vampire was Draco Malfoy. The reason being his appearance - Pale with the white blond hair and also his name - Draco. Draco being close to Dracula. If I remember correctly Draco means dragon and is the same nickname as the real Vlad Dracula's father had. Dracula means something like "son of dragon". Rowling often gives clues to a characters background through their name. Like for instance Lupin being a werewolf. The scientific name for werewolf being Canis Lupus. However, if he was part vampire that fact never came out.

Posted by Horntail from Star, Idaho on September 6, 2007 12:22 PM

In the Blade Movies, he was born part vampire because his mother was bitten whilst pregnant.

Posted by carl from england on September 6, 2007 1:08 PM

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