Anita Blake mythology
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In the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series of novels, author Laurell K. Hamilton has developed a detailed mythology. Her series is an alternate history that assumes that the supernatural is real, and that vampires, lycanthropes, and other supernatural beings live alongside humans in a society that otherwise resembles our own.
Although the existence of supernatural beings has been public knowledge for centuries in the Anitaverse (see select references below), its history has otherwise unfolded so identically to that of the real world that the series contains occasional references to the popular culture of the 1990s, including the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the O.J. Simpson trial, and others.
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[edit] Undead
[edit] Vampires
Vampires are blood drinking former humans, risen from the dead to prey on the living, with a variety of diverse powers. Vampires in the series have great power individually and within society. In the mythology of the series vampires in large areas are controlled by a single lead vampire known as the Master of the City. These master vampires in turn owe their allegiance to the top of the vampire hierarchy the Vampire Council.
[edit] Ghouls
Ghouls are undead scavengers who hunt in packs, typically near the cemetery where they rose, and eat the flesh of the living. Ghouls have animal-level intelligence and typically haunt cemeteries that are no longer holy ground, either because of the passage of time or because of some unholy ritual. Ghouls regard non-ghouls as either potential food or "something to run from."
As yet, animators in the Anitaverse do not know why most ghouls rise from the dead, although in one case, a pack of ghouls apparently rose when Zachary, an animator, was buried and rose from the dead.
[edit] Zombies
Zombies are humans or animals raised from the dead by an animator, a vaundun practitioner, or a necromancer. Although they may appear human and have some of their memories at first, zombies quickly lose their memories and begin to rot. Zombies do not need to eat, but if fed meat, zombies will rot more slowly or not at all.
Although not supernaturally strong, zombies are able to use their entire strength without concern for exhaustion or damage. They typically obey their creator's orders absolutely. Zombies are able to operate in daylight, but prefer night, and will hide during the day if permitted.
If an animator's corpse is raised as a zombie, it will arise as a flesh-eating zombie -- uncontrollable, much faster than a normal zombie, and with a taste for human flesh. After it eats, the zombie may begin to regain its human memories and personality.
In another instance, if the victim of a murder is risen as a zombie, the zombie will rise and then actively seek out its murderer. The zombie will then kill the murderer after attacking anything that has gotten in its way. Whether or not such a zombie is then capable of being questioned and controlled like other zombies is unclear.
Vaundun priestess Dominga Salvador created two apparently novel types of zombies.
- Salvador was capable of storing the soul of a dead person in a bottle, allowing her to raise zombies before their souls had passed on. By returning the soul to the zombie, Salvador created zombies with souls. This process prevented the zombies from rotting while they had souls, and served as further punishment for the deceased.
- Salvador also created a sort of zombie chimera by animating parts of several humans and animals, then melding them into a single monstrous zombie. A version of this type of zombie is also seen in Obsidian Butterfly.
[edit] Ghosts
Anita has encountered ghosts before. According to her, ghosts cannot actually harm a living person, but paying attention to them allows them to become more solid and attempt to harass or scare their victims. Anita generally tries to avoid animating a corpse if the deceased person's ghost is still haunting their grave. She appears to have no power over them, either, as ghosts are a type of "soul magic," as noted in The Laughing Corpse. As yet, no clear information on their legal status in the Anitaverse has been revealed.
The master vampire Seraphina had the power to summon and control ghosts, similar to the more common vampiric power of calling particular animals.
[edit] Shapeshifters
Numerous different types of shapeshifters exist in the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter universe, including werewolves and wererats. Anita distinguishes between lycanthropes, which includes solely persons infected by contact with another lycanthrope's bodily fluids, and shapeshifters, a class that includes both lycanthropes and persons who are able to shapeshift as a result of magic, such as a personal or family curse.
[edit] Other supernatural creatures
Anita meets or discusses a variety of other supernatural creatures over the course of the novels.
[edit] Faeries
Classified as Homo arcanus rather than Homo sapiens, the fey of the Anitaverse share many similarities with those of her later Merry Gentry series of novels.
[edit] Fey characteristics
- Fey are cross-fertile with humans. Humans with part fey ancestry, such as Magnus and Dorcas Bouvier may share some characteristics of full blooded fey. (Because the only fey to appear in the books are the Bouviers and two exotic specimens, Rawhead and Bloody Bones and Xavier, this section primarily discusses part-blooded fey descended from the fairy high court, such as the Bouviers).
- Part-fey such as the Bouviers appear primarily human. In the case of the Bouviers, their most striking physical characteristics are their otherworldly androgynous beauty, and the ability of their irises to "pinwheel" closed when their powers are active.
- Physical abilities: All fey seen in the Anita Blake novels to date have been preturnaturally fast and strong, and unusually resistant to damage. Some fullblooded fey, such as Rawhead, are completely immortal under normal conditions. (Ultimately, Rawhead shared blood with Magnus, rendering Rawhead capable of being killed while Magnus lived).
- Cold iron: Unlike vampires and lycanthropes, fey are not bothered by silver. Cold forged iron or even lead is more damaging to them.
- Glamour: One of the key abilities of the high court fey is that of glamour, an ability to cast illusions. Humans can resist glamour by placing a variety of magic ointments over their eyes *Example of Glamour; Making mud look and taste like ham.
- Sensitivity: Both Magnus and Dorcas were strongly psychic, with abilities such as clairvoyance.
- Harmony with nature: When Anita walked through the forest with Dorcas, it appeared as if the forest plants moved aside for her, or that she was in harmony with them. (Anita never saw a plant move, but somehow, forest plants were never wherever Dorcas happened to walk.)
- Vampirism: Supposedly, it is impossible to raise a member of the fey as a vampire. However, as Xavier showed, this does not appear to be entirely true.
[edit] Fey social organization
- In the Anitaverse, Unseelie fey are barred by law from immigrating into the United States. Because fey are not native to North America, the only fey present in the U.S. are therefore either illegal or are descended from ancestors who arrived in North America before the formation of the United States. (This is in contrast to the Merry Gentry novels, in which the U.S.A is one of the few countries that welcomes full-blooded fey.)
- The Daoine Sidhe, or fairy high court, is composed of some of the most powerful of the fey. When Anita sees Magnus using glamour, she concludes that he must be descended from the Daoine Sidhe. It is divided into a seelie court of neutral or good fey and an unseelie court of "bad" fey.
- Many people in the Anitaverse have partial fey heritage, and, at least in the U.S., they officially have the same rights and privileges as ordinary humans. Even Dolph Storr, who regards most supernatural beings with some dubiousness, considers having fey blood a non-issue. In practice, however, prejudice against part-fey is prevalent enough that many conceal their heritage.
[edit] Trolls
[edit] Lesser Smokey mountain troll
A small North American species, usually between three and a half feet to around five feet tall. Diet consists mostly of plants but occasionally carrion or insects. They walk as humans do, the only other primate species to do so, and are covered in black colored "fur." They are also what Richard has studied for four years in order to obtain his master's degree.
[edit] Greater Smokey mountain troll
A large aggressive and carnivorous species of troll, ranging from eight to twelve feet tall. They were hunted to extinction, because they had been fond of pulling trees up by their roots, beating people to death with them, and then eating the marrow out of their bones.
[edit] North American cave troll
The smallest troll species on North America, one member of the species (named Peter) was attempted to be converted into Christianity, by a human named Simon Barkley. A scientific journal in 1910 had been published with the information that some trolls had buried their dead with personal artifacts. The newspapers expanded on that information, proclaiming that the trolls mentioned must believe in an afterlife. Simon Barkley wrote a book describing his time with Peter and a professor of Anita's had a picture of Peter looking like he was praying.
[edit] Dragons
Dragons are known to have existed in the Anita Blake novels, as seen on page 544 of Obsidian Butterfly. However, it implies that most species, if not all, are extinct in present times.
[edit] Gargoyles
In The Lunatic Cafe, page 55, gargoyles are described as carrion eaters with the nearest grouping located in Kentucky. It is possible that they will attack a man, but it happens rarely. In France, there are three species reported that are either bigger than a human or human sized.
[edit] Quetzalcoatal
The status of the supposedly extinct Quetzalcoatl Draconus Giganticus, shortened to Quetzalcoatl, is up for debate, called either a subspecies of dragons or gargoyles or sometimes a class of their own. The Spanish were believed to have hunted them to extinction in their conquest of the Aztecs; however, a living example is seen in Obsidian Butterfly, so this classification may be incorrect. There is a deceased Quetzalcoatl in the Chicago Field Museum, though it is thought a far cry from the living thing.
The Quetzalcoatl is an iridescent green/blue which, as it nears the snout, loses most of the green, with a white belly and underside of wings. Multihued feathers fringe its round eyes, which are compared to that of a bird of prey's, and its wings are the same rainbow of colors as the feathers. It is armed with rows of saw-like teeth and claws. Anita describes it as "one of the most beautiful things [she had] ever seen."
First seen in Obsidian Butterfly, the Quetzalcoatl featured is a servant of the Red Woman's Husband, devouring human flesh given to it by its master. After the Red Woman's Husband's death, it disappeared without a trace and has so far not been mentioned.
[edit] Demons and Devils
Although rarely encountered in the novels, demons also exist in the Anitaverse; little has been revealed about them to date save that they are vastly powerful and evil entities, apparently residing in an otherworldly dimension and visiting Earth only when summoned by magic or when possessing humans (with mental illness seen as a potential risk factor for possession). Prior to Anita's own encounter with a demon in Blue Moon, there had been no known direct demon attacks upon humans since the Middle Ages. Devils, presumably a particular kind of demon, are regarded as among the most dangerous creatures in existence.
[edit] Merfolk
Mermaids (and their male counterparts) exist within the Anitaverse. Merfolk with a power similar to the ardeur are known as sirens. Sirens have the power to "roll" the minds of people in a similar fashion to vampires. Due to their potential power over other merfolk, sirens are traditionally slain by merfolk before they can become a danger.
Master Vampire of the City of Cape Cod Samuel has merfolk as his animal to call, and his wife Leucothea is the last living siren.
