When my Dad was trying to wise me up to the ways of the world, he told me that the race of vampires were ancient. He said they'd been on Earth before humans, and that when the Ice Age began, they hibernated underground until it was over.
Their history is not well known. Unlike traditional vampires, it appears vampires in the Adventure Time universe are not limited to surviving exclusively on blood, but are capable of sustaining themselves on "shades of red," such as the color in strawberries. However, Marceline is the only vampire who has been shown willing to live this way.
Following the aftermath of the Mushroom War, there was a surge of vampires and they began stalking the remaining humans. A young half-demon named Marceline took it upon herself to protect the last of the human race and inevitably hunted the vampire race into near-extinction. She soon discovered that, upon killing a vampire, she was able to acquire their unique abilities by using her demonic power to absorb souls.[2] However, when she tried to fight the Vampire King himself, she was bitten. Although she eventually managed to slay him, she was turned in the process, becoming the Vampire Queen.[3]
Present Day
Having grown tired of being a vampire, Marceline asked her friend Bonnibel Bubblegum to extract her vampiric essence, in an attempt to make her mortal once again. Unfortunately, this leads to the reemergence of five of Marceline’s most powerful vampiric foes which she had absorbed the powers of: the Fool, the Empress, the Hierophant, the Moon, and the Vampire King himself. The reappearance of these vampires forces Marceline, Bubblegum, Finn, Jake, and Peppermint Butler to stake them one-by-one (although the Vampire King is neutralized through a scientific process that removes the vampiric essence from his body); in the ensuing action, Marceline is once again turned into a vampire, but comes to terms with her immortal fate.[4]
Characteristics
Hierarchy
As mentioned by the Empress, the vampire hierarchy system revolves around a hive that consists of lesser vampires referred to as "minions," under the command of a master vampire, such as the Empress herself and other members of the Vampire King's court. All the vampires are ruled by the Vampire King until he and most if not all his kind are wiped out by Marceline, who herself was bitten by the king and as the result she herself became the last surviving vampire, claiming the title of "Vampire Queen".
Powers and Abilities
Vampires are immortal and unchanging.
Vampires are far stronger than a normal human and have an evolved sense of smell.
Vampires have sharp, pointed, extendable canine teeth.
Marceline feeding.
The Vampire King was able to "turn" people and animals into vampires with his bite. It is not known if this is a all-inclusive vampire trait. Princess Bubblegum did not become a vampire when Marceline bit her in "Red Starved", however it's possible that candy people might be immune to vampirism, or that conversion might be something a vampire needs to do consciously and that turning others is not an automatic consequence of a vampire's bite. In "Heat Signature", Marceline indicated that she can turn humans and perhaps even dogs, but it cannot be confirmed whether she was being sincere or joking here.
Certain high-class vampires have displayed unique powers (e.g. levitation, invisibility, hypnosis, shapeshifting, rapid regeneration and telekinesis).
Weaknesses
Vampires are burned by sunlight and garlic.
A stake through the heart will reduce a vampire to dust and effectively kill them.
Additionally, the Hierophant had many of the "old school" vampire weaknesses, including the inability to enter houses unless invited in. When he was knocked over and fell into a house uninvited, it reduced him to dust and bones. Interestingly enough, it seemed as though he willingly subjected himself to such rules due to his own demeanor.
Marceline's father was stated by Adam Muto to be more of a demonic creature, which leads many to consider him not a vampire.[5] He has shown no evidence of any vampire-related abilities.
Marceline has bite marks on her neck in her current state, but they were not visible on her neck as a child ("Memory of a Memory") nor on the neck of Farmworld Marceline, who is visibly older. This was later shown to be because she was bitten by a vampire after splitting with Simon. Her turning did not occur in the Farmworld reality, where it was shown that although her half-demon blood slows her aging (she lived at least 1003 years), having vampire powers is chiefly why she seems not to age.
With the exception of Marceline and the Vampire King, all currently known vampires seem to be named after the Major Arcana cards of a tarot deck.
Until Marceline's loss of her vampire self revived the vampires she absorbed, Marceline appeared to be the last vampire, having killed the rest. This became the case again once she re-vanquished them.
The Vampire King becoming a lion after being cured implies that this may have been his original form before transformation into a vampire.
It is unknown what creatures the other four were before becoming vampires.
