With all the talk about Barnabas heart??

[loril54]

I wonder what happened with Barnabas' organs from no use. I know latter fiction had Vampires eating.

[Gerard]

I'm not so sure they didn't function.  We do know, at least in the DS world, that a vampire's heart beats (a few people heard it).  And they never said, or indicated, that Barnabas didn't eat or drink when he was in that delicate condition.  Obviously, he didn't need to, since a vampire only needs blood for sustenance, but I guess that doesn't mean he couldn't eat or drink.

Gerard

[FireRose]

I think that they still function. Just at a slower pace than a human's does.

FireRose

[arashi]

Would his stomach work? To process blood? I mean he drinks it, but does it like just fuse into his veins or something? Good question.

[Maybellique]

You see, this is what's always confounded me about vampires... that they can walk around,
dine, drink fine wines, go to operas and plays and NOT leave a stench in their wake. And these
are supposed to be "undead" creatures. So what then does "undead" mean, if all their organs
are still actually working? I was under the impression that the heart was dead, as were most
of the rest of their vital organs, and that they were walking around merely by supernatural
means-- or by the will of (haha) the  , himself.

Btw, I've always wondered about the resounding heartbeat everyone heard, myself. I gathered
that it wasn't the heartbeat of Barnabas himself but the embodiment of fear in his victims... ? ~DJ

[Willie]

I agree.  Vampires really shouldn't be able to eat and drink.  Either they would just keep getting bigger and bigger (and probably end up smelling like the kitchen garbage can if you didn't empty it for a month), or else they have to have a working stomach, which requires a working heart, lungs, and pretty much everything else.  And in that case they can hardly be "undead" because they're just alive.

[Nelson Collins]

Well, this might be a bummer to some, I don't tend to consider standard biology or physics when thinking about vampires.  At the end of the day, they were reanimated by supernatural means, so I try to to think about in a non-magical way.  When I do, I can't help but think about Angel and Spike and all the talk about how their hearts don't beat etc, and I keep wondering why we don't see post mordem lividity, or what's it's like to have sex with someone who is room temperature. 

It gets in the way of my suspension of disbelief, so I tend to try to ignore that stuff.

Now, with Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's vampires and ghouls, it's a lot more straightforward and if I may say a little more like the ideas presented in DS where there is something in the blood that changes its chemistry.  A cell or virus, that, with a sufficient buildup, upon the victim's death, causes the body to reanimate, have an extreme photosenitivity and require blood as sustanance.  Though there is still a very definitely a supernatural element as in her world the vampires do have a definite and necessary connection to their native earth.

[Josette]

But, DO vampires eat and drink?  It seems to me than any I have seen have either an excuse for not taking any food at that time, or they take a drink and just hold onto it, without actually consuming any.  I think that applies to Barnabas.  I don't recall him actually eating or drinking.

[Nelson Collins]

I think whether Vamps eat or drink has to do with the story being told.  I don't recall Barn actually eating or drinking when he was a vampire, but did occasionally hold a drink or cup in his hand.

Vamps in the Buffyverse seem to still eat and drink whenever they want, but require blood for sustenance (Spike likes buffalo wings, and blooming onions, for example)

Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's Saint Germain, often demurred when around others were eating or drinking, usually claiming that he prefers to dine alone.

I don't think any of the Rice vamps ate or drank.

IIRC, the "classic" vampires - Dracula, Varney, Camilla - I don't think they were ever seen to eat or drink.

And, the legends vary depending on the region.  For example, in Chinese folklore one type of vampire drinks spinal fluid, not blood.

[FireRose]

In the case of Barnabas the organs had to be preserved somehow... Because if not when... [spoiler]Barnabas was cured of being a vampire.[/spoiler]
If his organs had been destroyed by decay.  He more than likely would have dropped dead.

I can see the [spoiler]cells that was found in his blood, that was causing the curse, to be changed or eliminated by the experiment to return him to a human.[/spoiler]
But I'm not so certain the experiment would have rejuvinated flesh or organs that had been destroyed by decay.

Unless Angelique's curse,  just mimiced Vampirism , which gave him the symptoms and appearence of being a vampire. But his organs such as the heart, liver, etc were put in a preserved non functioning sleep like state as long as he was under the curse.

FireRose

[arashi]

I must day, I quite like the idea that vampirism causes a change to the cellular structure instead on the animated corpse theory. Perhaps when a vampire bites you, he infects you with the disease and if he continues to bite you, you become furthur diseased until your death, at which point the cellular change is completed. All I can think of is venomous snakes.

The cellular theory might actually be supported by DS itself. Julia and Dr. Woodard's examination of Maggie's blood cells found a foreign cell was attacking the red blood cells and changing them. Julia also referred to vampirism as a disease, and gave Barnabas injections to cure him. His veins and heart would have to be functioning for the cure to travel through his bloodstream.

[Taeylor Collins]

In the 1991 version of DS Victoria and Barnabas have dinner when he present's her with the music box.  However, at this time Julia was working on curing him, so maybe this "eating" experience is irrelevant.  Just thought I would throw it out there.