Barnabas - the vampire?

[Josette]

Barnabas' vampire abilities have me quite puzzled.  The various things he did to frighten Trask - the voice, making the candles go out, the vision of the hand, dreams, etc. all seem to be things that Angelique as a witch would have done.  I've certainly never heard of vampire having those sorts of powers.  Back in the present, when he wanted to frighten Julia, he did something similar.  He told Carolyn a story about where he learned to do this (I forget just who the person was who had taught him).  I suppose this could have been the same thing, but it does seem rather strange.

Meanwhile, his "real" vampire abilities are quite suspect!  He does manage to turn into a bat and dematerialize at times.  He does manage to bite some people.  Given that he's surviving, he must be getting blood somewhere (we saw graphic evidence of that in the beginning).  

However, most times when he goes to bite someone, he bares his fangs, they see it and scream (I always thought that a vampire had some sort of hypnotic power that prevented them from screaming or resisting).  So, he ends up trying to strangle them, and in most instances someone hears the screams and comes on the scene, forcing him to leave with the job undone!  He seems extremely inept!!

[jennifer]

Barnabas' vampire abilities have me quite puzzled.  The various things he did to frighten Trask - the voice, making the candles go out, the vision of the hand, dreams, etc. all seem to be things that Angelique as a witch would have done.  I've certainly never heard of vampire having those sorts of powers.  Back in the present, when he wanted to frighten Julia, he did something similar.  He told Carolyn a story about where he learned to do this (I forget just who the person was who had taught him).  I suppose this could have been the same thing, but it does seem rather strange.

Meanwhile, his "real" vampire abilities are quite suspect!  He does manage to turn into a bat and dematerialize at times.  He does manage to bite some people.  Given that he's surviving, he must be getting blood somewhere (we saw graphic evidence of that in the beginning).  

However, most times when he goes to bite someone, he bares his fangs, they see it and scream (I always thought that a vampire had some sort of hypnotic power that prevented them from screaming or resisting).  So, he ends up trying to strangle them, and in most instances someone hears the screams and comes on the scene, forcing him to leave with the job undone!  He seems extremely inept!!

Josette
i thought the same things yesterday He just became a vampire so I could see him having troubles but all the things he did to Trask seem "advanced" and more like the powers of a witch! It was great to see Trask running around though!

jennifer

[Cassandra]

Good point Josette. He definetely needs some experience when it comes to the vampire thing. Perhaps he should take a lesson from Tom Jennings!  Tom sure didn't waste any time with trivial things such as strangulation!  No, he got right to the point, and fast, too!!

[ROBINV]

Barnabas was "born" a vampire with a conscience, but Tom Jennings had no interest in anything but blood, blood and more blood--there was no conscience bothering Tommy-boy, that's for sure!

As for why Barnabas is so good at scaring Trask but can't drink from a victim without making a mess of his shirt, I have no idea.  It's another writer glitch, I guess, but I'm having so much fun watching Barnabas scare the crap out of Trask!

The walling up thing terrified me.  Always has, always will.  That seemed like something a man filled with total hate would do, but I can't imagine the pre-vampire Barnabas doing anything that awful--to anyone.

Love, Robin  

[Dr. Eric Lang]

Back in the present, when he wanted to frighten Julia, he did something similar.  He told Carolyn a story about where he learned to do this (I forget just who the person was who had taught him).  I suppose this could have been the same thing, but it does seem rather strange.

Barnabas told Carolyn he learned the black arts from a shaman in Martinique. This was shortly before the 1795 storyline and the very first time Martinique was ever mentioned. Possibly Barnabas learned of this trickery - in theory - while in Martinique long before he became a vampire - and how has the actual powers to put the skill to actual usage.

[Philippe Cordier]

 Chris, you have a good memory!

 Josette, you are so good at pinpointing and defining those vaguely puzzling aspects of DS that nag at the back of my mind.

?!?  So, here's another question:  How is it that Trask KNEW that Barnabas was (supposedly) dead?  And earlier, Peter Bradford knew too ... The secret does not seem to have been very well kept.  How did all these non-family members find out?  Did I miss something?  

[Dr. Eric Lang]

How is it that Trask KNEW that Barnabas was (supposedly) dead?  And earlier, Peter Bradford knew too ... The secret does not seem to have been very well kept.  How did all these non-family members find out?  Did I miss something?  ::)

I believe this was discussed in another thread, but if you will recall, despite Joshua's mandate that everyone keep quiet about Barnabas' death, Josette ran right over to the Gaol and told Victoria she blamed her for the death and would do everything in her power to make sure she was hanged as a witch. So at that point both Vicki and Peter knew Barnabas had died. Abigail also knew, so presumedly either Josette or Joshua told her, and she may have told Trask.