The Harry Potter books are finished. The story no longer belongs to J.K. Rowling, it belongs to us now. And while the final book nicely wrapped up the major questions in the Harry Potter septology mystery, there are still facets of the story that have not been explained, and never will be. J.K. Rowling can comment now, after the fact, on these questions, but the books stand as they are, and it is up to us, the fans, to discuss and debate these eternal Harry Potter mysteries and theories.
One of these theories that I’ve personally strongly believed for a long time, and still do, is that Severus Snape is a vampire, or at least, is part vampire. There are clues in all the books that point to this conclusion, over the years, J.K. has (sort of) denied that he is, and yet she continued dropping these hints even throughout book 7.
In all theories, there is one major clue that is uncovered first which gives rise to the idea that the theory could be possible, this is the “cornerstone clue”, and then we start looking for other clues that could support or disprove the theory. In the theory that Snape is a vampire, the cornerstone clue occurs in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Prisoner of Azkaban is an important book, because in it we meet all the surviving Marauders, and learn a lot about Harry’s dad and his dad’s friends.
In Prisoner of Azkaban, when Lupin has to miss teaching class because of “his furry little problem” and Snape takes over the class, he skips over all the normal upcoming lessons and teaches them how to recognize a werewolf, even assigning them a homework essay on the subject:
When the bell rang at last, Snape held them back. “You will each write an essay, to be handed in to me, on the ways you recognize and kill werewolves. I want two rolls of parchment on the subject, and I want them by Monday morning.” (PoA pg 172/129)
Snape knew Lupin was a werewolf, we know there was animosity between him and Lupin because of Lupin’s days as part of James Potter’s gang, an animosity no doubt increased by the humiliation of the boggart of Snape becoming dressed in Neville’s grandmother’s clothes in Lupin’s class earlier. When Snape assigned this essay to Lupin’s class, it was obviously in an effort to help students realize that Lupin was a werewolf, thereby revealing Lupin’s secret, which would no doubt result in Lupin being sacked as a teacher. Lupin later comes right out and says so:
“He assigned that essay hoping someone would realize what my symptoms meant…” (PoA pg 346/253)
Snape’s werewolf essay in Lupin’s class is a major plot point to the story, it illustrates the animosity towards Snape and Lupin and helps us understand the dynamics of Snape and the Marauders. It’s very interesting then, isn’t it, that J.K. uses this very important plot point to plant a clue about Snape? Later in the book, in the chapter coincidentally named “Snape’s Grudge”, Harry is about to make his way to Hogsmeade for the first time using the Marauders’ Map, and runs into Neville:
“What are you up to?” “Nothing,” shrugged Neville. “Want a game of Exploding Snap?” “Er — not now — I was going to the library and do that vampire essay for Lupin –” (PoA pg 276/204)
Clever, isn’t she? J.K. has just, in passing, established that Lupin assigned his students an essay on vampires, without her showing him actually do it. And why did Lupin assign the vampire essay? Can there be any doubt that he did it to get back at Snape for assigning the werewolf essay?
Another big clue comes in the same book as the cornerstone clue, at the very end of Prisoner of Azkaban, after Harry has just learned that Snape’s wish had come true, and that Lupin was resigning from Hogwarts because it had gotten out that he was a werewolf:
He certainly wasn’t the only one who was sorry to see Professor Lupin go. The whole of Harry’s Defense Against the Dark Arts class was miserable at his resignation. “Wonder what they’ll give us next year?” said Seamus Finnigan gloomily. “Maybe a vampire,” suggested Dean Thomas hopefully. (PoA pg 429/312)
Snape was, of course, eventually named DADA teacher, although it took a few more years to do it. Is it just a coincidence that it is the DADA teacher position that a vampire is mentioned in connection with?
The very first time vampires are mentioned, in the very first book, it’s mentioned not in regards to Snape, but to Quirrell, when Harry first meets him on our very first visit to the Leaky Cauldron:
“You’ll be g-getting all your equipment, I suppose? I’ve g-got to p-pick up a new b-book on vampires, m-myself.” He looked terrified at the very thought. (SS/PS pg 70/55)
Hmm… Almost the very first thing we learn about Professor Quirrell is that he’s afraid of vampires. And who does he go on to be afraid of during the whole book? Snape.
And why does Quirrell’s turban smell like garlic?
Quirrell’s lessons turned out to be a bit of a joke. His classroom smelled strongly of garlic, which everyone said was to ward off a vampire he’d met in Romania and was afraid would be coming back to get him one of these days … they had noticed that a funny smell hung around the turban, and the Weasley twins insisted that it was stuffed full of garlic, as well, so that Quirrell was protected wherever he went. (SS/PS pg 134/100)
I think we are meant to believe that the garlicky smell is coming from Voldemort who is in Quirrell’s head, but J.K. herself is again here bringing up how garlic wards off vampires, and it was somehow protecting Quirrell. But Voldy was already in his head, he didn’t need protecting from him. The person he needed protecting from was Snape, who he knew was after whatever secret he was hiding. And, by the way, these clues again come during a chapter named after Snape, this time, “The Potions Master”.
By the way, garlic is only mentioned three times in the Harry Potter books, once in SS/PS as described above, once in Prisoner of Azkaban, with the cornerstone clue, and only one other time, in Chamber of Secrets. Interestingly, this time it is not in reference to warding off a vampire:
Ginny didn’t find it amusing either. “Oh, don’t,” she wailed every time Fred asked Harry loudly who he was planning to attack next, or when George pretended to ward Harry off with a large clove of garlic when they met. (CoS pg 210/157)
So, it would seem that garlic not only wards off vampires, it also wards off dark wizards (at least in the humorous world of Fred and George). Whether or not Snape fits the first description, he definitely fits the second.
And while we’re on the subject of Chamber of Secrets, the only mention of vampires in this book is in relation to Gilderoy Lockhart’s book, “Voyages with Vampires”. Seven of Lockhart’s books are on their Hogwarts book list for the year, “Break with a Banshee”, “Gadding with Ghouls”, “Holidays with Hags”, “Travels with Trolls”, “Voyages with Vampires”, “Wanderings with Werewolves” and “Year with the Yeti” (Cos pg 43/38). So why is it that, throughout the rest of the book, Hermione seems to be only interested in “Voyages with Vampires”? She has a copy propped up against a milk jug and is reading it on pg 86/68, it’s mentioned again by name in the same scene a few pages later, she has her nose buried in it again on pg 96/75, and it is mentioned by name again as she closes it with a snap a page later. Is J.K. playing a game with us now, waving the vampire book in our face?
This may or may not be Snape related, but Percy says something disturbing about vampires in Goblet of Fire. In an angry moment triggered by something in the Daily Prophet written by Rita Skeeter, Percy says:
“That woman’s got it in for the Ministry of Magic!” said Percy furiously. “Last week she was saying we’re wasting our time quibbling about cauldron thickness, when we should be stampimg out vampires! As if it wasn’t specifically stated in paragraph twelve of the Guidelines for the Treatment of Non-Wizard Part-Humans –” “Do us a favor Perce,” said Bill yawning, “and shut up.” (GoF pg 147/131)
This passage is interesting, because from it we learn that even though vampires are protected by Wizard law, some wizards, like the crowd Rita Skeeter panders to, would rather be killing them. So, if Snape is a vampire, no wonder he’s hiding it.
Of course, as everyone knows, vampires can turn themselves into bats. The first direct reference to Snape being a bat or like a bat comes towards the end of the first book. Harry discovers Quirrel in the room where the stone was hidden, and expresses his surprise that he’d expected Snape instead:
“Severus?” Quirrell laughed, and it wasn’t his usual quivering treble, either, but cold and sharp. “Yes, Severus does seem the type, doesn’t he? So useful to have him swooping around like an over-grown bat.” (SS/PS pg 288/209)
In the next book, Chamber of Secrets, J.K. does it again:
“A bad idea, Professor Lockhart,” said Snape, gliding over like a large and malevolent bat. (Cos pg 193/144)
The next book which directly mentions Snape and bats is in Half-Blood Prince, the book that is, after all, all about Snape. He is DADA teacher now, and while his class is practicing nonverbal spells, J.K. tells us:
He swept between them as they practiced, looking just as much like an overgrown bat as ever… (HBP pg 179/170)
And again, this clue about Snape appears in a chapter named for Snape, the chapter is titled “The Half-Blood Prince”.
Of course, the ultimate Snape bat clue comes in the final book, Deathly Hallows. Just prior to the battle of Hogwarts, Snape resigns his headmastership by fleeing, jumping through a classroom window.
“You mean he’s dead?” Harry sprinted to the window, ignoring Flitwick’s and Sprout’s yells of shock at his sudden appearance. “No, he’s not dead,” said McGonagall bitterly. “Unlike Dumbledore, he was still carrying a wand…and he seems to have learned a few tricks from his master.” With a tinge of horror, Harry saw in the distance a huge, batlike shape flying through the darkness toward the perimeter wall. (DH pg 599/482)
So, not only does he look like a bat, now Snape can fly like one too. Earlier in the book, we learned Voldemort had learned to fly. But only this time is the ability described as “batlike”. And how do we know Snape learned it from Voldemort, as McGonagall assumed? Perhaps it was Snape who taught his master how to do it…
And once again, this clue comes in a chapter named for him, “The Sacking of Severus Snape”.
Finally, there is one more bat clue, also in Deathly Hallows, but it takes place in “The Prince’s Tale” (again a chapter named for Snape), many years before the Harry Potter books, when Snape is “no more than nine or ten years old”:
Harry wondered why he did not take off the ridiculously large coat, unless it was because he did not want to reveal the smock beneath it. He flapped after the girls, looking ludicrously bat-like, like his older self. (DH pg 664/533)
There are many other smaller clues in the books which also support the theory.
The first time we meet him in Sorcerer’s Stone, Snape is described as having “sallow skin” (SS/PS pg 126/94). In Chamber of Secrets, Snape is described as “a thin man with sallow skin” (CoS pg 78/62). He’s also described as sallow in Prisoner of Azkaban (pg 93/72), Goblet of Fire, (pg 175/155)… well, you get the idea.
Sallow means “a sickly, yellowish color”, and is usually used to describe a person’s complexion. In folklore, vampires are frequently described as being sallow.
This is repeated again later in Deathly Hallows, the nine or ten-year-old Severus is also described as “sallow, small, stringy” (DH pg 663/532), and later in the chapter, Snape’s mother, Eileen Prince, is described as “a thin, sallow-faced, sour-looking woman who greatly resembled him [Snape]” (DH pg 668/536). Does Snape take after his mother? Is he part vampire because of her?
There are other qualities of vampires that Snape also seems to fulfill. He works and lives in the dungeon, and is seen prowling the castle at night.
Vampires don’t eat normal food, they only drink blood, Snape is seen sitting at the table at Hogwarts feasts, but is he ever described as eating something there? Snape is present at the Christmas dinner in Prisoner of Azkaban (pg 227/169) but there is no mention of him actually eating. And in Order of the Phoenix, after Harry discovers Snape is in the Order and was attending the meeting, J.K. goes out of her way to have Ron tell us, “Snape never eats here, thank God.” (OotP pg 77/73)
Non-believers in this theory say that Snape is seen out during the daytime, and while it never says Snape is seen eating, someone would obviously notice it if he wasn’t. But I believe it is possible that Snape could only partially have the symptoms of a vampire. It could be because, if he inherited it from his mother, he is only half-vampire. We have many other examples of characters in Harry Potter books who are half human and half something else, Hagrid, for example, who is half human and half giant, and Flitwick, who is obviously half human, the other half possibly being elf or goblin. It is also possible that Snape is taking a potion which lessens his vampire symptoms, a potion like the one he makes and gives to Lupin to help him get through his werewolf periods. Did you ever wonder, why did Snape become so good at potions? Was it so that he could learn to make the potion he needed to surive as a part-vampire?
And for those who would say that you can’t inherit being a vampire, you have to be bitten, I would remind you that a bite is required to become a werewolf as well, and yet, in Deathly Hallows, Lupin is worried his son might inherit the condition.
As to this subject as to whether Snape is a vampire or not, J.K. has spoken twice. At the World Book Day Chat on March 4, 2004, someone asked, “Is there a link between Snape and vampires?” J.K. replied, “Erm… I don’t think so.” Not quite the resounding denial, is it?
But, wait. In a chat with Harry Potter fan web sites in July 2005, J.K. is talking about the weird theories fans come up with, and says:
“Generally speaking, I shut down those lines of speculation that are plain unprofitable. Even with the shippers. God bless them, but they had a lot of fun with it. It’s when people get really off the wall — it’s when people devote hours of their time to proving that Snape is a vampire that I feel it’s time to step in, because there’s really nothing in the canon that supports that. It’s after the 15th rereading when you have spots in front of your eyes that you start seeing clues about Snape being the Lord of Darkness. So, there are things I shut down just because I think, well, don’t waste your time, there’s better stuff to be debating, and even if it’s wrong, it will probably lead you somewhere interesting. That’s my rough theory anyway.”
Don’t forget, she said this in July 2005, after the release of Book 6, and there’s still lots of stuff she couldn’t “come clean” on until after the release of the final book. Is J.K. deliberately trying to throw us off the track? The fact that Snape was a vampire did not figure prominently in the ending of the story, but what if she wanted us to think it did, to get us off the track, making the ending an even bigger surprise?
But as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. You’ve heard J.K.’s words on the subject. But the clincher for me on this whole theory, is J.K’s own picture of Snape, the way she, herself, sees him:
This is a picture that J.K. drew of Snape that is in her notes, that she held up for the camera during a TV interview many years ago. You’ll notice that he’s drawn without legs, with his cape flowing in the breeze below and behind him, as if he is floating (or flying). And he is shown wearing the kind of cape with the high collar in the back, very reminiscent of every vampire we’ve ever seen in a Hollywood movie.
So, do these clues mean that Snape is really a vampire, or part vampire? Or did J.K. Rowling plant them, and continue planting them through the end of Book 7, just to have fun with us and get us off the track of the real solution to the Potter septology mystery? We will never know for sure, but I personally believe these clues mean Snape is part vampire. What do you think?
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Half of me says you are right but the other disagrees. yes she does put out lots of hints about him being a vampire but i do not believe that vampires turn into bats. also one other reason Luin and Snape hated each other because isn’t it true that vampires and werewolves are mortal enimies? and it would make perfect sense IF you knew that in The Deathly Hallows that the person flying across the grounds was Snape instead of someone else.
Well there are a lot of clues, but still i think that they are small things that make a big story. all those “clues” are just stuff she put in the story to make the story “complete”, and of course there’s going to be garlic if you have vampires in a magical world. but still it’s pretty tempting to say that they all are clues, but the story is over so what should the clues should be for?
well i think IF she put clues they are for another part of the big story or just another perspective.
i would have never thought of the possibility of snape being a vampire, but i guess it is possible. and looking at all the clues it’s very likely.
There are some clues which link Snape to bats. J.K. has made countless references to Snape’s bat-like appearance. But to say that these miniscule references lead logically to the conclusion that Snape is a vampire is, I believe, strwtching things too far. Also, I do not see why J.K. would include such a huge aspect of a relatively main character’s life, and then give it no meaning to the story.
Does this mean that Snape�s somewhat “alive”, even after being bitten by Nagini? Wow…
Hmm… posssibly, but I believe we saw Snape die in Book 7. Either he wasn’t completely “undead” because he was only half-vampire, or the potion he took to mitigate his vampire symptoms prevented him from being undead. So, when Nagini bit him, he really died.
Could his title, “Half-Blood Prince,” be another clue–vampires and blood, half a vampire, etc?
I have also thought he might be a vampire, and noticed the bat clues. However, if J.K. claims he isn’t, then I will go with that… perhaps she imagined Snape as looking LIKE a vampire, so she used words to describe one, so that we’d get an accurate picture of him… hmm.
I do find it interesting, though, that there are all these vampire references, and then he dies from exsanguination…
I don’t know. Funny thing is that Snape in my imagination just looks as the drawing of Snape. He could be partially a vampire although it’s of no importance to the story…
Garlic doesn’t ward off dark wizards. Or else all the order needed was a lot of Garlic to fught against the death eaters.
Snape became good at potions becuase he loved Lily Evans and Lily was good at potions. The 6th book was named after him…the half blood prince…half vampire, maybe?
its very possible, Rowling has corrected herself in saying certain things she labeled rumors can be possible (for example the case of Neville/Luna)
the books mentioned voldemort joining forces with dark creatures, a vampire is a perfect ally. it would also explain his hatred towards the marauders. all his life he could always blame his loneliness on his condition, but then he met Lupin who has the same problem, but he has friends.
I do not think that Snape is a vampire. We all must remember that the story is told in Harry Potter’s point of view. Harry has always thought of Snape as being bat-like. Umbridge is perpetually described as being toad-like. Does this make her half-toad? I think it’s a trait of Harry (and a literary device used by Jo) to describe characters as animals. Scrimgeour is described as being lion-like, Sirius is always described as being dog-like, etc. (In this case, did Harry think of Sirius in these terms before or after he gained knowledge of him being an animagus? I don’t know, maybe someone could find out?)
“Bellatrix’s mouth twisted as though she had taken unpleasent dose of medicine.
‘But you didn’t return when he came back, you didn’t FLY back to him at once when you felt the Dark Mark burn-‘” Bellatrix HBP.
I find it interesting that Bella said FLY, I mean the other Death Eaters Apparated why would Snape fly.
As for Remus and revenge I don’t think so.
snape is a vampire. he wasnt bitten or anything like it, he was undead. since lily died, he lived only for one thing, and when that was over, most likely he would have comitted suiside. theory half correct.
When I saw the preview of this on the main page, I thought, this person must be crazy, but by the end of the article I am inclined to believe the theory. It’s probably a coincidence, but I always imagined Snape to be bat-like.
That hint about “Voyages with Vampires”, I don’t think so. Hermione’s smart, but not that much. She more than likely enjoyed it like most others who burry themselves in books.
About Dean’s wish for having a vampire for a DADA teacher the next year, I think that unlikely to be a hint. He was probably just saying it because, well, having a werewolf for a teacher would be something of a shock, so having a vampire next would not be so surprising.
That hint about Quirrel is really clever, during the book we see Snape threatening and generally frightening Quirrel, so maybe before they taught together at Hogwarts Snape was cruel to the DADA teacher?
As for Lupin getting back at Snape for the warewolf essay, possible, because Snape always hated Lupin and his lot, so maybe…
Just saying, dk from il;
You seem awfully certain, nobody, (except JK) can be certain until the encyclopaedia is released. But getting back to reality, this theory is rather farfetched. We do seem to be ganging up on Snape, everyone seems not to like him and think of him as an evil character. As for him always living in dark, damp, dungeons, and keeping half-dead things in jars, everyone has a certain amount of morbidity in them, just some more than others!
Well I dont think that Snape is a vampire, or even half vampire. The clues that were mentioned were probably just loose ends so people could continue to write fan fiction. Besides Snapes father was a muggle and I doubt his mother was a vampire (or in this case vampiress).
Millie: We don’t know hardly anything about Eileen Prince other than she was good at potions. And regarding Tobias Snape, muggles can be vampires too…
it is mention time and time again that Dumbledore found the 12 uses of dragon blood, maybe one was similar to wolfsbane to werewolves, perhaps it could be used as a substitute to vampires for human blood. that would explain why Snape seems to admire Dumbledore
One thing I have gleamed from reading this site for the past year is not to just toss out a theory just because it is improbable. Through Dave and the many that have posted to the comments here, I have seen many ideas I just didn’t think could work – that ended up being correct or at least a distinct possibility. The clues all point to there being a possibility that Severus was at least part vampire; among the ones Dave mentioned his love of billowing black robes, preferring to dwell in dark underground places, and oft descriptions of being “bat-like” to name a few. And I gotta admit, that drawing really does seem to convey that Jo had vampires in mind.
That being said, I really think that these things that hint Severus was a vampire are simply the ambiance of his character. She may have written him with a vampire in mind, but to give him the countenance of one, not to make him actually be one. This is not so much because of proof in the books, but because of what is not, or rather what is there instead. A vampire bloodline, if it were true, would actually go quite a way to understanding Severus� character, why he was an outcast or preferred to be so. The fact that we already have someone whose �dark� form normally attacks humans whose condition has been explored so thoroughly leads me to believe that if it was a factor in Severus, it would have at least been mentioned if not in the books, then on her website or in interviews. Pr. Flitwick gets this very courtesy � his goblin ancestry is not important in the least to the story, the plot, or even understanding his character, but Jo tells us he�s got it. In this case, absence of evidence does seem to be evidence of absence.
Wow amazingly put Monkeeshrines.
The article was nice but Snape was not a vampire. You are reading too much into those “little clues” which never really meant anything. Jk Rowling liked vampires so she mentioned them several times int he books that doesnt mean there is any deeper connection.
But if Snape’s half-vampire, not bitten but through birth, how did one of his Muggle or wizard ancestors… make him, i mean isn’t it a bit dangerous, doing it with a vampire? the same thing accured to me whilst reading that Hagrid is a Part-giant. how can a giant and a “small-looking man” mate?
George: The answer is the same as the answer to the old joke, how do porcupines mate?
Answer: Very carefully!
Those who are quickly dismissing the idea of Snape being a vampire are putting too much stock in modern and conventional depiction of vampires.
JK Rowling is an exceedingly intelligent woman who has drawn on ancient mythology to create her universe. The conventional depiction of a vampire is basically an invention of the modern age.
Look at mythology and you’ll find a host of things that may connect Snape with vampirism.
Nah, I don’t think he’s a vampire. Maybe he just really likes them and fancies himself to be bat-like. I’d go as far to say how much I love the Matrix trilogy and that I fancy myself a super awesome hacker ninja!
And now a word from your friendly neighborhood insufferable know-it-all!
Well, Mythologist is right. Vampires have not always been the way we now think of them. Originally, bloodsucking demons from ancient Mesopotamia, Greece and Hebrew notwithstanding, southeastern European folklore described them more like zombies or maybe a European sort of mummy. Risen from the dead, darkened in complexion, wearing shrouds, causing mayhem and sometimes death among the places where they dwelled. They drank human blood, were vulnerable to garlic, and could be killed with a stake through the heart. No fangs, no high-collared billowing cloaks, no particular aversion to sunlight, and some, such as Greek vrykolakas, even had reflections and shadows. Indeed Dracula (published 1897) was the first published work to feature those last few traits, and so made them a sort of “cannon” for vampire lore.
Half-vampires in folklore seem to be exclusively when a male vampire mates with a human woman – often the vampire’s widow or someone he desired in life. The “woman bitten by a vampire while pregnant” version of half-vampire is, as far as I have found, is exclusive to the Blade comic book character, and dhampirs (children of vampires) are more commonly in pop culture than in folklore, featuring in, as well as comics, movies, pop literature, anime, and certian tabletop roleplaying and video games.
As for Jo’s use… I actually noticed that, as far as I can recall, she never made any mention of vampires having fangs, only their pale complexion and desire for blood (and the fact that some retailers, like Honeydukes, sometimes tailor to their taste for blood flavored lollipops). We actually don’t get very much information on what a vampire is to her – we don’t even know if they are considered undead or simply dark magical beings who are alive. She certainly seems to be going for the more conventional description of a vampire, but I think at this time we have too little information to really state what her version of a vampire is, and therefore, can’t really say one way or the other about the presence of anything vampire related in Severus.
I think you have made smoe very good points in your theory of Snape being part-vampire, or at least having some vampire characteriztics. However, i think that you base too much on small little points.
I also think that the bat-like creature flying towards the perimeter walls could have been Voldemort. Porfessor Mcgonnagall could have been referring to the fact that snape was a good dueler when they dueled. And after Harry notes that he sees the bat-like creature flying, he says Voldemort is coming. We have to go.
Basically, these little things J.K. says are just characteristics of the people. Like “toad-like”. that doesnt mean Umbridge is part toad. Little things dont matter as much as you make them out to be, but sometimes they do.
Umbridge is Toad-like but her patronus is a cat. her room is decorated with simpering kittens. so, the fact that Snape is bat-like, does not really mean he is part vampire. and if JO wanted him to be, he would. It would be another case in point for the half-breeds theory. he was just a sad little boy with a not-so-kind parent, who loved the dark arts. and then love transformed him. brought him over to the other side. He was not a great human being, but he was a highly accomplished wizard. thats all there is to him. no vampire-bitten past.
To be honest a lot of people are saying that because he is called “half-blood prince” that must be making a referance about blood which vampires drink, but surely everybody in the books could be called a vampire because everybody is always making comments about being a “half-blood” a “pure-blood” or a “Mudblood” so I think that everybody is just reading too much into the word blood. And also if your going to say about the Prince part I would suggest that you read the 6th book more carefully, because Hermione proves to Harry that Eileen Prince was Snape’s mother, and in the 5th book we learn that his father was unkind to his mother, and so Severus must have been ashamed to be called Snape so instead took his Mothers name of Prince.
It seems to me that the final nail in this coffin (pardon the pun) is in this author’s own example. When Percy is ranting about vampires and cauldrons, he mentions the “Guidelines for the Treatment of Non-Wizard Part-Humans” in reference to the vampire subject. Note the phrase “Non-Wizard.” If we assume the Ministry isn’t a total failure (which I am loathe to do), and they have categorized vampires as non-wizarding folk, then there is no way Snape could be a vampire. He’s just really, really creepy.
Garret, just because there is a “Guidelines for the Treatment of Non-Wizard Part-Humans” doesn’t mean that there aren’t Part-Humans who are Wizards. Take Hagrid, for example. He is a Wizard, and part-human (part Giant).
We know that Jo has maintained a mysterious stance for snape being good or bad until the end of the story. I think the clues about snape being a vampire are the part of the pattern that leads us to an uncertain idea about snape being good or bad.
There is no way Snape could be half vampire. Vampires are undead; they cannot breed. Giants are alive so they can breed, as are werewolves. Giants and werewolves can breed with humans, but vampires are undead. There is a difference between ALIVE and UNDEAD. When you are undead, you are basically a walking corpse with a brain. You don’t have to breathe, and your heart doesn’t have to work. Werewolves are humans that grow fur and lose their consciences once a month. They are alive.
Have to say, never even passed across my mind to considar Snape a vampire. I can see why whoever wrote this is supporting their theory but I can’t say i personally believe it. I think some of the arguments could be based on coincidence (like Hermione always having the vampire book present, perhaps Jo just forgot what she had called the other ones & couldn’t be bothered to go back and check). That aside i think the most this proves is that we are meant to look at Snape as *vampire-LIKE*, but not as an actual vampire.
It’s a good theory but personally I think Rowling put all that facts about Snape being ‘Batlike’ just to make the story complete. Harry does not like Snape so he thinks him Batlike.
DH page 599 McGonagall said snape jumped through the window. Harry asked if he was dead McGonagall said
“No, he’s not dead–unlike Dumbledore he was still carrying a wand–and he seems to have learned a few ticks from his master.”
Harry looked out and saw in a distance a huge bat like shape flying toward the perimeter wall.
He was inside flying out, McGonagall was refering to Snape being able to fly like Voldemort. It was Snape that Harry saw.
I so think snape is a vampire now!
I was working on this theory by myself, but by now i’m stopped with that because this one is really good. The only thing that is not mentioned is this:
he gave himself the name: halfblood prince
but why should he be proud to be a half blood prince, if his mother is the one that gave him his share of vampire?
i dunno. i think snape may be a vampire, but it’s not a big part of the story becuse she (jk) never mentioned it in the books.
I’m not sure if anyone has noticed this, but in the third book, the joke played on Snape, by Sirius, would have resulted in Snape’s death; vampires can only be killed by werewolves. Another reason I think Snape is at least part vampire. Because if he weren’t then the worst thing to happen to him, he would have become a werewolf himself.
I never thought about snape being a vampire but now that you’ve told us the theory I’m convinced.
Vampires can only be killed by werewolves? What happened to a good old stake through the heart?
I’m not convinced that Snape is a vampire. He never shows the least sign of wanting to sink his fangs into anyone’s neck. I know Rowling uses a lot of bat imagery in connection with Snape, but I don’t think it goes any further. Can someone ask her?
i’m not sure abt this vampire thing but in HBP when harry went to christmas party at slughorn’s there is mention of a vampire sanguini. i didn’t understand the context/use of that in the book at all (except that the person who brought him offered to write a biography of harry which harry denied) and thought then that may be vampires will come in picture in some way later but that didn’t happen. so why did jkr mention a vampire when she was not to use it, she hasn’t done this (mention but not use) with any other myth characters. May be it was part of the story earlier in her mind but finally could not make to the final version. just a doubt, I told you i’m not sure!
Swati, I think Sanguini was just a bit of local colour. I mean, it was a party so there had to be a few guests. Also their presence fits in with Slughorn’s character. He really likes to be the centre of attention and I guess having a vampire at his party would lend it a certain cachet! The main point of that scene was that Harry overheard Snape and Malfoy’s conversation which confirmed that Malfoy was up to something and deepened our suspicions of Snape.
Actually, thinking of Sanguini and Bragg; did anyone else notice the distinctly camp characterisation of these two? Interesting in light of Rowling’s revelation about Dumbledore. Bragg and Sanguini were pretty obvious, but Dumbledore, although it didn’t surprise me to learn he was gay, I never even thought about. I’m not quite sure how to put this, but it’s like he was so comfortable with who and what he was, that things like that were sort of invisible. Does that make sense?
I agree….I thought Bragg and Sanguini might be an item but then Sanguini was also very interested in all the nubile young girls as well!
Maybe Sanguini’s role was specifically for the purpose of giving more evidence that Snape ISN’T a vampire. We can see from the way Sanguini is treated rather like Bragg’s puppy dog that Vampires don’t typically function in society. I’m not saying that Snape functioned well in society but he has managed to hold down a job and gain the trust of the two most powerful wizards of his time. I really don’t see how he could have managed all this if he was moonlighting (get it?) as a Vampire.
another clue is on pg 491 of GoF (english version) chapters the dream for you yanks, when Harry is discussing Crouches dissapperarance with ron and hermione ron asks “D’you reckon he (snape) could have beaten you and dumbledore down there?”
Harry replies “Not unless he can turn into a bat or something”
Ron mutters “wouldn’t put it past him”.
Also, with regards to coming out in the day, the vampire Sanghini is at Slughorns party. not sure if it happened at night though.
but would not dumbledore know about snape being a vampire if at all he was?