[split] Vampires and Vampirism

['thul]

Martin chose the "not-human" concept on his vampires rather than the "no-longer-human" concept that tends to be more popular with storymakers. The latter includes both the "undead" branch and the branch of "living but no longer human", and of course these branches split up even more. Undead could be the "raving dead" as typical villain vampires are, but it could also be a simple part of the change, that they are clearly different, yet act like living for the most part.

These beings prefer the vampire type that takes the "no-longer-human" key branch, yet they care not too much about whether the vampires are considered "living" or "undead", so long as it does not go down the "raving dead" path. Vampires are supposed to be blood-drinkers and predators, but they also tend to be somewhat cultured, hiding in plain sight. The "raving dead" cannot truly hide themselves, and would generally get themselves or their prey exterminated quickly.
For vampires down this key branch, it should be a more complex process than a simple bite to transform, otherwise the world population would quickly be purely vampires.