Although both the vampires and werewolves are legendary creatures known to kill or hunt humans to suck human blood, there are several significant differences.
While vampires are soulless creatures powered by their blood magic and immortal being, werewolves are mortal beings who age and die just like ordinary human beings.
It is easy to kill Werewolves mainly using silver weapons such as a silver bullet or silver blade.
Contrary, vampires are not easily killed by weapons as they are already dead soulless creatures.
However, vampires will explode into flames when exposed to sunlight, while garlic may result in skin discomfort.
Most of their time, werewolves are in their human form, and their diet is quite similar to that of ordinary humans, while vampires depend on drinking fresh human blood for their survival.
Key Differences Between Werewolves and Vampires
Vampires are mythical creatures that survive by drinking fresh human blood and shapeshifting into a bat-like creatures. In the past, vampires are described as dark-colored and bloated creatures with some form of intelligence.
However, from the Victorian era, vampires have changed in appearance and character as they are now seen as very sophisticated and charismatic predators.
Vampires use their fangs to suck blood from their victims, and in their human form, vampires will resemble the appearance of the person they were before they transformed into vampires.
They won’t come out of their coffins or cemetery during the day as they avoid any contact with sunlight.
During the night, vampires are very active, and their nocturnal abilities make them see the prey even when hiding in the darkness.
Lycanthropes, popularly known as werewolves, are hominid mythological creatures with the ability to shapeshift from human form into a wolf-like beast either due to a curse or according to their will.
During the day, werewolves will interact with regular humans as it isn’t easy to distinguish them from ordinary people.
However, their ability to shapeshift into their true werewolf form occurs during the full moon, and this transformation may be involuntary.
According to traditional werewolf mythologies, a werewolf in its human form can be distinguished from other humans since their eyebrows typically join at the nose bridge, have curved fingernails for seizing their prey, have low-set ears as well as a swaying stride.
It’s hard to distinguish them from ordinary wolves in their werewolf nature, although they may be relatively more prominent than the actual wolves.
Origins
Various mythologies are explaining the origin of vampires according to the various cultures.
For instance, in Chinese and Slavic folklore, vampires arise from corpses that an animal jumped over while the person was still alive.
Moreover, a corpse with wounds from an animal and was not washed with boiling water before the burial could eventually transform into a vampire.
According to recent Western folklores, a human being can transform into a vampire after a vampire bite, mainly when a vampire uses its lower fangs to drink the victim’s fresh blood.
Similarly, when a person drinks the vampire’s blood voluntarily, they transform into a more powerful vampire within a relatively short transformation period.
According to European folklore, a person could transform into a werewolf by putting on a wolf skin belt after removing their attires. Besides, a person who drank rainwater held in a wolf’s footstep could also transform into a werewolf.
The idea of a werewolf biting a human being to become a werewolf began appearing in fiction work from the 19th century. Still, to date, most werewolves propagate by biting their victim.
Who is more robust, a werewolf or a vampire?
In fiction, vampires are depicted as immortal and supernatural creatures that can shapeshift into bats at will. They are mighty and can capture their victim effortlessly.
Even a young vampire can kill the most energetic individual without struggle.
Werewolves are highly associated with super speed and strength. They are virtually invulnerable to most human weapons.
Weaknesses.
Vampires are prone to sunlight since exposure can result in them bursting into flames and burning into ashes.
Besides, vampires’ skin seems extremely sensitive to garlic and afraid of holy objects like the holy water and crosses.
A vampire can’t enter a building in some legends unless invited inside; otherwise, they will remain outside the building. Vampires must drink fresh human blood for their survival. It is easy to attack a feeding vampire.
While werewolves are virtually invulnerable to human weapons, weapons made from silver, such as silver blades and silver bullets, can instantly kill a werewolf.
Evolution differences.
Various cultures have various stories about the origin of vampires. The term � vampire’ is not common in many cultures until the 18th century, when the vampirism superstition spreads across Western Europe from Eastern Europe. This led to many people being accused of vampirism. The Bram Stoker literature work Dracula led to the popularization of vampire stories in modern vampire fiction. According to the ancient Roman and Greek methodologies, some people are said to transform into wolves. A good example is Virgil and Ovid’s work about some men transforming into wolves during the full moon season. Werewolves are not just like ordinary wolves; they are half-wolf, half-man.
Habitat.
Vampires prefer dwelling in castles, coffins, or cemeteries located near a small town where they can easily get a victim to suck their blood. Besides, the dwelling location should be easy to access since a vampire will have to return to the hiding place early in the morning.
On the other hand, werewolves prefer staying in swamps, forests, and castles situated near the forest. This is because they can interact with other people during the day but attack them during the night.
Life span.
Unless killed, vampires can live forever. Sunlight and garlic can kill a vampire. Werewolves will die from aging or even an injury from a silver weapon.
Vampires have no tails, while werewolves whose origin is from an ape or monkey-like species but tailless if its origin is from a wolf-like species.
Powers & Abilities
Although both the vampires and werewolves are super beings, far beyond human beings, they have distinct powers and abilities that enable them to seize their prey or fight back in case of an attack.
Here are the powers and abilities of each of them.
The powers and abilities of Vampires:
- Vampires have super strength.
- Vampires can shapeshift from the human form into bats, either the normal or giant bat size
- Instant healing in case of being wounded and especially if it drinks human blood
- Poisons fangs. A typical vampire has two sets of fangs. The upper fangs are mainly for sucking blood without necessarily transmitting their disease to the victim. If a vampire bites a human being using the lower fangs, the person will transform into a vampire. Besides, a bite to a werewolf using these fangs can also prove fatal to the werewolf.
- Vampires can fly in the air once their shapeshifts into a bat.
- Superhuman speed and excellent stamina.
The powers and abilities of a werewolf:
- Super Strength compared to an ordinary human being
- Advanced healing abilities
- Huge claws and teeth
- Superhuman senses.
By analyzing both vampires’ and werewolves’ powers and abilities, it’s clear that both are quite powerful.
In reality, werewolves are more powerful in terms of healing, speed, and strength.
However, vampires seem to have an added advantage, particularly due to their ability to fly after shapeshifting into a bat.
Who Would Win In A Fight? (Werewolf Or Vampire?)
Let see! It’s cloudless midnight, and the full moon is on.
The werewolf has fully shape-shifted from its human form into its true wolf-like form. The vampire is standing on one side of a graveyard while the werewolf is on the opposite side, each ready to attack the antagonist.
The vampire hovers toward its rival while the werewolf approaches while running on its four legs.
Before reaching each other, the vampire shapeshifts into a bat-like creature flying over the werewolf, which in turn smashes over the gravestone due to the super speed it was running at.
Meanwhile, the vampire shapeshifts back into its original form and pouches the distressed werewolf.
The vampire also delivers a fatal bite to the werewolf, who fortunately manages to seize the vampire’s throat, pushing its head away hence avoiding the bite.
Using its super strength, the werewolf is determined to behead the vampire by pulling its head off.
In response, the vampires attempt to fly away, but unfortunately, the werewolf is holding on, so the vampire ends up dragging the werewolf.
It’s a fight to the death!
Meanwhile, the vampire doesn’t succeed in flying away, so it attempts to punch the werewolf several times, and the response is a haymaker punch from the werewolf.
This leaves the vampire spinning painfully on the ground. No one is ready for a defeat!
The vampire immediately shapeshifts into a huge bat and pretends to concede to defeat by flying away, far into the sky, but alas, the werewolf steps on the gravestone and attempts to grasp the vampire’s leg, but all in vain.
The result is unfortunate to the werewolf as it topples fatally to the ground and crashes on an angel statue.
On realizing the enemy has suffered, the vampire flies down to seize the fallen down beast.
Luckily, the vampire manages to latch its opponent and bite deep on its flesh using its lower fangs which are considered very poisonous.
The werewolf grout in extreme pain captures the vampire, and throws it several meters away, past the graveyard.
By then, the poison has begun affecting the werewolf, which now scrambles on its feet in anguish.
As if that is not enough, the werewolf attempts to leap forward to reach the vampire. The vampire uses its super strength and kicks the painting werewolf before flying away.
The werewolf is left drying on the ground.
Vampire wins the vigorous fight.
Speed | Which One Is Faster?
Although both the werewolves and vampires have superhuman speed, werewolves can move and run faster than vampires.
Typically, werewolves are considered the fastest in comparison to any non-supernatural being. Their running ability is exceptional as they can run at a supersonic speed, making them almost invisible to ordinary human eyes, particularly when moving at their maximum speed.
Yes, their maximum speed can be over 3800 miles per hour, making them faster than vampires. We will assume both can hold a typical paintball gun and operate it in a competition to see how a vampire and werewolf would dodge paintball.
We are aware that vampires have super speed and are stronger, but werewolves are the strongest and fastest.
Besides, werewolves can stay together as a pack of hunters as they rarely go hunting alone. To their advantage, vampires are exceptionally swift, which gives them an edge to dodge a typical paintball moving at over 100 mph.
Since werewolves can move at 3800 mph, they would win in such a competition.
Popular Appearances
Bram Stoker’s Dracula is considered the most popular vampire story that has inspired modern vampire fiction production.
Most of the 20th-century vampire stories borrowed from this novel, and a good example is the Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice.
Vampires are popular in various movie themes, such as dark romance movies the anti-heroes movies, among many more themes.
Some of the popular films where vampires are the main characters include Twilight, Vampire Hunter, and True Blood. The German film Nosferatu also features vampires based on the story of Dracula.
Another popular TV series involving vampires as the main characters are Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The series led to the popularization of vampire culture in series in the late 90s to date. Other popular series include The Vampire Diaries.
The werewolf mythology also features in Bram Stoker’s Dracula novel. However, Werewolf of London is the first film to include werewolves as the main characters back in 1935. Werewolf has played various roles in films, such as the compassionate role in Twilight by Harry Potter series.