I was at one of my favorite local restaurants (The Wounded Goose) the other day and noticed that they have a new item on the menu called “The Vampire Slayer Burger”. With garlic mayo, onions, and extra garlic, it is touted to bring even the oldest vamp to his knees. After a good laugh, my dinner mates and I started talking about how the rules have changed since the days of Buffy.

When did it become generally accepted that vampires are okay with garlic?

Seems like when I was a kid everyone knew the rules. Vampires are hurt by garlic, holy water, and crosses; killed by wooden stakes, sunlight, or beheading. However, it seems that most books in the vampire genre today are bending those rules or making their own. Don’t get me wrong, it can make a story more interesting. After all, who would have ever dreamed that a sparkly vampire would be drooled over by legions of fans?

But it leads me to wonder…are any rules sacred where vampires are concerned? Will someone write a book where vampires aren’t immortal, but have only a day to live? Is there a story somewhere in the works that has vampires who go public and give blood almost as freely as they take it? Oh wait, that one already exists (Southern Vampire novels a.k.a. Sookie Stackhouse).

Who knows? Maybe a couple of years from now we’ll all be salivating over a vampire that turns blue when he’s sad. Then again, maybe he’ll just be a werewolf.