Though it is of course possible that there are Facts beyond those recounted here, these are the only Rules & Limitations of Vampires that should be considered Trusted & Verified—anything else is mere Hear-Say. Mark well that the Vampire is not merely a Predator, who will ever seek to victimize & feed on the Living, but also a Literary Creature, whose Presence & Actions will ever be making a Point about Society.

1. The Vampire cannot survive direct exposure to Sunlight. The Why of this is a matter of Debate, but all agree that the Vampire during the day will by necessity only be found indoors, unless it is temporarily under Cover of a thick Blanket, or a Straw Hat, &c.—these Measures being easily undone, & the Danger being so great, however, they are only taken when the Vampire is deprived of other Options.
2. Water, being the ultimate Source of all Life, has certain Power over the Vampire. The Vampire cannot manually cross Running Water, but must be carried over it, such as in a Large Box, or a Ship, or a Large Box on a Ship, &c.
3. It has been observed that the Vampire has a certain Aversion to Garlic, but Scholars disagree on the precise Nature of this Condition—the Cause as well as the Effects. Does the Vampire prefer to avoid Garlic, or does it need to? As with other entries in this List, we pay dearly for what scant Knowledge we have in this matter, and we can only hope to be more certain in the Future.
4. The Vampire is said to be unable to enter the Home of any Human who has not yet given it an Invitation to enter. That is well & good, but take care; until an incontrovertible Reason has been supplied for why this would be, it may well be that the Vampire merely chooses not to enter, employing Deceit to make us think we have an Advantage that in truth we do not.
5. The element of Silver has been observed to cause bodily Harm & intense Pain to the Vampire upon Contact. Therefore, a Weapon fashioned of Silver will prove useful against the Vampire even where Weapons otherwise have no Effect.
6. The Vampire cannot truly die of Old Age alone; indeed, in the case that the Vampire keeps well-fed, Time does not harm a Hair on its Head. Should the Vampire go without Life's Blood for a time it will begin to age as Humans do, but if it feeds again it will revert to its younger State, with no apparent Ill Effects.
7. The Vampire thus can be argued not to have a physiological Need to drink Blood, but it indisputably has a psychological one. Blood keeps the Vampire young, strong, & attractive, true; but, more importantly, the Vampire simply has a Need for it, always, except perhaps briefly after feeding. Two further important Points have been observed: one, that the Vampire does not strictly need Blood taken directly from a Human, but can subsist on both Blood from other Animals as well as Blood drawn from a Human without permanent Harm & stored in a Container; & two, that it nevertheless prefers the former & will take it when possible.
8. Should the Vampire ingest anything other than Life's Blood, it will instinctively expel the foreign Matter from its Body as quickly as possible. There are Reports that tell of this taking the form of explosively forceful vomiting to an Extent outright comical; but the Vampire is no laughing matter, & we must beware of trusting fantastical Accounts such as these overmuch.
9. Should the Vampire feed on a Human, whose Blood carries a debilitating Disease, the Vampire will be affected. The Mechanism underlying this is not wholly clear, nor is the Relationship between the Effects suffered by the Human & those suffered by the Vampire, but it is suggestive of a possible Stratagem. It must be noted that the Vampire appears to be aware of this fact also, & avoids Diseased Blood when possible.
10. The Vampire does not, contrary to common Belief, wield the power of Hypnotism; the Fact is merely thus, that the Vampire possesses a superlative Sexual Magnetism, such that most Humans find its Advances difficult to resist at length. Therefore Asexual Persons are often the most effective Vampire Hunters.
11. Similarly to the Above, the Vampire is not a Telepath—it is merely so adept at subtly dealing with Humans that it appears to be. Rest assured, the Vampire cannot read your Thoughts, nor control them—it only manipulates you without Error.
12. It has been observed that the Vampire is repelled by the sight of a Crucifix. The Learned have long been in Dispute over whether the Cause of this is the Religious Significance of the Crucifix, or, as has been posited more recently, its Shape, it being made up of Right Angles. Is the Truth of the Matter that the Vampire is harmed by anything we hold to be holy, or is it as the Secularists argue simply that the Vampire's Brain has a Visual Cortex possessed of a Fatal Flaw? Perhaps in the Future there will be Certainty on this.
13. There have been certain Reports stating that the Vampire can be kept at bay by pouring out in front of them a Bag of Marbles, or Rice, or Coins, &c.—that is to say, providing them with a collection of Items to count, which the Vampire will then feel compelled to do before all else, including satisfying its Bloodlust. However, there is some Uncertainty as to whether this is truly a Universal Trait—exercise Caution.
14. The Vampire is a Predator who is separate from Humanity—and yet still of Humanity. The Vampire retains in all Times a Remnant of its Soul & Self, without which the Vampire would not be a Predator but merely a Beast. This is why the Vampire is able to be patient & subtle, but it is also why the Vampire retains a fully vulnerable Heart & Brain, without which it is unable to survive—without which, indeed, it *chooses to be* unable to survive. Truly the Vampire might have been considered a noble Creature were it not so base.
15. The Vampire cannot be heard, seen, or otherwise detected by any kind of artificial Device; it will be perceived only by the Living, & only directly—a Looking-Glass will conceal them wholly regardless of Make & Material, as will the Surface of even the stillest Lake.
16. Much has been made of the Vampire's Strength & Speed, & much is true. The Vampire will not be defeated by mere Force, whether in the form of Club or Pistol, Weight-Lifter or Crowd. Indeed, forcing a Confrontation with the Vampire is scarcely possible in the first place, as long as it is awake, as it possesses not only greatly heightened faculties of Hearing, Sight, Smell, &c., but also great Cunning & Cruelty—it is very difficult to think of a Trap that the Vampire did not think of first.
17. The Vampire is a solitary Creature, given to avoiding Crowds, & will certainly not seek one out, let alone create one. Nevertheless, the siring of a new Vampire does from time to time happen. Accounts vary of how—some tell us that anyone who is bitten & survives becomes a Vampire, others that the Victim must drink the Vampire's Blood in return, & yet others that the Victim's Blood must be drained slowly over Time. What is clear is that the Vampire should not be assumed to be alone.
18. Being ultimately sentimental, the Vampire will rest only upon a Bed of Soil taken from its native Land, in order to preserve a Connexion with its Past. Beware if you attempt to take Advantage of this Fact, however, as you may find that depriving the Vampire of Rest will mean not that it is defeated, but only that it is not resting!