If you take vampires purely from the original folklore created around them, and not the modern-day movies, series, and books representing vampires, it is quite unclear whether or not vampires enjoy the same vices we do.

Vampires survive by drinking the blood of humans. They drink human blood not to replenish their own, but rather to survive off of its life force. Whether or not vampires enjoy other food and drink outside of blood is debated upon.

So can vampires get drunk? It should not be easy for a vampire to get drunk, and it is not considered possible. This has to do with the actual functioning of a vampire’s body. There is no blood flow, so any alcohol ingested will sit in the intestines and not be transported to the brain.

This all becomes fairly complicated, as we don’t have a vampire readily available to dissect and study, but through the myths and legends passed down through the centuries, we are able to discuss this further and figure out if or if not vampires can get drunk, and why that might be.

Do Vampires Drink Alcohol?

When it comes to vampire ingesting alcohol, they have more options than what we have as humans.

They could choose to down a bottle of vodka on its own, or they could bite and drink the blood of a human who is incredibly drunk.

There should be no reason that a vampire has the desire to down a bottle of alcohol or two, as it will likely have very little effect on them. They would have to drink copious amounts of alcohol for it to have even the smallest effect on them, as nothing is carrying the alcohol around their body.

When we drink, the alcohol is carried through our body in our bloodstream and is then transported to our brain, which translates into the feeling of being drunk. Vampires won’t be able to get this high, as their blood, which they actually don’t have any of, doesn’t travel at all.

It would also make sense that their bodies would not digest alcohol, as it is made to only digest blood. Ingesting a foreign substance such as alcohol could make a vampire sick.

If vampires could stomach alcohol, they would have to drink a whole lot of it to be able to get drunk. Humans don’t require much to get drunk, but a vampire, who is a good couple of hundred years old, and who has a body which heals rapidly, would not get drunk quickly.

Vampires, when injured, heal very quickly, and often they just need to drink some human blood to be back to normal again. When drinking alcohol, it is a foreign substance and our bodies do what they can to rid ourselves of it.

For vampires, the alcohol in their system would be a foreign substance, and it is likely that their body would work to heal their cells of the alcohol to fix the problem. Because of this, vampires would have to drink incredibly quickly to actually get drunk, faster than what their cells might heal.

With the amount of alcohol a vampire would have to drink to get drunk, and as quickly as they would need to drink, it just doesn’t seem worth it to even try!

What If A Vampire Drinks The Blood Of A Drunk Human

A more natural way for a vampire to try to get drunk is to try and drink the blood of a drunk human. This would make a little more sense as a vampire is more capable of digesting blood, so if there was some alcohol already found in the blood, it would probably be easier for them.

Once again, this is all hypothetical and there is no real way to test the theory, but that does not mean we cannot speculate.

The problem with this scenario, with a vampire drinking the blood of a drunk human, is that there won’t be enough alcohol in the human’s system to make the vampire drunk. They then might have to drink the blood of a good couple of humans in order to feel even slightly tipsy.

In some cases, the vampire might get an instant high immediately after drinking a drunk human’s blood, but this would wear off quickly as their cells heal themselves from the alcohol.

There have probably been many cases of a vampire sucking down on a drunk human, as it would be when a person is at their most vulnerable, and least likely to put up a worthwhile fight. However, some vampire purists might not enjoy the taste of alcohol tainted blood!

It is unlikely that a vampire will get drunk off of human blood, but they can always try.

Drunk Vampires In Folklore

Folklore about vampires is centuries old, and there is much that has been lost through the ages. As hard as we try to decipher what is left from the past, there will always be some details that aren’t as clear. 

In traditional European vampire folklore, there is no real mention of vampires drinking. This is very much due to vampires being seen more as demons, or as corpses being possessed by an evil spirit. There is not much mention of the habit and likes of vampires back then.

As time went by, we began writing our own stories and layering them with some fun embellishments to make vampires more interesting, and possibly less evil. Now we have stories of vampires who might even be more morally upstanding than an ordinary human.

Many writers have introduced the idea that vampires might or might not get drunk depending on the direction they are wanting to follow with their story.

Once again, we have no way to open up and dissect a vampire, or even to ask them if they can get drunk, so our best guess will depend on speculation and taking into account what has been told by those who first came up with the idea of vampires.

The Euphoric Importance Of Blood

As explained with the Anne Rice vampires, blood is everything, it is food, drink, happiness, and everything they could want. It fulfills them and every one of their desires.

Often, the drinking of blood between a vampire and a human is depicted as being very sexual, and both get a high from the drinking of the blood. It is a very intimate experience and can fulfill a vampire for quite some time.

Because of the intimacy and the euphoria often depicted with drinking blood, it is believed that vampires would not necessarily want to get drunk, as the high they get from blood alone cannot be matched.

If a vampire was after a rush and wanted a little escape from everyday doom and gloom, it would make more sense for them to find this high and this distraction from drinking blood.

Their body is made for blood, and anything else could just cause them to get sick.

Instead of trying to decipher whether or not a vampire could get drunk, we should probably ask why they would want to get drunk, as the descriptions of blood lust and that feeling of eventually drinking blood seem way more overwhelming and pleasurable than anything we would know.

Related Questions

What are the characteristics of a vampire?

The characteristics of a vampire include drinking blood, immortality, the need to avoid sunlight, heightened senses, and the ability to morph.

The need and habit of drinking blood is the main characteristic of a vampire, the others are often adapted to suit the story.

When it comes to immortality, vampires are considered immortal but can be killed.

There are a few ways to kill a vampire – a stake through the heart, a beheading, or by setting the vampire on fire. This again will depend on the region the story of the vampire is coming from.

How can you identify a vampire?

There are some telltale signs that help you to distinguish a vampire. Vampires have some physical signs signaling their affliction.

These include pale skin, the absence of a reflection in a mirror, the absence of a shadow, red glowing eyes, and sometimes very good looks.

Vampires also only come out at night, and centuries back it was advised to stay away from someone at night who displayed any of these physical attributes.

The Myth Of Drunk Vampires

There is no real way to tell whether or not a vampire can get drunk, but in order to give ourselves some sort of an answer, we need to look at what we do know about vampires.

Vampires live off blood, it is all they consume and it is what their bodies have adapted to eating.

If they try to drink alcohol, it is very likely their body will reject it and will heal itself quickly. This could result in the vampire bringing up the alcohol, or just not feeling drunk at all.

A vampire could try to drink the blood of a drunk human, but then there would not be enough alcohol in one human’s blood to get them drunk.

It is highly unlikely that a vampire can get drunk, but it is a fun thought!