Vampire Chronicles: Why It's Forbidden To Make Vampires So Young 

The young age at which Jane was turned could also explain her cruelty. 13 year old girls can be vicious.

I remember Claudia was the most depressing and horrifying part of that book. I actually teared up at her death in both the book and movie.

I remeber the line in Queen of the Damned: "None of us ever change, we jut become more fully who we are." To me that showed the tragedy of being a vampire in Vampire Chronicles: its a state of stagnation. Imagine being stuck in the physical, mental, and emotional state ypu were when you were turned? Even the Brat Prince himself, despite his centuries of experience, is still very much that 20 year old wanting to piss off every authority figure in his life out of contrariness.

Lestat literally baby trapped Louie

In the anime Hellsing there is a brief appereance of a minor character named Helena a vampire "child" having been turned at a young age but was centuries old and behaved like an adult towards the female lead who was just recently turned into a vampire and was struggling to accept it, it was a very mismatched moment where the one that looked like a child seemed so old and the one that was physically an adult seemed so young. You can see the author took inspiration from Claudia, but in her case instead of being angry of her condition she was mostly just sad and resigned to a life without death. I always liked that character despite not having much screen time, since most of the time vampires are portrayed as violent, chaotic, or lustful, in her case you can see she was just exhausted and done with inmmortality and had no interest in creating chaos, she really embodied the belief that humans are not meant to live forever because the madness sets in before forever comes.

I think that all the tragic life of Claudia comes from the fact that Anne Rice write her based on the life and feelings of his own daughter that died at the same age as Claudia. In a certain way his daughter is forever a child too.

It's heartbreaking. Makes me tear up. Anne Rice really really put to paper all the emotions and all the heartache and despair that came with it. Despite Claudia's viciousness - her story is like you say, just tragic. And you just can't help feel sorry for her.

Michele Rice died of leukemia, age 5. She was Anne’s forever child, never to change or grow.

My daughter just turned five last month, and I absolutely love her with every fiber in my being...but putting her in Claudia's situation...my god. I know, as a parent, we all say we wish they could stay small forever, but to never be able to grow outside of such a small existence would be worse than hell. Plus...if my daughter were a vampire...the rest of us mortals would be in FEAR. 🤣

They called Lestat " The Brat Prince " for a reason . He just did things.............

i might argue that the vampire mind does not change, or not much. sure they can learn more but they are essentially a product of their time, trapped, & have huge difficulties adapting to new eras as armand said about his coven. if I remember correctly, louis also says he is "unchangeable" during the interview at the end

There was another immortal child but he was on one episode of the Highlander series starring Adrian Paul. There was a kid who was either 9 or 10 & he became an immortal he wasn't too happy about being stuck as a 9 year old & he developed feelings for Amanda another immortal who was Dungan's former lover. Being turned into a vampire at too young an age really sucks which makes Claudia's life so sad & tragic. Her mind matured but her body didn't there are some children whose minds never mature after being turned they end up becoming wild savages. Because their minds didn't age along with their bodies which explains things in Twilight as to why the Volturi had all the child vampires killed accept Jane & her brother.

While this is tragic I think a more logical take on the vampire child is that they don’t mentally develop either. In the comedy show What we do in the shadows a baby was turned into a Vampire. It’s 90 years later and he’s still a baby. He can’t speak or take care of himself. There is a different type of horror in that situation. A five year old doesn’t fully understand right from wrong, life and death or control. Think of it spreading to other children like measles, then adults who would go home an infect their families or just slaughter them. And just how creepy it would be that a bloodthirsty killer was in effect an innocent child, just playing and needing sustenance

Not related to Vampire Chronicles...but you may be interested in this: in South Slavic/Balkan folklore and mythology there is creature called DREKAVAC, CIKAVAC, BUKAVAC, NEKRŠTENAC,...who is actually cursed child up to the age of 7 that died either unbaptized or without the real name (pagan Slavs had a naming custom where a child would recieve TEMPORAL name and PERMANENT (real) name at the age of 7).

I always wondered about the idea that claudia is a six year old woman in a child's body. Science has proven that a brain It isn't even fully developed until like twenty five. I'd imagine if her body is stunted, her brain would be too. I guess I just wonder how much a 5-10 year old can really learn and grasp. I'm sure she couldn't understand that. She wouldn't be growing up, and that would be hard on her. But she would still fundamentally always be 5 (in the novel). I was wondered why in twilight Edward didn't just become a business man. I assumed It was poor casting in the movie that they had a man that could pass for forty play a high-schooler. There are young looking adult though. He could have a business and just work behind the scenes so that he doesn't have to explain why he hasn't aged. I always wondered why the solution was to just bounce to different high schools and forever be a teen. Unless thats all his brain was capable of

In the book, Claudia's mind (and soul) ages and she begins to have the urges of a woman. That is the problem. She wanted to be with Louis like a woman would be with a man. Even so, the fact that on the outside they were father and daughter while internally, they had adult feelings for each other was destroying them both. The problem with making a child a vampire is the fact they have not lived a mortal life and experienced everything life had to offer (one reason why it even took so long for Edward to turn Bella) was because even for an adolescent/adult vampire, immortality is a grueling and unrelenting existence. To see the world evolve and change when you cannot is torturous. Even in Tolkien Lore, the fact that elves are immortal, they call death a gift given to men because that itself is a part of life they would never experience. Armand put it best when he said that what eventually kills a vampire: eternal life without change (paraphrase). As an immortal (and if you haven't read Shelley's Mortal Immortal), watching everyone you love die, then watching others in the world die is bad enough, but knowing you never will causes a paradox that contradicts nature but also religion because eternal life is something that can only happen after death. To steal from a child--or even a teenager--all mortal life has to offer (with or without a choice) is the crime.

If she waited, she might have been able to learn to body jump like Lestat did in The Body Thief

Poor Claudia. How did she cope.

Homer from Near Dar (1987) has a similar fate as Claudia. He was turned as a child and is a man stuck inside a young boy’s body. Him and Severen bicker because Severen says he’s tired of hearing Homer complain about it lol. It is sad though and terrifying that in his desperation for a companion who can be just like him, he decides to turn Caleb’s sister into a vampire too.

This rule, whether it's mentioned in Interview with the Vampire, Twilight, or another franchise, is one where im like, "Well, DUH!!!" All portrayals of vampires i saw as a child were all ADULTS or looked like adults!!!

I can understand the idea of being trapped in a body, of constantly needing a carer to do anything. It is hell.

Lestat never had a chance to learn the way of a Vampire since the one that turned him did not even stay around. Lestat was thrown out as a fledgling and had to learn on his own. He even turned his own mother into a vampire if you remember correctly before leaving and arriving in the "New World".

A vampire's body is literally frozen in the same age, and the brain of a 5 year old is not even fully developed, let that sink in.

There was also Homer on Near Dark. I actually thought this was one of the most poignant portrayals of innocence lost through vampirism in cinema.

casting kirsten dunst as claudia was a perfect choice, I bet the new actress did a great job too, but why is it so hard to stay loyal to the source material these days? that's how claudia's being described in the books, "claudia was a five-year-old vampire child. with long curly golden hair, blue eyes, and fair skin, she was described as resembling a perfectly painted china doll." I wonder why movie producers always feel the need to change existing stories, is it so hard to come up with creative, new ones? I really believe the entertainment industry, especially when it comes to movies and series, is creatively bankrupt.

I have teenage daughter and teenage son and 10 months apart and i can only imagine my daughter's rebellious nature and cruelty as a vampire my son is so sweet and loving but can have a remote and is head strong

I wanted to ask, will you ever cover Syfy’s tv show Van Helsing. There are interesting vampires, such as ferals, feeders, ancient ones, elders, brides, and of course The Dark One, also known as Dracula played by amazing Tricia Helfer.

I've never seen or read any Anne Rice vampire books or movies except Queen of the Damned (which was okay I guess) and not sure I will because I don't really care for movies with Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt. I had no idea there was a series though, so I'll check that out instead. What you cover about Claudia in this video reminded me a little of another character in another dark franchise. Her name is Marion Louise Dahl, better known among Batman fans as Baby Doll from Batman the Animated Series & New Adventures of Batman specifically. I loved Batman the Animated Series during the 90s and some episodes got pretty dark for a cartoon of that time and one of those darker episodes was about Baby Doll. Baby Doll was a child actress born with systemic hypoplasia which kept in the form of a little girl physically. Even though she only appeared in one episode for both series I mentioned, the first did very well in showing her clear despair and torment over never growing into an adult woman's body. As she mentally aged and struggled to find work as an actress, she spiraled and eventually became a criminal. She's a very tragic criminal in the Batman franchise. Baby Doll may not be immortal and the reason for her not aging is different, it still remains that she and Claudia are tragic prisoners of their own bodies against their wills and would never get what they desire most: to be physically grown up and seen/treated as a woman. Within the first minute of explaining Claudia's circumstance, I immediately felt horror and pity for her because I somewhat understand the tragedy she found herself in. I only say ''somewhat'' because even with my own body insecurities over the years, I know they're trivial compared to Claudia & Baby Doll's conditions. The cause and their lives are different but they're undeniably similar. Poor Claudia. Poor Baby Doll.

Great vid. Love to see you growing channel

Just one detail_ and far from me to want to defend Monsieur Lestat, after what he did to that fellow at the end of The Tale of the Body Thief; but, for the sake of fairness_ and someone correct me if I am wrong. The young Claudia was dying. Wasn't she. Her family had died from the plague, not the most pleasant way to die I think. She would either have the same fate or starve to death alone. Is perhaps easy to say that she got a tragical fate, looking things without consider context. A bit less easy to say: "Yes, I would leave a 5 years old child alone to die an horrible death knowing that I had the power to save her", I suppose. Her life was finished, except for whatever moments of pain she could still enjoy. Whatever defects her existence as a vampire had, imperfect as it was, it was all free bonus. She was perhaps too selfish, or not intelligent enough, to understand that. Made the choice to portray herself as a victim and blame those who had saved her. As time passed and she gained maturity she could have evolved beyond that, but unfortunately she never reached that level of maturity. We are falling in the bad habit of compare things with what things "should be", according to arbitrary ideals, as if circumstances were always ideal. Claudia should have lived a normal life, of a child, and develop a mature body and mind as a woman. Lestat "stole" that from her. No, that's not what happened. Claudia should have died a horrible dead like millions of other 5 old children died at the time, from the plague or from the misery that accompanied it. THAT is what Lestat stole from her. The other option was never on the table for Miss Claudia.

the series chibi vampire has a child vampire. her name is anju maaka (her original last name is marker but her family immigrated from somewhere in europe to japan 200 years ago to escape prosecution as vampires) and she is an 11 year old gothic lolita with a possessed doll collection and a puppet that is possessed by the spirit of a serial killer that she has to keep in line.

They go crazy in their little bodies. I must say I do not remember the head transplantation thing but I read the books many many years ago.

I would want to change at age 30. 30 is the perfect age to stop growing/changing. Your brain/ body is fully developed.

Amazing video as always! Keep up the good work!

I feel like a feral adolescent vampire would be a viscous dictator, as they wouldn't have the maturity to understand how to control their abilities or emotions, without being completely consumed by their hunger.

1st here. Like I've said before, Claudia is like Esther from Orphan. From Blade films of 1998-2004, there rare pure bloods that r born as vampires and age very slowly. Van Helsing 2004, showed 2 vamp kids, which likely means in that universe, the rule doesn't exist and they like in Twilight stay in the heads of their turned age but have self control, perhaps. I'm no novelist but in my own fanfics, I've imagine vampires will age up to 25 years old, while those there and older will stay where they r. A quarter of ur life has past, is when u stop. Plus scientifically confirmed, that's when the brain 🧠 stops growing in size. Doesn't mean it effects ur personality or knowledge, its just the size, really.

I feel like turning a vampire in your 30’s wouldn’t be so bad.

It was not just the body that is trapped as a child forever that is an issue with child vampires. It's also what it does to the mind of a person who becomes a supernatural monster at such a young age, while the brain is still developing, the overwhelming urges and the change in world view, the immense powers and perceptions without any ability to make sense of anything. What would it do to the mind of an ordinary child to suddenly be something like a demigod, a hunter among humans? How would it affect their development of their sense of self, morals, behavior, mental health and stability? And if a child's mind is still developing when they are turned and then frozen at that age, how much could they never grasp or really come to terms with in their child mind? How can they ever have any "humanity" or anything akin to human sensibilities as they "age" as a vampire? Child vampires are likely to usually end up as uncontrollable monsters, suitable for not much more than carnage and chaos, and thus an incredible risk to the others in exposure. Vampires may be strong, but they still live in the shadows and fear exposure, because they are still vulnerable to the mob, to fire, to the sun, and helpless during their daylight slumber. Just as there was a taboo against revealing themselves to humanity (which Lestat also broke in his rock star phase and was marked for death as a result) the child vampire taboo is a self-preservation rule. A monstrous child risks exposing them all through their out of control behavior and bringing down the wrath of human society on them. It's also harder to hide a child who doesn't grow than an adult who does not age. Two or three years in one place and people begin to ask serious questions. Honestly, for being made a vampire at just 5, Claudia was pretty well adjusted, all things considered. She was still somewhat psychotic, if human diagnoses can even be applied here, and had severe body dysmorphia and other mental health issues. She was living a tortured existence for sure, but she may well have come to terms with it in time. Vampire relationships are different. Lestat likely would have forgiven her for trying to kill him, given what he did to her in creating her. She was not like the out of control monsters depicted in Twilight, because she had been given something like a domestic upbringing with Louis and Lestat and taught to value human behaviors, human things and human life, and perhaps also had an exceptional mind herself. I could imagine her living in a lonely castle somewhere near a windswept shore, like a gothic princess, reading, painting and playing the piano with passion and throwing the occasional masked balls, as Lestat does in the later books, surrounded by vampires and helpers who love her, like Louis. But ultimately, her death by sun was probably for the best, for her and for the others. It's likely she would have grown worse over time, not better.

The Claudia in the movie was young but probably twice the age of the Claudia from the books who was basically a toddler.

Restraint and/or self-control

Yes, you shouldn’t turn a child into a vampire, but Armand and gang break the rule of killing their own kind (as it’s portrayed in the 90s film) by killing Claudia and her new caretaker. If it had been portrayed as more of a mercy killing and something that Claudia wanted, then I think I would feel differently about it. The way it happens in the book is a little more understandable to me, that it was to cover up the botched head transplant.

Great video!

Great video!

I love the tv series

rewatching this after watching s2 ep 7 it was brutal

Idk but the idea of a 5 year old girl developing her emotional knowlage and wisdom in a 5 year old's brain, is absurd to me. The female brain fully develops at age 21/23 approximately. So idk how on earth Claudia's brain could have mature if her body didn't. 🤔

BECAUSE, THEY'LL NEVER BE ABLE, TO MATURE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Claudia was only 5 years old in the book.

... and then we have marius making 12yo benji a vampire to make armand happy...

Hey Dean I have some Anne Rice books in my book collection.

How about "The Annointed One" on Buffy, the Vampire Slayer? The character was killed off because the actor was noticeably growing up.

When will anyone mention Vittorio?

They have the same rule in being human (the American version) as well

can you please do a video on baby jenks I know in the book she’s explained to me around 14 to 16 years old and she’s the second youngest vampire in the vampire Chronicles that I can think of other than Claudia who is five she is mentioned in the Vampire Lestat

Not unlike the Immortal Kenneth (Highlander: the Series) who is an 800 year old man in a 10 year old boy's body.

What about baby jenks?

Wow, looking up the image of a 5 year old is much more disturbing. No wonder why she was so angry.

Just a thought experiment in the world of darkness games vampires are able to do this acted called deoblery idk if i spelled that right probably not anyway what it means is a vampire that drinks from another vampire and drinks to the last drop the one that does the dinking takes the soul of the victim vampire but if the one that eats the soul is weak the eaten soul eats them instead and takes over the vampires body cool idea of this ancient immortal child that finally finds a weak enough vampire to take their body idk sounded like a cool backstory

I know this video based off the book lore but if a vampire is actually dead how can a dead brain acquire new information. Shouldn’t the dead brain of a vampire be “locked in”?

I'm glad this experiment was never put in the film 🎥 I wouldn't even know about it if you didn't mention it because I didn't read the book 📖

Let's not kid ourselves, the real reason it's forbidden to make vampires so young is.........because there's no way a actor can play said character for several years without straining our sense of disbelief LoL. Its PROBABLY why they 'aged up' Armand in the interview with a Vampire series.

I think Bailey left the show and they recasted. At least i remember hearing she did.

You really should go by the book lore not the movie. Vampires don't develop a unique, rather the vampires all develop the same gifts as they age. Lois is considered one of the weakest vampires until Lestat (as well as David Talbot and Merrick) gives him more blood centuries later... at which point he is as powerful as any millennia old vampire and nearly as powerful as Lestat himself. Age and blood govern their strengths not some random lottery.

Another movie that deal with this is Near Dark the character of Homer

Bailey was a little old to play Claudia and did not fit that part.

We love Lestat

I'm looking forward to season 2 as well but claudia has actually been recast for season 2 which is really to bad.

Well, that's messed up.

Wait, when did a ludicrous head transplant occur? Was it in one of Rice's horrible later books? (I stopped after Body Theif and only skimmed Memnoch the Devil). I was told she did a lot of revisionist nonsense in later novels like having vampires actually have sex. She should've left well enough alone after Queen of the Damned. Even as early as that title g her vampire fiction was slipping in quality .

Before 5 we are all ID.

Don't forget Armand was made at 12 if I'm remembering correctly

The book and the movie have something wrong imo. Her under-developed brain was frozen in time as a 5yo, so she'd never mentally mature even if she lived for centuries. So for example she wouldn't be a 60yo ''adult'' in the body of a child. She'd always be a child mentally.

This is my second comment in the field of supernatural medicine in as many days. What's wrong with me? Again, I have no experience with medicine or the undead. I am simply following common sense... at my own risk. Brain development is a slow process that under normal circumstances continues well into ones twenties. If a young vampire's body is frozen in time, how could they gain maturity after death? Maturity is not simply based on experience or interaction. It is a function of a normally developing brain. The proof of this are the myriad of developmental disorders that young people are plagued with. These disorders can see a patient who is given education and attention stunted without hope of change. I could be wrong, but just another reason why young vampires are cursed.

Well the source material said don’t make kids because they can’t take care of themselves

I don't think larger size matters much to animals who can more easily devour their prey due to being smaller and more deceptive. It isn't like she ever reached puberty, or had sexual desires.

So, the brain doesn’t grow bigger?

That never stopped Stephen King.

Not in Japan it ain't!

What the hell is soo special about Louis though?

Lol my sons name is Lestat

Name the movie

The movie is the only one worth watching

But they can still kill her shes immortal not invincible.

Because children are CREEPY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lestat was a buster.👎🏾

Bayley wasn't brilliant, she wasn't a good Claudia AT ALL. That's not Claudia and that's the end of the story, Anne Rice would have HATED the remake.

Can’t vampires have kids? It’s not just undead kids plus in my sims games I love my vampire babies.

It’s vile to turn a young boy into a vampire because you’ve then condemned them to an infinite life of being sought after by priests.

Well I can see a reason for creating a young child vampire but I'm not going to specifically state it right here because it might get the Democratic party all excited about making vampire little kids