Twilight: The Cullens Aren’t Really Vampires

Twilight introduced a different type of vampire that doesn’t exactly follow the traditional characteristics of these supernatural beings, leading to the belief that the Cullens weren’t vampires, but a very different type of creature. Vampires are one of the most beloved creatures in pop culture, and as such, they have been at the front and center of countless legends, books, movies, and TV shows, and among the most successful yet controversial adaptations of these “monsters” is Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight saga.

The movies of The Twilight Saga, inspired by Stephenie Myers’ novels, were released between 2008 and 2012, with the final book, Breaking Dawn, divided into two movies. The Twilight Saga tells the story of mortal Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) and vampire Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), who fall in love and thus have to overcome a series of obstacles so they can be together. The Twilight series has been heavily criticized, mostly because of how toxic Bella and Edward’s relationship is, but also because of how Meyer portrayed vampires, as they have little in common with the traditional concept of these creatures. Those differences have led to a theory that suggests the Cullens and all other vampires in Twilight are a completely different type of creature: fairies.

How Twilight’s Vampires Are Different From Traditional Ones

Twilight’s Vampires Do Not Have The Same Pop Culture Weaknesses

Vampires are typically portrayed as dangerous but tragic creatures who feed on blood, are unbelievably beautiful, can turn humans into one of them by biting them, have no reflections, can’t resist sunlight as they are nocturnal creatures, and in some cases, they can turn into bats or other animals. Twilight added a major twist to all this by presenting vampires that, although also dangerous and tragic, don’t check all the boxes of a traditional vampire.

Twilight’s vampires have reflections, their eyes change colors depending on their feeding habits (they all drink blood, but those who only eat animal blood have golden eyes, for example), and they all have unique powers – however, the most controversial change was that the vampires in Twilight can resist sunlight, but their skin sparkles under it, which is why they choose places where the sun rarely shines bright.

Another big difference is that Twilight vampires are hard to kill, and they have to be dismembered and burned as they can reconstruct themselves, while traditional vampires can be killed through different methods, such as exposure to sunlight, garlic, holy water, or being stabbed through the heart. Even in a lot of modern books and movies, these different methods will weaken a vampire to make them easier to kill. The Twilight vampires do not have these weaknesses.

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Theory: The Cullens Are Actually Fairies

The Fan Theory Has Been Making The Rounds For Years

A theory posted on Reddit suggests that the Cullens and the rest of the vampires in the Twilight universe are actually fairies. These mythical creatures come from the folklore of many European cultures and are described as a form of spirit. There are different interpretations of what fairies look like and what they do, the most common one being that they are magical creatures with a human appearance and magical powers.

The author of the post enlists the three biggest details about the vampires in Twilight that match with some of the many ideas about fairies, these being that they sparkle, live in the woods, are unusually beautiful, and that, in folklore, some fairies drink blood. Another Reddit user supported the idea by adding that vampires having powers doesn’t make sense, but it “works out fine for fairies”, while another one explains how they ended up being known as “vampires” by comparing their story to that of the werewolves.

The author explains that, in Breaking Dawn, it’s mentioned that European werewolves are very different from Jacob’s clan, and the latter started using the term “werewolf” because the rest did, even if they weren’t the same. This could have happened with the fairies, too, as seeing them drinking blood might have led to the misconception of them being vampires, and so the label stuck. However, it’s unlikely fairies can turn humans into one of them by biting them, and their urge for blood might not be as intense as that of vampires.

If the Cullens and vampires in the Twilight universe were actually fairies, the story of Bella and Edward wouldn’t really change, but what would change would be the legends about them.

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Other Wild Twilight Fan Theories

Many Twilight Theories Seek To Explain Bella

Though there are a lot of Twilight fan theories that seek to flesh out the lore of the series or the character backstories, many of the fan theories actually seek to provide an explanation for Bella Swan. Bella is such a beloved character by Twilight fans because she is an average woman, but a lot of the theories maintain that she is only average because she does not know her lineage.

One fan theory seeks to explain why Bella is so resistant to the abilities of the vampires like the werewolves. While she has a shield for her mind after becoming a vampire, she is also not affected by the psychic abilities of vampires when she is a human. Edward can not read her thoughts like he can everyone else’s, for example. One fan theory suggests that is because Bella is actually descended from werewolves.

The idea could help explain why Jacob imprints on her daughter when the other werewolves have all imprinted on people from families with a shapeshifting history. It could also help explain why Bella and her father are so welcomed by Jacob and his family. Bella is the only outsider to get to hear the lore behind the werewolves and their transformations as well.

Another theory about Bella’s lineage suggests that she might actually be descended from vampires instead. Many of the same reasons theorized to explain her vampire ancestry are seen as convenient plot points by critics. Bella’s resistance to psychic abilities from vampires, her own sensitivity to the smell of blood, her being drawn to the Cullens when everyone else avoided them, and her own seemingly prophetic dreams about Edward in the novels, are all seen as links to vampirism. With the introduction of human-vampire hybrids, there is the question of whether she could be distantly related to a vampire clan.

Yet another theory about Bella’s place is the story is that she might be a succubus – but that she is not aware of it. The mythological being is a creature that humans find themselves unable to ignore their attraction to, and depending on the kind of succubus and the kind of lore, a succubus can steal the energy of another being through sex, their love, or simply by being in their presence. Bella thinks of herself as average, but she is also immediately the center of attention when she moves to Forks, from humans, vampires, and werewolves.

Of course, one of the most interesting theories about Bella in Twilight does not involve her family lineage, but her actual transition to becoming a vampire. Some fans have posited that Bella might have been transitioning to become a vampire from the very first time she is attacked by one, not from her pregnancy in the Breaking Dawn storyline. Vampire venom is introduced to Bella’s blood in the climax of the first story when she is attacked by James. Edward is able to save her, but the theory posits that with the venom in her system for a short time, her body was already preparing to become a vampire.

All of these theories help to provide a reason for Bella being so controlled as the supernatural world becomes her own, but they also would change how a lot of fans see the Twilight heroine.

Twilight

Movie(s)

Twilight The Twilight Saga: New Moon, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010), The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 (2011), The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 (2012)

First Film

Twilight (2008)