Dark Gift

In The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice, the dark gift refers to the act of transforming a mortal human into a vampire. The vampire bites the victim on the neck and feeds on them, drinking their blood. When the human is weak and close to death, they are released and then urged to drink of the vampire's own blood. In completing this transaction, the vampire has given the human the dark gift and very soon the human becomes a vampire.

The mortal life of the human is said to die, and then they become vampire.

Giving The Dark Gift

Although these characteristics are not exclusive to the giving of the dark gift, they are worth mentioning anyway. As the vampire feasts on the teh human's blood, they become weak and often swoon. The vampire must be careful not to carry on drinking to the point of the human's death, though the urge to do so is almost irresistable! If they do, it is known as a Bad Thing. I'm not sure whether the vampire dies, but they are certainly encouraged strongly to stop feeding before the human reaches death.

Whilst the vampire drinks, the victim experiences a feeling that can only be described as ecstacy and they don't actually want it to end. The vampire must be very careful that they push the victim away before it's too late though. The same feelings are then experienced in the vampire when it is the mortal's turn to drink.

Curiously, from that point on, the "made" vampire experiences a feeling of love towards the "maker".

Note: simply feeding on a human does not give them the dark gift. They have to then feed on the vampire's blood. It becomes an exchange of sorts.

The following titles comprise The Vampire Chronicles where you will find dark gifts galore (each link takes you to Amazon):

• Interview with the Vampire (1976)
• The Vampire Lestat (1985)
• The Queen of the Damned (1988)
• The Tale of the Body Thief (1992)
• Memnoch the Devil (1995)
• The Vampire Armand (1998)
• Merrick (2000)
• Blood and Gold (2001)
• Blackwood Farm (2002)
• Blood Canticle (2003)