Half-Vampire

A half-vampire is half human and half vampire. Darren Shan is a half-vampire. Half-vampires have the advantage of going into the sun while full vampires cannot. Half-vampires are not as fast or strong as full vampires but are still stronger than humans. After 30-40 years of being a half-vampire, the purge takes place. The purge is when vampric cells attack the remaining human cells in a half-vampire's body. It takes place in two stages. During the first stage, hair grow all over the half-vampire's body. This is a warning meaning that their life in the sun will soon come to an end. The warning was probobly designed by Desmond Tiny to show that they will soon be a full-vampire. Although it is never mentioned in the series, many aspects of vampire life was altered, due to Mr. Tiny's meddling. The second stage is when the actual change takes place. Darren Shan never becomes a full-vampire as he dies during the purge. The purge will either happen naturally or a full-vampire pumps more vampric blood into the half vampire. Darren Shan's purge happened sooner than usual because when he became a Prince, more vampric blood was pumped into him.