Blackstone Audio has also released CD recordings of all 12 books in the series, read by Ralph Lïster.
They are alive, meaning that they can be killed by a well-placed bullet, mutilation, decapitation or piercing of the heart (though they will wake up within a day or less if their neck is broken).
Vampires have a partial immunity to Sunlight; which means they can stay in pure daylight for 4-5 hours before disintegrating or burning up.
The oldest vampire in the series is Paris Skyle, who was "Blooded" at age two and lived for over eight hundred years.
Flitting causes a static charge to build up in a vampire's body, which Mr. Crepsley learned to use to force open locks.
Vampire matings last only ten or fifteen years with the couple then choosing to re-mate or go their separate ways.
Vampire Gavner Purl boasts a pair of pink underpants embroidered with elephants, a present from a former human girlfriend.
In The Saga of Darren Shan the Vampaneze are sworn rivals to the vampire believing that there is honour in killing their victims and claiming their souls.
They were originally vampires who broke away from the clan (600 years before the third book) and claimed themselves a new race (Vampaneze) because of the different customs they held.
A violent war followed, which eventually ended in a truce when human interference threatened the survival of both races, and both groups mutually agreed to stay out of each other's affairs.
This extends even to those who have become insane such as Murlough - killing him risked bringing the wrath of the entire race down on Darren and Mr Crepsley's heads, and the vampires would be honour-bound not to intervene.
Mr Crepsley himself noted that vampaneze had some positive traditions such as their refusal to lie and their sense of honour.
The Vampaneze have purple skin and red hair, eyes, lips, and fingernails though it takes a couple of decades for this colouring to set in.
[citation needed] Darren Shan has released numerous short stories on his website, all of which tie into the saga.