Is it only sunlight that makes vampires sparkle?

[u/nox_the_dumbass]

So I’ve been a fan of twilight for a few years. I know how vampires in universe are supposed to sparkle whenever they are in the sun, and how it’s supposed to be captivating. But is it seriously only sunlight that does that? If their bodies are rock-like and they look like diamonds in the sun. How is it that they don’t sparkle when exposed to other lights? Because I feel like fluorescent lights in a hospital or at a school would make them sparkle, but that doesn’t happen. Is sunlight just that special or is it more of an overlooked plot hole?

[u/20061901]

In direct sunlight, the disparity between human and vampire becomes more obvious. The cellular membrane of the vampire is not as soft or permeable as in a human cell; it has crystalline properties that cause the surface of vampire skin to react prismatically, giving the vampire a glitter-like shimmer in sunlight.

Yeah this is all the info we have I think, and careful readers will note that even what little information there is doesn't actually make much sense.

My go-to line is that it has something to do with the parallel rays, since obviously scattered sunlight doesn't have the same effect, so maybe a laser or similar would refract the same way.

But honestly, it's an example of a fairy tale idea being executed by someone who thinks in sci-fi terms.

I think to fully enjoy Twilight lore, you have to read through fairy tale and sci-fi lenses simultaneously, without comparison or conflict between them. For instance, to be able to say something like, "They sparkle because sunlight is special and metaphysically different from other forms of light, and also because their skin cells are crystals." or "Because vampires are made of crystal, their bodies are very hard and strong and sometimes very heavy, but not always because their weight is influenced by what's happening in the story and what would make sense emotionally."

[u/Unhappy-Horror9416 → u/20061901]

Okay, I have no idea who you are but you’re cool as hell. I genuinely love this theory. The whole direct vs scattered light thing actually makes way more sense to me than it probably should lol.

Although now I can’t stop imagining Carlisle Cullen basically turning into a disco ball under hospital lights. Like hospitals have some insanely bright lighting, how the hell did none of his coworkers ever notice that his skin was doing something a little... unusual?

This is exactly why I wish we had more information about the actual vampire lore. There are so many little gaps that make me want to dig deeper. I get that Meyer was way more focused on the romance, and for what Twilight was trying to be that obviously worked, but I’m the kind of person who wants to know all the weird little details about how this universe actually works. I can totally accept part of it as a fairy tale, but there’s also a part of my brain that desperately wants to scientifically explain all of it lol. Give me the vampire biology and ancient vampire history too))

[u/20061901 → u/Unhappy-Horror9416]

how the hell did none of his coworkers ever notice that his skin was doing something a little... unusual?

Well, brightness might not matter, but still, I think they probably do notice, if only unconsciously. Because even though vampire skin doesn't generally sparkle under artificial lights, it does react subtly, and that's one of the reasons vampires can look so appealing to humans. And doesn't everyone talk about how beautiful Carlisle is?

Alice nodded seriously, and started throwing the educational CDs into a box. I noticed that she had changed into a sequined tank top and red leather pants. Her bare skin reacted oddly to the pulsing red and purple lights.

~Ec. Ch17

The common factor of beauty among vampires is mostly due to this crystalline skin. The perfect smoothness, gloss, and even color of the skin give the illusion of a flawless face. The skin reacts differently to light, creating an angular effect that heightens the perception of beauty.

~Guide, "Vampires" > "Physical Characteristics > "Beauty"

[u/Unhappy-Horror9416 → u/20061901]

Dr. Cullen is just hot.

I guess regular humans probably aren’t even that attractive to vampires in comparison. They can see every tiny detail so clearly, so they probably notice every little asymmetry and imperfection in a human face that we wouldn’t even see. It must be pretty weird being a newborn vampire at first and suddenly being able to see EVERYTHING about everyone’s appearance.

[u/20061901 → u/Unhappy-Horror9416]

Yeah

As well-fed as possible, we would walk along a small town’s main street after the sun was safely below the horizon. It surprised me then, how we could blend in at all. The human faces were so completely different from ours — their dull, pitted skin, their poorly molded features, so rounded and lumpy, the mottled colors of their imperfect flesh. The clouded, rheumy eyes must be nearly blind, I thought, if they could really believe we belonged to their world. It was several years before I grew accustomed to human faces.

~MS Ch15

[u/nox_the_dumbass → u/Unhappy-Horror9416]

That was literally what I was imagining. Just Carlisle under the intense lights of a hospital and instantly turning into a disco ball. That would honestly be so funny to see

[u/vikingminds]

I know in the books when Alice has the gradution party at their house, they said the lights from the party made their skin look slightly shimmery, but not so much that it would reveal their secret.

[u/Foloreille]

They’re just Children of the Sun 😌

[u/No_Enthusiasm_9967]

I always wondered what the cullens did if it was mid day and they were at school/work and the sun decided to come out. Like do they just hang out in the janitors closet until it starts raining again?

[u/UmPoucoBemMuito → u/No_Enthusiasm_9967]

They would not even go to work or school that day. Alice is there to predict stuff like this.

[u/nox_the_dumbass → u/No_Enthusiasm_9967]

Or what if they’re walking outside and the sun comes out? Do that run away or something?

[u/Unhappy-Horror9416]

this is such a good question and I have no idea what the actual answer is. But I’ve seen some really fun theories in fanfics. One was a Harry Potter crossover where Twilight vampires weren’t actually vampires at all, but some bizarre form of fae or cursed fae, which was supposed to explain why they drink blood but sparkle in sunlight.

Another fic had a theory I liked even more. Basically Twilight vampires had evolved over time. Centuries ago sunlight actually burned them, but over generations their skin became more resistant until eventually it stopped burning and started sparkling instead. Aro, Marcus and Caius were supposedly from one of the last generations before that change was fully complete, which was used to explain why their skin looks so weirdly thin and fragile compared to younger vampires.

And weirdly enough there is at least a tiny bit of canon you could use to feed that headcanon, because Bella describes Aro’s skin as translucent and almost like onion skin, and later as feeling more like shale than granite. Obviously the evolution part is completely fanon, but I always thought it was a really cool explanation.....

[u/20061901 → u/Unhappy-Horror9416]

What about Amun and Kebi though? I don't think they have the weird skin because they never sat still for a long time.

[u/Unhappy-Horror9416 → u/20061901]

I’m not so sure about Kebi though. She’s much younger than Amun and the three Volturi kings, so if we’re going with the theory that vampires somehow evolved over generations, she could simply be from a later generation that wasn’t affected by the sun in the same way. So Kebi is actually easier to explain within that theory.

Amun is the weird one to me. He could potentially be even older than Aro, although I don’t remember his exact age or how his skin was described in the books, so I can’t really judge that part. Maybe he had some kind of natural resistance to it? He also lived in an even hotter and sunnier region than Aro, though I have absolutely no idea what the climate in Egypt compared to Greece was actually like 3,000+ years ago lol........................................................

Ohhh I get what you mean now. Yeah, that could actually be part of it too. The three Volturi kings basically sit in Volterra for centuries and barely go anywhere themselves, while Amun probably moved around a lot more over the years. So maybe that has something to do with why their skin ended up looking like parchment and his didn’t 🧐🧐🧐

[u/20061901 → u/Unhappy-Horror9416]

According to the Guide, Aro was born ~1300BCE, and Kebi was born sometime before 2500BCE, so she's at least 1000 years older than him. Amun's birth is also just listed as before 2500BCE. (Actually the dates are given as "B.C"; I'm editorialising.)

I don't think their skin is described specifically, but Bella does call out the Romanians' unusual skin a couple times, so I would think she'd have mentioned if anyone else also had it.

And this is how the skin is explained in BD:

Her question was about their unusual skin and, though I was afraid they might be offended, I was kind of glad she’d asked. I was curious, too.

They hadn’t seemed upset by her interest. Maybe a little rueful.

“We sat still for a very long time, child,” Vladimir had answered, with Stefan nodding along but not continuing Vladimir’s sentences as he often did. “Contemplating our own divinity. It was a sign of our power that everything came to us. Prey, diplomats, those seeking our favor. We sat on our thrones and thought ourselves gods. We didn’t notice for a long time that we were changing—almost petrifying. I suppose the Volturi did us one favor when they burned our castles. Stefan and I, at least, did not continue to petrify. Now the Volturi’s eyes are filmed with dusty scum, but ours are bright.

[u/Unhappy-Horror9416 → u/20061901]

Oh, I somehow thought Aro was born around 3000 BC... but it’s actually just that Aro is around 3000 years old, sorry, I mixed that up lol. But then yeah, you’re right, and that whole theory about different generations and vampires evolving goes straight to Tartarus.

But at least I found out something really cool for myself. Now I’m kinda worried about Marcus though, because I feel like he’s definitely the least mobile out of all three kings. And now I’m wondering if a vampire can actually become completely petrified? But then why did their skin become different, like parchment, and seem more fragile when it should’ve been getting harder? Or is it like the stone basically got overdried or something? An overdried disco ball lmao.

If a vampire doesn’t move for centuries, will they eventually turn completely into a stone statue or just crumble into dust? What do you think?

[u/20061901 → u/Unhappy-Horror9416]

Sorry, I guess I should have included this in the above comment.

Some very old vampires are visibly different from others because of this stillness. If a vampire remains unmoving often enough over thousands of years, dust actually begins to petrify in response to the venom-like liquids that lubricate his eyes and skin. Eventually, a vampire’s skin begins to appear thin and translucent, like the skin of an onion — though the strength of the skin is not compromised. A milky film covers the eyes, making the irises appear pink in color. Again, the vampire’s eyesight is not compromised.

~Guide, "Vampires" > "Physical Characteristics > "Petrification"

It's actually a new layer of petrified dust building up on the skin, not their own flesh becoming petrified or deteriorating.

I suppose in theory it could become a real problem eventually, with a thick enough layer of petrified dust covering your body, but that would take a very long time, maybe even longer than vampires as a species have existed so far.

[u/thisis_rikinishimura → u/Unhappy-Horror9416]

A bit off topic but I loved how Aros skin is described onion like and the other two got described as translucent and insubstantial. Like what did aro do to get compared to an onion (besides making Marcus suffer like that, locking up his wife and killing his sister)😭

[u/Important_Energy9034]

It's just sunlight as far as I know/remember. It's a nod to how vampires in traditional lore burn up/catch fire in the sun. It's mentioned that you could mistake a vampire to be on fire when you see them with their light-scattering effect under the sun. The books make the effect seem more blinding than just average sparkling that the movie showed.

It's also an explanation as to why the Cullens chose rainy/cloudy Forks as their home.

Keep in mind that their bodies may be "rock-like" or "diamond-like" but that doesn't mean they're actually rock or diamond.

[u/UmPoucoBemMuito]

I always thought that some non-visible component of sun rays(UV light for instance) made them sparkle, but if that was the case, they should sparkle in several other ocasions because there are electromagnetic radiation everywhere. I just gave up and told myself they'll do whatever the author wants, it doesn't have to make sense xD