Welcome back to our series about vampire biology in the Anne Rice world. In our first issue, we talked about the critical notion of vampires peeing. And now, we’re taking a closer look at another special vampiric biological facet: what happens when vampires get beheaded. Indeed, vampiric decapitation has been present all season in The Vampire Lestat, if you’ve been paying attention. And we’ve also learned a fair bit about how it works in the series’ world. Of course, vampire beheadings are now a more important issue than ever because, oops, Armand and Daniel beheaded Lestat and Louis in episode six of The Vampire Lestat. Talk about a clash of couples. But does that mean that Lestat and Louis are dead? Join us as we break down everything we know about vampire beheadings in Anne Rice’s world and The Vampire Lestat.
Beheadings Arrive in The Vampire Lestat as Early as Episode 3, and We’ve Seen Them in IWTV: Will Decapitation Kill a Vampire?
In episode three of The Vampire Lestat, “Toronto,” we see our first vampire beheading. Louis (Jacob Anderson) go on a revenge spree on the compound of the Detroit “Fang Gang,” a group of vampires whose leader, Killer, once assaulted his child, Claudia. He takes out one of the vamps guarding the house right away via decapitation method. In this instance, we see that the vampire survives beheading for a brief period; long enough for Louis to interrogate the head about the whereabouts of Bruce. But then the vampire does eventually die.
Louis first used decapitation on the vampire Santiago back in the 1940s, in season two of Interview with the Vampire. So it’s not his first time at this rodeo. And at that time, Santiago also appeared to briefly survive beheading, his lips still moving slightly as Louis gave him his just desserts. But does cutting off a vampire’s head always result in permanent death in Anne Rice lore? Surprisingly, no. This spells good news for Lestat and Louis surviving their decapitations in The Vampire Lestat. But… it usually does the trick pretty successfully… This spells bad news for Lestat and Louis surviving their beheadings.
Ancient Vampires Can Survive Beheading in Anne Rice’s World
In Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles mythology, vampires become more powerful the older they are. The 6,000-year-old Queen Akasha, for example, is nearly indestructible. So are the “Children of the Millennia,” like Marius de Romanus, Pandora, and several others that are over 1,000 years old. Vampires like that could survive a beheading, as long as the nerves in their heads can reattach to the ones in their bodies in a short amount of time. However, if the head of a Rice vampire survives, but the body is destroyed, especially the heart, then it’s over. But even for these ancient vampires, it would take a lot of blood and a long time to heal fully. So, not recommended. But, ultimately, beheading wouldn’t make these vampires die in Anne Rice’s world. The only way that the truly ancient vampires can be destroyed for sure is to destroy their brain and the heart.
Dr. Fareed Tells Us More About Vampiric Beheading in The Vampire Lestat
But Lestat and Louis are both young vampires. Lestat is around 265 years old, and Louis is around 15o years old. So the question remains, can Lestat and Louis survive their beheading in The Vampire Lestat? Well, the series has already given us a bit of insight into, at least, Lestat’s resilience when it comes to decapitation.
In another case of heads nearly rolling, new vampire Daniel Molloy swooped in to save Lestat from the Fang Gang in episode one of The Vampire Lestat. Something he will not soon let Lestat forget. But in episode three of The Vampire Lestat, Dr. Fareed cautions him not to get too cocky about how much Lestat owes him.
Fareed tells Daniel that he only “Perhaps” saved Lestat’s life, saying, “You assume death at decapitation. A study done in Budapest had two class B vampires surviving separation for nearly two hours. A vampire of Lestat’s breeding could last four to five times that.” So Lestat has about 10 hours of time without his head in The Vampire Lestat. We hope Armand has set a timer on the microwave.
It All Comes Back to Lestat Having the Blood of Akasha in Him
Most younger vampires almost always die right away from getting their heads lopped off. It’s a pretty decisive kill for many of them. Decapitation and fire are what usually result in the “True Death,” as Rice vampires call it. So don’t expect that Fang Gang vamp to come back for revenge. So, then, how could a relatively young vampire like Lestat survive such a beheading as Fareed suggests? Based on his true age, about 265 years old, he should not be able to. However, fans of Rice’s novels know he has tasted the blood of Akasha, the Queen of the Damned. Because he has the blood of the first vampire in his system, he can survive things most vampires his age would die instantly from.
As we wrote in our article, breaking down what drinking Akasha’s blood means for Lestat, “Because of Akasha’s blood, Lestat can survive attempts on his life that would signal the ‘True Death’ for most other vampires. When Louis and Claudia tried to kill Lestat in the first season of Interview with the Vampire, he survived because of the blood of Akasha. When they dump his seemingly lifeless body in the Louisiana swamp, he’s able to return because of Akasha’s blood. He also survives immolation, again, thanks to the blood of Akasha.”
And now, it seems Lestat will also survive Armand and Daniel’s decapitation attempts in The Vampire Lestat because of Akasha’s blood.
But What About Louis? Is Louis Strong Enough to Survive Beheading in The Vampire Lestat?
Would any vampire that Lestat makes have the same reaction, created with the same powerful blood he has? Some evidence suggests they would not. Claudia perished via sunlight in Interview with the Vampire after all. And the sunlight does not affect Lestat in quite the same way as it does other vampires, thanks to the blood of Akasha. It doesn’t feel good, but he can survive exposed to the sun longer than most vamps his age. But Claudia and Madeleine perished in the sunlight in season two of Interview with the Vampire in a matter of minutes. Having that Akasha bloodline didn’t help them any.
Having said all that, the AMC series changes vampire physiology from Rice’s canon quite a bit. They have sex, they can enjoy cigarettes and drugs, and they even, as mentioned, urinate. So who knows what could happen! Additionally, having been turned as a child, Claudia has some different vampiric qualities than other vampires. In The Vampire Lestat world, she can’t make another vampire because of her blood volume, whereas Louis can. Additionally, Lestat and Louis, at one point, drank from one another quite regularly, strengthening Lestat’s blood in Louis.
The Vampire Lestat has also made quite a big deal this season about Lestat not wanting to pass on Akasha’s blood because of its fiery, overwhelming, powerful nature. He refused to turn his band for this reason. So there does seem to be more emphasis on the idea that something is being transferred through Lestat’s blood. Something that may allow Louis to also survive his beheading in The Vampire Lestat.
Are Louis and Lestat Dead by Decapitation in The Vampire Lestat?
I mean, we can’t say for sure. But come on. Louis and Lestat are NOT dead in The Vampire Lestat, even if Armand and Daniel did chop their heads off. Vampire physiology, compliant or not.
The Vampire Lestat airs Sundays at 9 pm ET/PT on AMC and midnight PT on AMC+. You can also read The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice today as you wait for the next episode of the series to air.
Rotem Rusak is the Editor-in-Chief of Nerdist and Eric Diaz is a staff writer. They are both majorly into The Vampire Lestat, but exist on opposite sides of the Devil’s Minon and LouStat Civil War.
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