Vampires are meant to be creatures of the night and they stalk humans for prey, not caring about anything. Unlike the Blade Trilogy where all the vampires know some kung-fu shit and need factor 1000 to be out in the daylight, it has now become common to change some vamperic features to suit an authors taste for fiction. (technical terms: Nosferatu, homo chiroptera, homonus nocturna[more a religeos thing], strigoi and so on and so forth...)
Vampires may seem like the ultimate monster, but they have more weaknesses than strengths. They are allergic to vervain, garlic and silver, they cannot go into the sunlight because the UV light will turn them to dust. They cannot cross flowing water, like streams, so it is incredibly tiring for them when they have to cross the ocean, which would have to be done whilst in a very deep slumber and they cannot enter a residence if not invited-provided that there is an owner, then they can crash wherever. And the most common and obvious flaw; wooden or silver stakes through the heart causes instantaneous death and they turn into dust. Though the ultimate way to kill them is to fully cut off their heads.
But vampires are mainly predatory animals, so they do have more advantages then humans. They can heal almost instantaneously, have super speed and strength because they are incredibly light due to the lack of body mass(because they don't eat), and their main senses are hearing and sometimes smell as they are amazing trackers. Their saliva is also a natural anesthetic, so you don't usually feel the bite, but the blood being sucked out. Their blood and saliva is can also heal wounds on humans. Saliva can close a wound by liking it, or blood can be injested and starts to heal within 30 seconds or so, with the blood staying in the system for approximately 12-24 hours depending on the quantity.
Also, with some vampires, they have a sixth sense and can detect pulses of various animals and people, as is in the Platstation2 game Bloodrayne, where she is in fact a Dhampir, she has the ability to sense others and gladly embraces her vampire side, unlike Blade, where he is constantly fighting his. (Also another feature of old, yet typical vampires is the ability to change into the form of one or many bats and have long fingernails and pale skin; also the pointy teeth are a give-away.) And what has become more common nowadays is to amke the vampires be able to walk in sunlight, giving them a slight advantage. Some authors like Kelley Armstong and Stephene Meyer give there vampires an all togther different outlook on life; either giving them cheesy diamond skin, or they are getting too old to be a vampire and they are eventually starting to reach the end of their immortal lives-through whatever reasoning.
In Bram Stoker's Dracular, the main character is the most typical example of a vampire. Vampires are more commonly associated with the macabre and gothic fashion, often wearing black or dark clothing. Cloaks are more common for the retro feel, but otherwise you can give them any fashion sense based on the era. As vampires don't age, they have to move with the times and so often pick up new languages, colloquialisms and attire.
To turn into a vampire, there are various ways of doing so. In original works, just a simple bite would change the person into a vampire within a few hours or days. Now there is more compleity to it.
As we know, vampirism is a curse. So there is now a few various ritauls to 'turn': You must die with vampire blood in your system, then as you come back to life you have to feed in order for your system to recouperate, or the body will burn itself up-fever wise, not spontanouse combustion.
Another way is to be bitten and then consume human blood. This way is less messy, but more time consuming.
