The Vampire Diaries (novel series)

The Vampire Diaries

The Vampire Diaries: Return: Midnight
The Vampire Diaries: The Awakening The Vampire Diaries: The Struggle The Fury Dark Reunion The Return: Nightfall The Return: Shadow Souls The Return: Midnight The Hunters: Phantom The Hunters: Moonsong The Hunters: Eternity
Author	L. J. Smith
Language	English
Genre	Horror, Fantasy, Romance, Young-adult fiction
Publisher	Harper Paperbacks
Published	September 1991–1992 February 2009 – present
Media type	Print (hardcover and paperback)

The Vampire Diaries is a young adult vampire horror series of novels written by L. J. Smith. The story centers around Elena Gilbert, a high school girl torn between two vampire brothers. The series was originally a trilogy published in 1991, but pressure from readers led Smith to write a fourth volume, Dark Reunion, which was released the following year. The first four novels in the original series: The Awakening, The Struggle, The Fury and Dark Reunion all feature Stefan Salvatore and Elena Gilbert as the main protagonists. The first three novels in the original series are from both Stefan and Elena's point of view, but the last book in the original series, Dark Reunion, is from Bonnie McCullough's point of view.

After taking a hiatus from writing for several years, L. J. Smith announced in 2007 a new spin-off trilogy entitled The Vampire Diaries: The Return, continuing the series, with Damon as the main protagonist. The first installment, Nightfall, was released on February 10, 2009. Shadow Souls was released on May 16, 2010. The final book of the trilogy called Midnight was released on March 15, 2011.

The trilogy after The Return trilogy, The Hunters, will go back to featuring Stefan and Elena as the main characters. It will focus on Stefan and Elena in college. The three novels in The Hunters trilogy are called Phantom, Moonsong, and Eternity.

The Vampire Diaries has been adapted into a loosely based television series which premiered on September 10, 2009, on The CW.

Novels

Plot Summary

The Awakening

See also: The Vampire Diaries: The Awakening

Elena Gilbert is the most beautiful and popular girl in all of Robert E. Lee High School. She is driven by a desire to be the best at everything. Elena feels an intense, immediate and indescribable connection with a handsome new student named Stefan Salvatore. Stefan eventually rescues Elena from Tyler Smallwood on the night of the Homecoming Dance. Afterward, the two gradually bond, leading him to reciprocate her affections. As the pair fall deeply in love, their town, Fells Church is being terrorized by inexplicable, horrifying 'animal attacks', with Stefan becoming a suspect. When Elena tries to confront Stefan, she discovers his terrible secret. Stefan is a vampire, born in the Italian Renaissance during the late fifteenth century. But Stefan isn't the one who has been committing the murders; the perpetrator is Stefan Salvatore's diabolical older brother, Damon Salvatore, who lives to wreak havoc and distribute misery on Stefan's life. The two brothers were turned into vampires by the coquettish German Lady Katherine von Swartschild, whom both brothers fell in love with. Katherine was sent to stay with Stefan and Damon's family to recover from an illness. When Stefan and Damon had an argument over Katherine and asked her to choose between them, she refused to do so and she got upset and ran off. The next morning, her dress was found with a pile of ashes and her ring that protected her from the sunlight under a tree. The two brothers had a fight to the death, in which they both killed each other. They woke up days later inside their tomb. The reason why Stefan initially avoided Elena was because Elena is a doppelganger of Katherine and brought back memories of his life with his former vampire girlfriend. For this same reason, Damon also chooses to pursue Elena, following her around in the magical disguise of a crow and he invades her dreams. Despite the duress, Elena rejects Damon's advances and remains stoically loyal to Stefan. Elena's rejection angers Damon. In a fit of rage, he provokes Stefan to fight. In the aftermath, Stefan disappears. The townspeople of Fell's Church believe Stefan's disappearance cements the truth that Stefan is behind the attacks. However, Elena's sure she doesn't know what had really happened. She thinks that Damon is responsible for Stefan's disappearance, and she knows that Stefan is in grave danger.

The Struggle

See also: The Vampire Diaries: The Struggle

Picking up where The Awakening left off, Elena confronts Damon about Stefan's disappearance. But when Elena stands firm on her rejection of Damon's romantic advances, Damon refuses to help her find Stefan. Elena is miserable and she is willing to do anything to find Stefan at any cost. Elena must turn to her best friends, Bonnie McCullough and Meredith Sulez. Bonnie, who is believed to have psychic powers, uses magic to track down Stefan. The girls discover Stefan trapped in the bottom of a well, close to death. After Stefan's rescue, Elena offers him her blood to recover. Because of the belief that he perpetrated the horrific 'animal' attacks, Stefan still faces hostility in the town. And as the town's monumental anniversary, 'Founder's Day' approaches, Elena reaches her breaking point. Elena's adversary, Caroline Forbes, has stolen Elena's diary. Elena confesses all her secrets to her diary, and its contents can be read as evidence that Stefan is a violent criminal. Worried about Stefan's mental and physical well-being, Elena enlists the help of her friends to retrieve the diary. Bonnie, Meredith and Elena try to break into Caroline's house to find the diary but there is no success. In a mad attempt to escape, she discovers Damon lurking in the shadows of the Forbes house. Damon offers to help Elena's cause - if Elena gives him blood in return. Elena refuses. Damon gives her a terrifying ultimatum. She must choose between Damon feeding off of her (Elena), or her baby sister, Margaret. Elena decides to sacrifice herself. Damon and Elena do a blood exchange. Soon after, Elena tells Stefan about the diary. Stefan tells Elena that even if Caroline reveals the contents of Elena's diary to the whole town, because of his love for Elena, Stefan will stay. On Founder's Day, Elena and her friends try their best to steal Elena's diary, but their attempts are futile. However, when Caroline tries to read the diary, it is discovered that Damon has switched out Elena's diary for Caroline's own. Damon smugly accepts Elena's thanks, but his satisfaction quickly turns to anger when he hears about Elena's engagement to Stefan. Not only does Elena endure dissatisfaction from Damon but she also endures dissatisfaction from her Aunt Judith. Frustrated by their reactions, Elena storms off. Elena angrily drives to Stefan's residence, but when she finally gets there, Stefan isn't home, and there is something malevolent about the weather. It is vicious and brutal, and it wants Elena dead...She feels there is something lurking in the dark. She jumps into the car and tries to cross running water, as she thinks this will keep her safe. The bridge then breaks and she drives into the water. She then drowns in the car, and becomes a vampire when Damon and Stefan are fighting each other....

The Fury

This book begins with the newly "turned" Elena watching Damon and Stefan engaged in a fight to the death. Initially, she does not recognize the brothers due to her confused state, having recently died and risen as a vampire, but soon a flicker of memory causes her to realize the one she loves is hurt and needs her help. The reader is led to believe she is referring to Stefan. But instead Elena attacks him, and fully intends to kill him for hurting Damon. Stefan, upon recognizing Elena, doesn't fight back and allows her to bite him. Damon eventually commands her to stop and takes her in search of human blood. Stefan intervenes, not wanting Elena to kill someone, and instead makes her drink Matt's blood. Afterwards, Damon hides her in Alaric Saltzman's attic and once she has rested, her disorientation begins to lift. Elena is deeply bothered and upset about the way she attacked Stefan. When Elena wakes up she hears Alaric speaking about vampires and then about a memorial service. Elena goes to the service and is found by Stefan and Damon, who agreed that all of them would work together. Stefan is relieved when Elena remembers their love and Damon is enraged, but the three are distracted by the strange behavior of a large pack of the town's pet dogs who are attacking their owners. More strange events lead the three vampires, with the help of Bonnie, Meredith, Matt and Alaric, to conclude that the same Power which forced Elena off of the bridge is still stalking the town. It transpires that Katherine, the vampire who turned Damon and Stefan, faked her own death 500 years before in a vain attempt to bring the brothers closer. Her plan failed, and the brothers killed each other and then rose as vampires instead. Katherine was infuriated by the brothers' continuing feud, so she fled to Klaus, the one who had turned her into a vampire on her death bed. Under his teaching, Katherine became more powerful and quite unstable. She eventually has Damon, Stefan and Elena tied up in an underground crypt where she plans to torture and dispose of them all. It is here that Katherine confesses that she has always loved Stefan more than Damon. During the struggle, Elena manages to free herself, forcing Katherine into a shaft of sunlight and tearing off her protective lapis lazuli necklace. Elena is badly burned herself as Katherine had already removed the protective ring from Elena's hand. Stefan pulls Elena back into the shadows but it is too late; Elena has died in Stefan's arms after she made him promise to take good care of Damon.

Dark Reunion

As a psychic, Bonnie has dreams of Elena in the Other world. But the dreams quickly turn frightening, which then causes the death of one of their friends. A source of power has infiltrated Fells Church, putting its inhabitants in danger. Not knowing what to do, Meredith, Matt, and Bonnie use a summoning spell to call for Stefan and Damon — but whose side is Damon on? This novel greatly expands Bonnie and Meredith as characters. Bonnie takes the leading role as she writes in the diary. She also finds a possible romance with Matt Honeycutt. After some research in the library Stefan realizes Tyler Smallwood is a werewolf. They concoct a plan and lure Tyler into the graveyard. After threatening him, Tyler reveals startling information about the killer. They find out Klaus, the vampire who made Katherine a vampire is the killer. The four find out from Meredith's mad grandfather that the only thing that can weaken Klaus is White Ash wood. Klaus makes a deal with Stefan, "Come alone or the girl dies." and a scarf that the girls remember Caroline wearing to Meredith's birthday party. Bonnie, Meredith and Matt try to persuade Stefan to take some of their blood to make him stronger but he refuses and warns them not to follow. They ignore his threat and follow. They see Stefan with a branch of White Ash wood and Bonnie realizes it's a trap and cries out to Stefan before he gets hurt. There is a fight at the old Francher place deep in the Old Wood. They are losing the fight and Stefan is on the brink of death. Damon appears out of nowhere and proves his loyalty as he stakes Klaus. However, Klaus isn't hurt badly, and he attacks Damon. Bonnie screams for Elena. She appears as a glowing mist along with the spirits of Civil War soldiers that had fought and died in Fell's Church. They charge Klaus and carry him away. The ending is the most surprising yet for Elena's friends as she almost leaves forever and then is granted another chance to come back to life so she takes it.

=====The Return: Nightfall===== boom, bow chicka wow wow chicka wow wow!! Picking up one week after Elena was brought back to life, she is in a child-like state and cannot read, write or speak(except with mental pictures). Caroline awakens early every morning to talk with a reflection of herself in the mirror, as Damon observes. He feels a sting at his neck, but asks Caroline to invite him in. He is about to drain her of blood, but realizes something was influencing him. Stefan allows Bonnie, Meredith, and Caroline to visit Elena, who kisses Caroline on the lips to identify her. This upsets Caroline who is ordered to leave. It is revealed that Mrs. Flowers is a witch and her mother had died at the turn of the twentieth century. Meredith, Bonnie, and Matt are in the car on their way back from the boardinghouse, but crash into a tree, which grows larger and larger, trapping them inside. Bonnie calls Damon for help. He chooses to save the nearly dead Bonnie. Stefan goes back to save Matt and Meredith, while Damon heals Bonnie. Elena wakes up one morning back to normal. She and Stefan invite everyone for a picnic, where they agree that malach, evil parasitic creatures, have infested the Old Wood, and that they are under the control of someone. One night, Damon watches from a tree with jealously, Stefan and Elena floating in the air, lost in bliss. A kitsune, a fox-spirit from Japan, who calls himself the "Hell Shinichi" appears. He explains that he and his sister Misao want the town of Fell's Chuch. Misao loves to play games, which end in the town's destruction. Damon makes a deal with Shinichi to let them destroy the town, but let he and "his girls" get out safely. Shinichi makes the malach inside Damon(the one that entered him though the sting he felt earlier) grow. More malach enter him as well. The young girls of the town are acting strange. Meredith and Bonnie go to Caroline's house where they find her scuttling on the floor like a lizard. Elena and Matt visit Tami Byrce, who is only wearing bikini bottom cut into a thong and has glued card board and glitter to her body. Meredith and Bonnie then visit Isobel Saitou has pierced her entire body and cut her tongue like a snake's. It's from Obassan, Isobel's grandmother do they find out this is the work of a kitsune.

The Return: Shadow Souls

A penitent Damon, along with Elena and Matt, follows Stefan into the Dark Dimension in an attempt to set him free from the prison he has been tricked into instead of the salvation he was seeking. When Matt sees Elena and Damon getting too close he turns back and sends Bonnie and Meredith to inform Elena what's happening back home. Bonnie and Meredith join Elena as all three are forced to enter as slaves; the chained and leashed property of a vampire – Damon. Elena Gilbert is once again at the center of magic and danger beyond her imagination. And once more, Stefan isn't there to help. Elena is forced to entrust her life to Damon, the handsome but deadly vampire who wants Elena, both her body and soul. They must journey to the slums of the Dark Dimension, a world where vampires and demons roam free, but humans must live as slaves of their supernatural masters. During this time, Elena becomes closer to Damon. She and Damon exchange blood many times throughout the book (in some very steamy ways) and in turn finds she has true feelings for him, adding a choice to her already mixed up life: Which brother does she really want? Stefan is imprisoned here, and only Elena can free him by finding the two hidden halves of the kitsune key to his cell. Damon, Elena, Bonnie, and Meredith must all fit into the world of the Dark Dimension and venture into its deadly high society. Only by these means may they be able to find Stefan's keys to release him and then Elena will be able to reunite with her soulmate. While this is going on, back home Matt is hiding from the law and trying to fight the evil kitsune who are destroying the very core of their community. Matt enlists the help of the local doctor and her nephew, the boarding house owner, and Isobel's grandmother, who was once a priestess, to keep their home together until Elena, Stefan, and Damon return. Elena and Damon go down to Stefan's prison and free him. Elena feeds him her blood as they try to make it home alive. As they leave, a good kitsune gives Elena a bouquet "For Stefan". Elena later finds out the gift she got from the Kitsune is a flower that can turn a vampire into a human. When getting back to the boarding house Damon's curiosity gets the better of him and the flower turns him human with one smell. The flower was from a kitsune Stefan met in the Dark Dimension, and was supposed to be for Stefan, who is now stuck as a vampire, and is trying to make a better relationship for him and Elena. Damon, on the other hand, wants absolutely nothing to do with humanity, hates being a mortal and is now stuck as a human. Stefan and Damon only wish that they could switch places with each other (with Stefan as a human, and Damon as a vampire).

The Return: Midnight

Damon is now human. He uses Misao's star ball to reopen the gate to the Dark Dimension and takes Bonnie with him by accident. Damon is then turned back into a vampire by Princess Jessalyn. Bonnie is arrested as a runaway slave and taken to an auction house to be sold. Shinichi buys Bonnie to extract information about Misao's star ball. Since the group has drained Power out of it, Misao is dying. Shinichi throws Bonnie out of a window, but Damon saves her. Meanwhile back in Fell's Church, Matt is arrested for assaulting Caroline, and Stefan, Elena and Mrs. Flowers have to get him out. They bring in Saber, a hell hound Sage left to protect them. Caroline changes into a werewolf at the sight of him. All the other officials at the court aturn into werewolves as well. When Matt is free, Stefan and Elena go into the Dark Dimension to find their friends, which they do at Lady Ulma's house. Soon after the four of them travel to the Nether World in search of the largest star ball ever made in hopes that it will save their town from The Last Midnight (the Last Midnight is then revealed to be all the possessed children attacking their parents). Sage is the guardian of the Gate where the treasures are, including the star ball. He lets the group pass and visit one of the 7 gateways. Meredith discovers that she had a twin brother named Cristian, who almost died, but Klaus had taken him when they were only 3 years old when the "attack" went on with her grandfather. She also tells the group what she really is, which is a hunter-slayer, and a new type of vampire with small fangs. Her parents have been feeding her amounts of blood in their meals. The kitsunes say they are working for someone who told them to destroy Fell's Church. It turns out to be Inari, Isobel's Grandmother. She is the Japanese goddess of rice and foxes; she is the most powerful Kitsune in the world and the star ball is hers. In the Nether World, on the smallest moon, the group finds the star ball in a large tree. Damon is unexpectedly killed by the tree when it stakes him in the heart while he saved Bonnie from falling to her death. Elena uses her "Wings Of Destruction" to destroy the tree and star ball, killing Inari. Shinichi had died earlier from the "Sin of Regret" and Misao dies when all the Power from her star ball has been drained. Mrs. Flowers changed into a younger version of herself before Inari died. Everyone, including Stefan, Bonnie, and especially Elena, mourns the death of Damon, while Elena promises to never forget him or how she loved him. The Celestial Court agrees to reverse what was done in Fell's Church (in return for the treasures they had collected) and erase the memory of what happened there. Elena can go back home as if she had never died and Stefan will be accepted as her boyfriend. Vicki Bennett, Sue Carson, and Mr. Tanner all get their lives back, but unfortunately, there is nothing that can be done for Damon. Stefan and Elena sit in her old room and cherish the memories that they have of him. The book ends on the Nether World's smallest moon. It is raining from the tree Elena had destroyed and liquid drips onto a lifeless body. Only it seems to not be lifeless; it thinks of a girl with golden hair and blue eye and a girl with a small face and brown eyes; Elena and Bonnie. It says if he can only remember who he is, he can live again, and with time a self revelation came, a name, Damon.

The Hunters: Phantom

Since meeting the irresistible vampire brothers Stefan and Damon Salvatore, Elena Gilbert has been to hell and back. Now that she and her friends have saved their hometown from a demonic spirit, everything can finally go back to normal. But Elena should know better than anyone that Fell’s Church will never be normal. In Phantom, a dangerous new threat sets its sights on Elena. And this time she can only count on one Salvatore brother to protect her.

In stores October 2011.

The Hunters: Moonsong

In stores March 2012.

Story Arcs

1. ''The Vampire Diaries arc"
   • "The Awakening"
   • "The Struggle"
   • "The Fury"
   • "Dark Reunion"
2. ''The Return arc"
   • "The Return: Nightfall"
   • "The Return: Shadow Souls"
   • "The Return: Midnight"
3. ''The Hunters arc"
   • "The Hunters: Phantom"
   • "The Hunters: Moonsong"
   • "The Hunters: Eternity"

Characters

Main characters

• Elena Gilbert: A beautiful and popular 17-year-old human girl from the town of Fell's Church. She is the main female character and the main protagonist of the series. There are repeated references in the series that state that she looks like an "angel" or "angelic" in appearance. Physically, Elena is described as having eyes the color of lapis lazuli with gold flecks in them. Her hair is long, straight and a soft pale gold, described as being a few shades lighter than Katherine's, while her eyebrows and lashes are a darker blonde. Her skin is very fair and almost translucent, it is described as being like a magnolia flower, swan's, alabaster or porcelain, and she doesn't tan easily. She's fairly slim, about average height for a teenage girl. Elena is taller than Katherine by "a good handspan." Elena has endured tragedy in her life. Her parents died in a fatal car accident when she was younger and she is raised by her Aunt Judith. She has a younger sister named Margaret. Personality wise, Elena is described active, optimistic, loyal, protective, and loving towards her friends and family. However, she initially starts off as selfish, vain and overly headstrong. Elena's selfishness and vanity was a facade which she used in order to hide her inner emptiness and sadness. Although Elena is very beautiful and popular, she feels painfully lonely. Elena transformed from an Ice Princess to a compassionate, kind, selfless, and open-minded person in the beginning of the first book. The major reason for this significant "change" in Elena, mostly had to do with meeting Stefan Salvatore. Elena is best friends with Bonnie McCullough and Meredith Sulez. She also used to be friends with Caroline Forbes until they became rivals. Bonnie comments in Elena's diary when she first died that Elena was far from perfect and while she was never an angel, she died a good person. Elena breaks up with her long-term boyfriend, Matt Honeycutt around the time when school starts, feeling he has become more to her than one of her disposable boyfriends from the past; she loves him like a best friend, cousin or brother. Elena is good at leading and initiating action but can be overly aggressive at times. Elena also has a tendency to be rather stubborn at times. Elena's life changes forever when she meets the mysterious, handsome new student at Robert E. Lee High School, Stefan Salvatore. Elena is immediately and intensely drawn to Stefan after their first meeting. The two form a bond, and eventually fall deeply in love. However, there are many obstacles that get in the way , including the unexplained deaths and unusual events occurring in Fells Church and also, Stefan's older brother, Damon trying to influence and persuade Elena into joining him so that he and Elena can live in the darkness for all eternity. However, despite Damon's requests, Elena repeatedly rejects Damon's advances and remains fiercely loyal to Stefan. In the beginning, Stefan initially makes attempts to ignore Elena. He does this because Stefan is overwhelmed by the intense connection he shares with Elena and also, Stefan realizes that there is a strong physical resemblance between Katherine and Elena, which initially caused suppressed pain and hurt feelings to come up within him due to grief and heartache. He makes comparisons between her and his former vampire girlfriend, Katherine, although Stefan realizes that beneath the looks, Katherine and Elena are two completely different people with Stefan stating that Elena is a much more emotionally stronger person. Her school reputation is important to her, so she makes up a fake boyfriend in order to hide the fact that Stefan has rejected her advances. She dies two times throughout the series, changing from human to vampire (after she gets enough blood from both Salvatore brothers, where her killer, Katherine, thought she only got blood from one vampire) to spirit (after an unknown power brings her back). In The Return: Nightfall, she comes back a perfectly normal human albeit with supernatural powers intact, making her blood irresistible to all supernatural beings, especially vampires. In Shadow Souls, it was revealed that Stefan is Elena's ultimate soulmate/twin soul. She discovered this when she had an out of body experience and saw the silver cord connecting her soul to Stefan's soul. Elena deeply and passionately loves Stefan. Elena has an incredibly strong, passionate romantic relationship with Stefan Salvatore, which is the basis of the whole series, although in later books, she starts to develop feelings for Damon, too, although she thinks of him as wild and dangerous. In fact, that might just be why she finds herself drawn to him.

• Stefan Salvatore: Damon's younger, moral, and benevolent vampire brother. Stefan is over 500 years old, but physically has the youthful appearance of a teenager. Stefan has an "old soul" aura about him Stefan is described as very classically handsome with fine facial features which are Roman in appearance — pale complexion with wavy dark hair, fine classic features and forest green eyes. Stefan is taller than his brother, Damon but not imposingly. Stefan is said to strongly resemble his older brother Damon. Stefan tends to wear very expensive clothing, which is usually black in coloring. Part of this is because he was once a member of the Italian nobility and his tutor taught him to dress as befitted as his position. Stefan wears a lapis lazuli ring to protect himself against the sunlight. Stefan is deeply tortured by his vampirism, but he has a hold on his humanity and the belief of doing the right thing. Like Elena, he also has a strong tendency to be rather stubborn. Stefan has an inner darkness and it comes out from time to time. He has strong morals and values and a strict code of ethics. According to Damon, Stefan spends his time "among books and paintings," and has never had to face reality because of his sheltered life. He also says that Stefan is attached to his friends, family, and his duty to Florence. In regards to his relationship with his brother Damon, Stefan has felt guilty for the longest time for "damning" his brother for all eternity and killing him, as well as transforming him into a vampire. Although it is evident that there is tension between Stefan and his elder brother, Stefan deeply loves and cares for Damon and always tries to see any humanity within him, no matter how much Damon tries to conceal it through immoral acts. Unfortunately, Stefan often ends up disappointed because of his naivety when it comes to Damon. Following Katherine's "suicide" and his transformation into a vampire, Stefan spends the next 500 years consumed with guilt. He refuses to drink human blood under any circumstances and chooses to live in the shadows. Upon his arrival to Fell's Church, he attempts to blend in with the other high school students at Robert E. Lee High School. Yet, his reserved nature keeps him from making friends easily until Matt Honeycutt, the high school quarterback, comes along. Stefan plays on the high school football team with Matt, and plays the position of wide receiver; Matt plays the position of quarterback. Though Stefan is usually gentle by nature, he has a bit of a temper, especially whenever his brother Damon is involved. Stefan is the "weaker" brother in terms of Power because he chooses not to survive on and drink human blood, which is the essence of a vampires strength. Instead, Stefan lives on an animal blood diet, which lessens his powers, although he often shares blood with Elena throughout the course of the series. He does possess the standard and basic vampire powers such as superhuman strength, super speed, agility and he also has the ability to influence people's minds (mind compulsion). In The Struggle, Stefan breaks his promise to himself and drinks human blood. This gives him the power to change and shape shift into animal form and he transforms into a hawk. Stefan deeply and strongly loves Elena and he is willing to do anything to protect Elena and keep her safe from harm, especially from his dangerous and impulsive brother, Damon, even if it means having to kill him if he attempts to harm her in any way. When Stefan first meets Elena when he arrives at Robert E. Lee High School, he is automatically able to sense her mind and presence and he is able to notice that her mind is significantly "different" from all of the other human minds within the school. He and Matt Honeycutt become very close and best friends during The Awakening. Stefan admires Matt because of his goodness and his giving nature, even though Stefan is aware that Matt still has feelings for Elena.

• Damon Salvatore: Stefan's elder, amoral and malevolent vampire brother. He is over 500 years old, although he has the youthful appearance of a man in his 20's. Damon is frequently shown to engage in immoral situations throughout the series although, events in both The Fury and Dark Reunion show that Damon can be capable of fierce loyalty and affection, though he is often very misunderstood. Physically, he is described as handsome and sexy, with fine straight black hair, pitch black eyes like midnight, pale skin, and a slim but muscular body type. Damon is slightly shorter than his brother, Stefan and it is said that he and Stefan have a strong resemblance to each other. Damon most often wears black clothing. He seems to favor black leather riding boots as footwear, black jeans, a black belt, black sweater and a black leather jacket. Like his brother, Stefan, Damon wears a lapis lazuli ring, which was given to him by Katherine, in order to walk around in the sunlight. Damon is self-contained and reserved on the surface most of the time, only letting his emotions show when he's angry - usually at his brother, Stefan. Damon and his father, Giuseppe, never got along because of Damon's lack of responsibility. While attending the unnamed “University,” Damon allegedly engages in gambling, jousting, and womanizing instead of studying. His father says Damon would be failing every class if it were not for his tutors and his secretary. He blames Damon for wasting his time and Giuseppe’s money and suggests that Damon wants to leave to return to his hunting and hawking. Giuseppe also suggests that for Damon to leave the university will embarrass Giuseppe because his friends will believe he has a son who is a ne’er-do-well and an idler who makes no useful contribution to the city. He generally acts flippant, arrogant, and constantly plays word games, especially when it comes to dancing around an issue, and even more especially when that issue involves his true feelings on a serious subject. Damon has an aristocratic, elegant demeanor and a very pragmatic outlook on life. He believes that the vampire nature is inherently dark, that they are natural hunters and predators who are meant to kill and therefore, he believes that Stefan's attempts to not feed on humans are therefore, unnatural. He kills Mr. Tanner, but claims he did so only because Tanner pulled a knife on him and that it was thus self-defense. He has a significantly very violent history due to his early vampire life, when he started his own mercenary company. Throughout the series, he is also portrayed as a very dark and seductive figure. He shows feelings towards Elena and Bonnie, though Elena receives more attention. Damon has a deep, intense, indescribable but tender bond/connection with Bonnie McCullough. Throughout the series, Damon has frequently shown to have a "soft spot" for Bonnie, although the reason for this is highly unknown and unexplained. Bonnie seems to be the only person to bring out the "true Damon", and reveal his deeply buried inner tenderness and humanity. Damon's morality is always in question — and he is constantly suspected of mischief. In The Fury, Katherine offers to let Damon live and for him to reign in the shadows, an offer both Elena and Stefan believe he will accept. However, in the end he tells her, "Go to hell." Damon is regarded as one of the strongest vampires residing on Earth, this comes from all the blood he has taken in from humans. He has deep feelings for Elena that are not understood by others, this is particularly evident in The Fury. In The Return: Shadow Souls, it is also revealed that Elena also has strong feelings for Damon- who now is in love with Elena, but does not share this knowledge with any of her friends, supporting their beliefs that Damon is taking advantage of her.

• Bonnie McCullough: Bonnie is a small, petite girl who is very pretty and dainty with deep, large brown eyes, a heart shaped face, long and thick strawberry-blond curls, and very fair skin, which is almost translucent. There is something very innocent about her physical appearance. Physically, Bonnie has been likened to a fairy or a pixie. Bonnie is best friends with Elena Gilbert, Meredith Sulez, Matt Honeycutt and Stefan Salvatore. She also shares a very deep connection with Damon Salvatore. Bonnie has an older sister, Mary, who is two years older than her. Initially, Bonnie comes off as kind hearted but not very bright or intelligent at all. She starts off as the fickle, shallow, boy-obsessed, always-bubbly, insecure, slightly clueless friend. As the series goes on, however, Bonnie begins to develop quite a bit, both as a person and as someone with powerful and strong psychic powers, and she matures and deepens accordingly. Most of the time, Bonnie seems to act as an unwitting, unknowing medium for helpful spirits, most notably the spirit of Honoria Fell, who several times attempts to aid the girls through Bonnie. Bonnie does not remember anything she says or does while she is in this kind of catatonic state. She also has occasional prophetic flashes, such as when she jokingly reads Elena's palm on the first day of school and comes up with a genuine prophecy that she would meet "a tall, dark and handsome" stranger. In Dark Reunion, Bonnie begins to dabble in the art of witchcraft, and successfully pulls off a summoning ritual to call Stefan back to Fell's Church, then successfully manages to help Stefan communicate with a ghostly Elena by various means. At the end of Dark Reunion, Bonnie is the one who screams about the unfairness of their tragic fate, which triggers Elena's return. It is unknown if Bonnie's powers played any role in making this happen, or if it was just a matter of lucky timing (it was the night of the summer solstice, when ghosts were said to be prone to returning to Earth anyway). She slowly realizes that she isn't as dumb as she believes herself to be (and, as a result, as she's convinced everyone else she is), and that she's rather quite resourceful, useful, needed and loved by all of her friends. Although Bonnie's characterization generally appears to be rather light-hearted, bubbly and sweet-natured, Bonnie is deeply, strongly fascinated with and drawn to darkness, especially with death. Bonnie frequently talks about and romanticizes death, especially her own, constantly talking about her Scottish grandmother's prophecy that she would be young and beautiful in her grave, and how romantically she might die. She has frequently expressed how it would be romantic for a guy to strangle her and show aggressiveness towards her. She is generally fickle and flighty when it comes to boys, unsure of what kind of guy she is really looking for. She begins to develop a bond with Matt Honeycutt in the original trilogy, although Matt is still in love with Elena. Matt has been seen to be protective over Bonnie, especially where Damon is concerned. Bonnie has a deep and intense connection with Damon Salvatore. Bonnie seems to be strongly drawn to Damon because of the seductive and dark aura that he exudes. Damon has been seen to be fiercely protective of and over Bonnie, and he is always there for her, whenever she happens to be in trouble. Bonnie seems to be the only one to fiercely believe in Damon and she understands him in a way that no one else does in the series. By the end of the original series, Bonnie has become more grounded and serious, focusing on the problems at hand rather than boys at hand. She even surprises herself a few times with her own insightful and helpful contributions to the fight against Klaus. Bonnie, who is a powerful psychic with supposed witch ancestry, is greatly overwhelmed by her powers, and attempts to repress the true extent of them without much success.Bonnie is often said to resemble a bird — cute, small, and relatively harmless, although she has very strong psychic powers and abilities. She is somewhat of a child and she faints constantly as she lacks self restraint of her strong powers. Bonnie is highly expansive and visionary but she can also be rather damsel-in-distress like. People believe she will certainly be together with Damon Salvatore.

• Meredith Sulez: Meredith is one of Elena's closest friends. Meredith is tall, with an olive complexion, dark eyes, heavy black lashes, and loose black hair. According to Elena, she never wears make-up because she doesn't need any. She is described as very elegant and beautiful. One of Meredith's "distinguishing features" is that she has a "very elegant eyebrow". Calm and collected: Meredith seems to be one of the most sensible and grounded characters in the books, amongst Elena's friends and often comes across as "the voice of reason". Meredith is best friends with Elena Gilbert and Bonnie McCullough but she is also friends with Stefan Salvatore. She has a very wry personality, often making keen observations or (somewhat humorous) comments in a dry tone. She is normally very cool and unflappable, calm under pressure, and extremely competent. She does things with minimal fuss, displaying grace, skill, and dignity. She is extremely cynical when it comes to vampires and the reason is suspected amongst fans to be because of the attack by Klaus on both her and her grandfather. She falls in love with Alaric Saltzman, the school's history teacher, and has a long distance relationship with him as he studies abroad in Russia. She is also the only human female in the novel that seems to be completely unfazed by Damon Salvatore and his charm and is the only person that Damon admits to being afraid of. In "Dark Reunion", Meredith tells Stefan that Damon is dangerous, and that he never should have brought his brother back to Fell's Church. Damon admits to finding Meredith to be "a very scary person" and seems to be incapable of making rude remarks towards her when being face to face but only when they're facing away from one another. When he does so, Meredith makes a comment and Damon does not respond. In The Vampire Diaries: The Return Vol. 3: Midnight, it is revealed that Meredith has a twin brother named Cristian. On Meredith and Cristian's third birthday, Klaus Influenced Meredith to drink Cristian's blood. Then he kidnapped Cristian and fed him blood slowly turning him into a vampire. Although it is not explained how, Cristian was able to grow up into an eighteen-year-old even though he is a vampire. Since Cristian was four, Klaus has sent Meredith's parents pictures of Cristian. Before Klaus kidnapped Cristian, he instructed Meredith's parents to feed Meredith a tablespoon of animal blood every week or else Meredith would die. This has resulted in Meredith's canines being like "kitten teeth" although she is not a vampire. Both her parents and at least one grandmother are alive. Meredith's mother used to be friends with Caroline's mother a long time before the start of the series. Meredith's grandfather currently resides in a mental institution in West Virginia. After the attack, Meredith's grandfather became a source of deep shame for the family. In Dark Reunion, Bonnie says that Meredith's parents "considered her grandfather's condition such a blot that they never allowed him to be mentioned to outsiders." Later in The Return: Midnight she is revealed to be a vampire hunter and has been keeping it a secret all her life.

• Matthew 'Matt' Honeycutt: Matt is Elena's childhood best friend and long term ex-boyfriend and first love. He's the typical 18 year old All-American boy-next-door high school star quarterback. Physically, Matt is very tall and athletic, with blonde hair and blue eyes (Stefan observes that his eyes are open and honest). During the summer prior to The Awakening Matt helped out on his grandparents' farm, which gave him a tanned complexion. He's described as being an attractive, wholesome, all-American, boy-next-door type. Matt and Elena were best friends since childhood and they know everything about each other and Matt understands Elena better than anybody. Before Elena met Stefan, Matt was the only boy in Elena's life who has had any kind of "influence" on Elena's transformation. Certainly Elena still thinks that he's handsome, even after breaking up with him, and Bonnie has shown some interest in him. Due to his family being poor, he tends to wear older clothes, and Elena surmises at the beginning of The Awakening that his scuffed shoes must have been the same ones he had the previous year on account of not being able to afford new ones. While Matt is heartbroken at losing Elena to Stefan, he accepts it. He continues to be very protective of Elena. Matt is extremely jealous of Stefan and still pines for Elena, but he shows some feelings for Bonnie. Matt helps Stefan escape the Haunted House on the night of the attack, but afterward begins to think that Stefan might have killed Mr. Tanner. Later in the series, the relationship between Stefan and Matt is closer to that of best friends. He is forgiving, loyal and is described as the friendly boy-next-door type. Despite being captain of the school football team, Matt is about as far from a stereotypical jock as you can get. He's fiercely loyal, and likes to see the best in people. When it comes to the subject of love and relationships, he's quite mature for his age. Despite being deeply in love with Elena, he is able to not only let her go as a girlfriend, but he's also able to remain her friend while not being bitter about his loss, coming to her aid several times (above and beyond the call of duty) in the story. Even more surprisingly, he's able to become best friends with Stefan, who by all rights should be considered his rival in his love for Elena. He has faith in the basic goodness of people, and displays this several times during the course of the books, from sticking by Stefan despite damning evidence against him, to even managing to work out some motives for Damon's actions that prove him to be not quite as evil as he'd like people to believe. Indeed, the basic concept of vampires existing, while a shock, doesn't seem to bother him particularly. It's not that fact that Stefan is a vampire that sends him spiralling into denial in The Fury, but the fact that Stefan pretends to feel no remorse over attacking Tyler and his associates in the Quonset hut. After the events of The Fury, Matt's faith in humanity and the world has been severely shaken, and he spends much of Dark Reunion in a previously uncharacteristic pessimistic and defeated state. It takes a renewal of friendship and a heart-to-heart with Stefan for him to start to regain some of his earlier determination and good humour.

• Caroline Forbes: Caroline is tall, curvaceous and bronzed, like a Vogue model or an international model. She has thick wavy, auburn coloured hair with catlike, slanted, bright green eyes. She frequently wears skimpy clothing that emphasizes her assets and shows off much of her bronzed complexion and is always perfectly coiffed. Caroline's personality is difficult to ascertain, as we mostly only see her being adversarial to Elena so it could be said that she is misunderstood. Caroline has a younger brother named Daniel Forbes. Her father, Mr. Forbes, is one of a group of fathers who join in a lynching party to stake Stefan through the heart and/or shoot him with wooden bullets. When Alaric suggests that the attacker might have been "Damon Smith" and not Stefan, Mr. Forbes says he is willing to use his daughter Caroline to trap Stefan and to let her witness his death because that sort of psychological damage would be less than the damage when her throat got ripped out. After Caroline admits her identification is uncertain and the lynch mob breaks up, Mr. Forbes mutters that the situation was a mistake and no one - except, presumably, Stefan-should take it too seriously. Mr. Forbes may be one of the unidentified men accompanying Mr. Lockwood to the crypt to lynch Stefan and Damon after Katherine's death. Elena notes that she and Caroline used to be the best of friends, though they developed a healthy rivalry for social status in their social group and who would be named "Queen of Robert E. Lee High School." Caroline also used to be friends with Bonnie McCullough and Meredith Sulez. At some point over the summer, while Elena was in France, Caroline turned on her for reasons unknown to Elena (and thus unknown to the reader), and when Elena returns on the first day of school, she is met with a surprisingly cold reception from her former friend and newfound rival. Originally, Caroline Forbes wanted Stefan Salvatore for herself but Elena also had a significant interest in him as well. This caused the rivalry between them to heat up even more and become fiercely competitive. From what is displayed of Caroline's personality in the books, Caroline is extremely competitive, manipulative, cunning, selfish, shallow, self-centered and seems to be willing to do anything in her power to get what she wants, regardless of legal or ethical implications. She takes social slights very personally, and seems to value social status above most other things. After Elena's second and then-final death, Caroline seems to have a change of heart; she rejoins her old friends, Bonnie and Meredith, and stops speaking ill of Elena. Caroline eventually gets involved in a relationship with Tyler Smallwood. In The Return: Nightfall, it is revealed that Caroline is pregnant with Tyler Smallwood's unborn twins but Tyler does not know about this. At first, it was suspected that Matt Honeycutt that was the father of Caroline's unborn children but it is confirmed that Tyler is the real father. Because Tyler is a werewolf, it means that the babies are hybrids, being half human, half werewolf. Therefore, both unborn children are carrying the werewolf gene and could possibly change into werewolves in the future.

• Alaric K. Saltzman: Alaric is the new, young and attractive History teacher at Robert E. Lee High School that was in suspicion of being a vampire hunter when he was in fact studying vampires ever since he discovered that they were real. He's an experimental psychologist from Duke University, specialising in the research of psychic powers. His research took a sideways step upon the discovery of the victim of a vampire. He focused his research on vampire victims, becoming the foremost expert in the field. Alaric is good-looking with an athletic build, hazel eyes, and sandy brown hair (which he wears a little long). He has a boyish smile, and Elena observes that he's not really much older than the students in his class. Later on, in The Fury, Elena assesses him to be around four or five or six years years older than she is, which would age him at around 24 years old at the top end. In Dark Reunion, Bonnie believes that Alaric is approximately 22 years old. Despite trying to appear as a fearsome vampire hunter and killer, he's really not a violent, hateful person by nature, and can't stand to see innocents hurt in any way, shape or form. He even denies being a vampire hunter, when Damon accuses him of being one, and likely not just to save his own skin. Once it is established that Stefan is not the killer plaguing the town of Fells Church, Alaric is immediately concerned for Stefan's well being and safety upon learning he has gone to meet with Caroline Forbes, where he will no doubt, be ambushed by people of the town. He has a frequency to smile a lot, especially during The Struggle, and this displays that Alaric has a rather easy-going, charming nature, and a desire to connect with many different people. He's clearly not a certified teacher, falling back on what must be his own area of comfort to get to know the students and the potential killer among them by inviting them all to his place for a party. It's clear he feels comfortable around different groups of people since he is highly sociable, and is able to function very well as a host. Alaric falls in love with Meredith Sulez later on in the series, and has a long distance relationship with her while he goes abroad to further his studies. Alaric is good at power-seeking and he has high material goals. Alaric develops a romantic relationship with Meredith on the sly, and while they don't really have any romantic scenes together in the books, nor are they as outwardly affectionate as Stefan and Elena, there are implications that the relationship is quite serious and going strong. The reason for their secrecy may well be the inappropriate nature of a student/teacher relationship, even though Alaric only went to Fell's Church to research vampires and only used teaching as a cover. Alaric is an Aquarius and he originally comes from Charlottesville, Virginia.

Vampire characters

• Katherine Von Swartzschild: Katherine is the young and beautiful vampire whom Damon and Stefan both fell in love with when they were humans during the Italian Renaissance. Born in Germany in the 1500s to the Baron von Swartzschild, Katherine was frail during her childhood and her last illness was terminal. She recalls later that she was unable to breathe and too weak to move; her father was devastated. Gudren, her maid, sought out a vampire named Klaus who was in the local village at the time, and he made her into a vampire, saving her from death and making her much stronger than she had been in life. It is Gudren who advises her on the practicalities of being a vampire, telling her to have a lapis lazuli ring made as a talisman against the sun, and bringing her possets and small animals for feeding. Katherine says that there are many silversmiths in Florence. She is able to have made, in no more than a week, two silver rings set with lapis lazuli for both of the Salvatore brothers. She also succeeds in finding another piece of lapis lazuli for herself in a day. Physically, Katherine looks almost exactly like Elena, with jewel-blue eyes, golden blonde hair and pale skin. There are however a few slight differences between the two girls. Katherine is shorter, her eyes are wider and more blue, and her hair is a few shades darker than Elena's. Katherine also has "almost silvery" eyebrows and eyelashes. She is, of course, very beautiful. At first, Katherine is described through flashbacks of memory. She finally makes her appearance in The Fury. She looks the same, except for her long, golden hair, which has grown past floor-length and now trails behind her; Elena initially mistakes it for a train on her gown. Her face is also described (by Elena) simply as looking "wrong" and "distorted," twisted by hunger and mocking. Her voice has been described as light, melodic and silvery. In order for her to walk around in the sunlight as a vampire, Katherine wore a necklace with lapis lazuli around her neck. As a vampire, some of Katherine's powers included owl form, tiger form, kitten form, weather manipulation and mind manipulation (mind compulsion). When Katherine and Stefan spent time together every day, their fathers were pleased and discussed a possible marriage. Stefan believes Katherine’s father is too fond of her to force her to marry against her will, thus leaving the choice of a husband to Katherine. When the Salvatore brothers first meet Katherine during the Renaissance, she is a fragile young German noblewoman with a dark secret. Katherine is soft-spoken, innocent and excessively naïve. In spite of her vampirism, she does not appear to understand shadow emotions and the darker side of life, and as such she fails to grasp the deep roots of the conflict between Stefan and Damon. She displays her childishness by refusing to choose between the two brothers and believing that martyring herself will resolve their difficulties. In the centuries between the Italian Renaissance and the time of The Fury, Katherine has grown quite insane, which is at least partly attributable to the influence of Klaus. She is jealous of Elena and hates Damon and Stefan for daring to pursue another woman. She boasts about killing many humans and vampires over the past few centuries, and has become evil and hungry for power and revenge. Katherine turned the two brothers into vampires in an attempt to be happy with both brothers, instead of having to choose between them. When this didn't work she staged her 'suicide' by going into the sunlight without her ring, leaving behind a pile of ashes in one of her dresses. The two brothers fought to the 'death' because of her loss. She physically resembles Elena which caused Stefan's initial attraction to Elena, though he later realized that Elena was emotionally stronger than Katherine, who was docile and gentle as was the standard in Renaissance Italy. She is revealed to be the Other Power that is damaging the town and is killed by Elena. Katherine dies in 'The Fury' from burning to death after Elena tore off her protective lapis lazuli necklace and pushed her into a shaft of sunlight. Katherine reveals in The Fury, that she always loved Stefan more than Damon.

• Klaus: Klaus is a pureblood vampire, one of the 'Old Ones', who has never been a human, and he existed long ago before the pyramids were built. According to his words, he fought in the Trojan war and even helped for the downfall of the Roman empire. In the late 15 century, he lived in a village in Germany. The people thought that he was the devil himself. Physically, Klaus is very Nordic in appearance, with electric blue eyes and short, close-cropped platinum blond hair. He is described as being handsome despite the fact that his features are often contorted in madness. He wears a dusty long tan coat. Personality-wise, Klaus is extremely deranged, and the line between his evil and his madness is very blurry. When pressed, he is deadly serious and reminds everyone about his unfathomable old age, but most of the time he seems unnaturally chipper, and his evil deeds during Dark Reunion are always tinged with irony. He refers to everyone as "sport," he writes "Goodnight, sweetheart" on Vickie's mirror after brutally murdering her and leaving that same song playing in her room, and he kills (or nearly kills) Stefan with the same white ash wood spear that was intended for him. His mood changes from cheerful and amused to absolutely enraged in seconds, and he is very unpredictable. Despite his seemingly erratic and scattered personality, he seems to be a patient and methodical killer capable of elaborate plans. One day, a maid showed up and begged for his help, because her young mistress was dying. That girl was Katherine von Swartzschild. He then turned her into a vampire, feeding her with his blood, and months afterwards he took her under his care and instructed her how to be malevolent and despotic. Centuries later Katherine thought that she killed him, but Klaus arrives in Fell's Church, where he somehow comes in contact with Tyler and helps him become a werewolf. After that, he uses Tyler and his own enhanced vampire powers to play with the Salvatore brothers, and their human friends. He murders both Sue Carson, a friend of Bonnie and Meredith, and Vickie Bennett in an extremely violent manner and offers Damon a truce if he'll keep out of his way while he kills Stefan. Klaus also kidnaps Caroline Forbes and holds her hostage as bait to get Stefan to fight him. In the final showdown against everyone, all of the weapons used against him fail, Klaus more or less kills Stefan, and nearly kills Damon as well, until an intervention from Elena's spirit, leading an army's worth of unquiet Civil War ghosts (the site of their battle was also the site of a bloody Civil War battle) against him. The ghosts carry a screaming Klaus away, and his current whereabouts (and state of being) are unknown.

Human characters

• Judith Gilbert: Judith is Elena's aunt and legal guardian. She is the sister of Elena and Margaret's father. She moved in with Elena and her baby sister Margaret right after the death of the girl's parents. She is the sort of woman who always looked vaguely flustered; she had a thin, mild face and flyaway red hair pushed back untidily. She is engaged to, later married to, Robert Maxwell, though she briefly broke the engagement after Elena's death, thinking it was the best for Margaret. She is deeply caring and one of the last people Elena talks to before dying the first time.

• Margaret Gilbert: Elena's much younger sister, who is 4 years old. Elena considers her to be very innocent, and even secretly talks to her as a vampire after her death, saying that it is not yet her time to rejoin her deceased parents. She has platinum blond hair, pink, peachy skin and light blue eyes. Margaret is generally cheerful, and she is empathetic enough to offer Elena some Halloween candy when her older sister seems distressed. She likes animals well enough to adopt a kitten, though unfortunately the kitten she chooses is an animal shape of Katherine von Swartzschild. Due to her age, she gives little to no evidence of ever truly understanding the activities and concerns of her older sister or the other characters. She perceives Elena’s death as her older sister’s having gone to be with their parents. In fact, given the ease with which she welcomes the vampire Elena's return, she does not seem to have understood that Elena is supposed to be dead even though she asks Elena if she has become an angel. Margaret doesn't have much of a history as she's only approximately 4 years old. Elena and Margaret's parents died when she was around 1 year old, so she has little memory of them. It is unknown how she spends her time or if she has any friends, as the reader only sees her with Elena or Aunt Judith.

• Vickie Bennett: Vickie was an acquaintance of Elena, Matt, Meredith and Bonnie but she was never particularly a part of their inner circle. Physically, she was small with light brown hair and dark brown eyes. She was at the cemetery with Elena when they left the Homecoming dance. She had stayed there in the church with Dick Carter, Tyler Smallwood's best friend. She was attacked and that caused her to go insane and she accused Elena of being part of it. Then she is accused of killing Sue because she relapsed after her death and she was the only one present, however after the turnaround of events and her transition away from the "fast crowd", it is considered unlikely by her new friends. When Bonnie and Meredith go to her house, she catatonically says that the murderer said she is next. She is left under the protection of Damon by his brother Stefan, but is later violently murdered by Klaus.

Werewolf characters

• Tyler Smallwood: Tyler Smallwood is an 18-year-old direct descendant of the Smallwoods that were present at the founding of Fells Church. Physically, Tyler is the stereotypical "jock" type; he is very tall, broad, husky and muscular with jet black hair, pale skin and very dark eyes. He is described as being handsome and attractive, although he is rather fleshy in appearance. Tyler has fleshy hands and he also has significantly large teeth. Elena, Meredith and Bonnie have all taken notice of this physical feature on Tyler. Elena has observed that Tyler is significantly much taller than Stefan and is at least twice as broad as him. Tyler's family, the Smallwood's, is one of the founding families of Fell's Church; there appears to be some deep-seated resentment on the part of the Lockwood's over the history of the town's creation. Tyler seems to feel that his family, the Smallwood's, were the real founders of the town, more so than the Fell family, after which the town is named. In the first book, Tyler took Elena away to the graveyard where she saw his grandfather's grave. Tyler makes an aggressive move for Elena and then to Meredith later on in the books. Stefan comes to save Elena in the graveyard after Tyler tries to force himself on her and because of this, Tyler has been antagonistic towards Stefan and Elena ever since. He is later revealed to be a werewolf; it was dormant until he knew how to activate the werewolf gene. Tyler eventually develops a relationship with Caroline Forbes later on in the series. He is also the unknowing father of Caroline's unborn babies at the end of The Return: Nightfall.

Witch characters

• Mrs. Theophilia Flowers: Mrs. Flowers is the owner of the boarding house where Stefan lives, they once thought her to just be a crazy old woman, but, during The Return: Nightfall, she is revealed to be a Witch like Bonnie and helps the friends search for Elena in the woods. Mrs. Flowers is said to be over 100 years old. Mrs. Flowers is an old lady with grey hair and a smiling face. She's a small woman, and has bright, black eyes. Mrs. Flowers comes across as a batty old lady, yet appearances can be deceiving. She has a wicked sense of humour, and seems to enjoy driving people insane wondering about what and who she is. It's never actually confirmed in the original series just what Mrs. Flowers is, but Stefan observes early on in The Awakening that she seems to be more than she appears. She certainly seems to suspect (perhaps even know) what Stefan is. She makes knowing references about there being things lurking out in the woods, makes jokes about Stefan flying off the roof. The fact that the mirror is missing from Stefan's bathroom may also be a little joke on her part. Stefan himself reveals that vampires having no reflections is a myth, and there's no real reason for him to not have a mirror, especially given that he's quite fastidious about his appearance. It's easy to conclude this is Mrs. Flowers making another subtle hint that she knows what he is. She certainly makes no bones about knowing he's older than he appears by offering him some of her blackberry wine when the teenagers are only given grape juice. As far as she should be concerned, Stefan is the same age as the rest of them. It is quite possible that she has some kind of psychic premonitions. On two occasions she was strangely absent from the Boarding House when by all rights she had every reason to be there. The first is on Halloween, when Elena discovers that Stefan is a vampire. It's as if she was deliberately keeping out of their way so that the necessary could take place. Again, after Stefan has been rescued from the well in The Struggle, she is absent from the Boarding House when they return with him, yet the doors are unlocked. This is something that Matt observes as very strange, and that you'd have to be crazy to leave your doors open like that given the recent spate of deaths. While she has her eccentricities, Mrs. Flowers is certainly not stupid, and it's possible that she knew they were coming, knew they wanted to do it as secretly as possible, and so paved the way for them while making herself scarce. It's also interesting to note that she may have had no problems leaving the doors unlocked as she knew the ones who were responsible couldn't get in without an invitation. In her mind, she was relatively safe. Mrs. Flowers reveals that she is a Witch in the novel to Elena because she says that she's become unsociable in old age and mentions she had been a nurse because women were not encouraged to be doctors back when she was born. She admits to having a "soft spot" for Stefan. It is also noted that she is knowledgeable about herbs. In "The Return: Nightfall" Mrs. Flowers reveals to Elena that she became a nurse when she was younger (though she wanted to be a doctor) because women back then were discouraged from becoming doctors. She then confirms everyone's suspicions about her by stating that she is a witch (and that she finds it to be a pain) and has known about Stefan all along. She tells Elena that she has a "soft spot" for him and has decided to help Elena find Stefan, who has gone missing. She helps cure Matt and it is noted that she's educated in herbology. She tells Bonnie and Meredith that her mother died sometime back in 1901 and that she (Mrs. Flowers) used to be a medium on vaudeville.

Kitsune characters

• Shinichi: Shinichi is a magical fox spirit called "Kitsune" from Japan. At first, he appeared as a dark and mysterious person, who offered a partnership to Damon in order to destroy the entire Fell's Church. With the influence and help of Damon, Stefan is lured away from the town with the promise of becoming a human again. Shinichi and his twin sister, Misao, used terrible tentacled creatures, called Malach, which can be the size of a pinhead or big enough to swallow your entire arm, to make Damon one of his pawns. The malach entered his body and took him over from the inside, corrupting his body and his soul, making him entirely under Shinichi's will. Shinichi made Damon torture Elena and even kidnap her, making her believe that Stefan wanted her to be under Damon's care, while he and Misao spread the malach like a virus among the citizens of Fall's Church. In his human form, Shinichi looks like a young and beautiful Asian boy with pitch black hair, red all around the tips and golden eyes. In his real fox form he has more than six tails and black and red fur. His personality is twisted and evil.

• Misao: Misao is Shinichi's twin sister. In the beginning of Nightfall, she appeared in Caroline's mirror in the form of the girl's reflection, and used her bad feelings for Elena to making them sign a contract, which enabled Caroline to get her revenge on Elena and Stefan. Misao possessed Caroline with malach, and used her to spread the virus-like creatures in the town, mostly among the young girls. Under their influence, the girls did terrible things to themselves, like home made piercings and offering sex to the older boys, like the case with Matt. Despite the fact that they're brother and sister, Misao has a passionate and sexual attachment to her brother, Shinichi, and they even shared a hot and intimate kiss in the scene where they lured Bonnie, Meredith, Matt, Dr.Alpert and Mrs.Flowers into the woods. In her human form Misao looks like pretty young Asian girl with long black hair, scarlet all around the tips, and black eyes, while in her fox form she has more than six tails and black and scarlet fur. Her personality is spoiled and arrogant.

Adaptations

Television series

On February 6, 2009, Variety announced that The CW Television Network greenlighted the pilot for a television series entitled The Vampire Diaries with Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec set as the writers and executive producers. On May 19, 2009, the pilot was officially ordered to series for the 2009-2010 season.

Filming for the series began in July 2009 in Vancouver, British Columbia and then shooting moved to Covington, Georgia after wrapping the pilot episode. The high school and football scenes were shot at Walton Career Academy in Monroe, Georgia. Many changes were made when adapting the novel series to a television show, the most obvious one probably being the change in Elena's physical appearance. In the books, Elena is portrayed to have pale, almost translucent skin, long blonde hair reaching almost to her waist and dark blue eyes, the colour of lapis lazuli. However, in the television series, Elena is played by Nina Dobrev, who has olive skin, long and straight dark brown hair and brown eyes.

One of Elena's best friends in the novels is Meredith Sulez; but in the television series she has not appeared, although she will appear sometime later on in the series. Bonnie also has both a physical appearance and name change (from Bonnie McCullough in the books to Bonnie Bennett in the TV series) in the television series, trading in her red curls and pale skin for an African-American girl, played by Katerina Graham, and she is not timid and damsel-in-distress like Bonnie is in the books, but instead, is rather courageous and strong-willed. Also, in the novels, Bonnie is known to be a psychic with strong psychic abilities and powers due to her ancestors being druids while on the TV show, Bonnie is a witch because her ancestors were salem witches not druids. In the TV series, Bonnie's ancestor named Emily Bennett, who was also a witch, was a servant of Katherine's, who helped to protect her. Caroline Forbes has a big personality change. In the books, she is mainly nasty, manipulative, and always plotting ways to bring Elena down but in the television series, she is Elena's self-involved, oblivious friend, who is in love with Matt. In the books, Elena has a four-year-old sister named Margaret but in the TV series, she has a slightly younger brother named Jeremy. In the TV series, Vicki is Matt's older sister, while Matt has no siblings in the books.

In the TV series, Stefan has a strict 'no human blood' rule. However in the novels, he and Elena exchange blood often and willingly. But recently, this has changed, as in the TV series, he has began drinking some of Elena's blood in order to gain strength. In the books, after Elena's parents died, her Aunt Judith (who is engaged to Robert) came to look after her and Margaret, but in the TV series, Elena and Jeremy's Aunt Jenna (who is Elena's adoptive mother and Jeremy's biological mother's younger sister) looks after them and Robert does not exist.

Also in the books Alaric Saltzman is 22 years old and Meredith's boyfriend and later fiance; but in the TV series, he is older (about in his early to mid 30's), he has already been married to Elena's biological mother, Isobel, and now currently expresses an interest in Jenna. Isobel, in the book The Return: Nightfall, is an Asian girl that lives with her grandmother and her younger sister. Stefan was renting a room at a boarding house in the book, while in the TV series, the Salvatores own the boarding home since the brothers are originally from Mystic Falls, Virginia. In the TV series, Isobel left Alaric to seek out Damon to seduce him into turning her.

In the novels, the Salvatore brothers are born in Florence, Italy while on the TV show, the Salvatore brothers are born in Mystic Falls, Virginia. They are also both significantly younger than the brothers in the books, since they were turned during the time of the Civil War. Damon and Stefan in the novels were both born in the 1500s, while Damon and Stefan on the TV show, were both born during the 1800s. Stefan is 17 years old when he dies and turns into a vampire and Damon is 21 or 22 when he dies and becomes a vampire.In the book it is said that the brothers fought to the death, but in the TV series they were shot by their father because he discovered them trying to save Katherine from being imprisoned inside the church.