V-1: Newbs Guide to Hiding

The key to survival for every vampire is being able to successfully blend into his surroundings. Because the vampire is most vulnerable during the day when he is "sleeping", he is left wide open for attack or worse. Every vampire should know how to successfully hide the fact that they are anything but human. In the centuries of old this could have proven very difficult because there were no 24-hour businesses, therefore if you weren't seen during the day this meant there was something wrong with you. During this time, people were also more willing to believe in the supernatural and therefore your existence. Today, however, when told of the existence of any pernat, most people just shrug it off as pure mythology or craziness. Your biggest ally in this time is the atheist (no offense intended) because they are the hardest to convince of the existence of anything supernatural. If they do not believe in a god then the odds of them believing in anything resembling a vampire is very slim. If told that you are a vampire these people are likely to shrug it off as a joke or even jump into a diatribe about how the existence of vampires is utterly impossible. Now hiding should prove to be abundantly easier than in centuries past. Today for instance you could live in an area like this: rather than a house off by itself that everyone seems to be scared of. Odds are if you live off by yourself, you will draw more attention to yourself. Subdivisions provide mortals with a sense of security. Now living in a subdivision does bring up the instance of nosy neighbors (every subdivision and neighborhood has them). I suggest making sure that your neighbors see you leave your home at night and come home in the morning (all before the sun of course). If they believe that you work at night they are less likely to bother you during the day and in turn they are a little less likely to find out you are a vampire. But that is not all. I would suggest getting a mortal aid that you trust with your secret (there is an abundance of fangers- people who find the life of a vampire glamorous- out there) to "run" your house during the day. This mortal would be in charge of doing the things for you that can not be done during the day. This also serves another purpose. Because this mortal will be in your home, he/she will have to be fed. Therefore you will have to buy groceries and will not draw attention to yourself for not eating. You must also be sure to take trash to the curb, have your yard mowed and even landscaped. As long as you appear to live like a mortal, you won't draw attention to yourself and this is the key. Keep in mind that you may not want to consume your "dinner" at home as well. Cleaning up the mess and disposing of the body could draw attention to you. I would also suggest hunting somewhere away from the town you live in. In the mortal world, killers tend to murder their victims close to home, and thus when bodies start piling up you will not be a likely suspect. If at all possible, you could refrain from killing or draining your victims and that would absolve this problem almost entirely as long as you can make sure the victim can not identify you. Do not do anything in front of a human that is out of the ordinary for a mortal. This means no lifting cars, no flying, no super speeding. Do nothing that can not be explained, because it will draw attention to you!
If you do for some reason find yourself being questioned about what you are, take a play out of the lawyer's handbook and deny everything! Especially if they have no evidence. Even if they have sufficient evidence never admit that you are a vampire! Admitting you are a vampire would open a can of worms the size of Africa and you can almost guarantee that it would never be closed again. I suggest if you are caught, then you should try your best to get away without drawing more attention to yourself than you already have and move elsewhere in the world, like an entirely new continent or country.
If you have done everything the way I have said then you should be safe. Also keep in mind that blood banks can be a safe alternative to consuming from the source. I would also suggest moving every ten or so years so people do not ask why you are not aging. Following these few simple rules can mean an eternity of safety!

**Image 1 courtesy of shutterstock.com**
Image 2 courtesy of Interview With a Vampire and Geffen Pictures**