A movie poster for Vampire Vixens.
A vampire is the manifestation of an Earth legend of a creature who had previously been a living Human, and had returned from death to feast on the blood of others. As with many legends, parts of this lore described real traits of actual creatures, and the term is often invoked whenever lifeforms who instinctively and necessarily feed on others are encountered.
In 2372, an unnamed Starfleet security chief on Earth likened a security officer to a vampire, as she was to perform a blood screening on him. She reminded him that vampires only come out at night. (DS9: "Paradise Lost")
- In the script of the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Prophet Motive", Quark's reaction to Rom showing him Zek's revised version of the Rules of Acquisition was described in the stage directions as being "like waving garlic in front of a vampire".