I was inspired to write this because I have been approached with this question on more than one occasion, and so I thought I ought to post an article about it, which will hopefully clear things up for people. I have been asked more than once upon the ways in which one might become a vampire, as well if the methods used for becoming a werewolf might be applied to becoming a vampire as well. It seems people are perplexed over the fact that there are a few possible alternatives for the werewolf transformation, but that there is no such for vampires. So I am going to explain the differences between the transformation of werewolf and the transformation of the vampire and where one cannot become a vampire in the same way one can become a werewolf.
One important thing to remember is that the werewolf transformation is one of the physical body. A werewolf is essentially a form of a shape-shifter. A human that can physically take on the shape of another animal, that of course being the shape of a wolf. But it is also a temporary transformation, and what I mean by temporary is that the werewolf can revert back to their human form. They do not forever remain in wolf form, they can go back and forth between human and wolf.
With vampirism it is not a physical change, it is not the external body that undergoes the transformation. Though according to some accounts, there may be aspects of the body that alter slightly. In some lore hair and nails are said to grow longer, any mortal blemishes vanish and the body becomes perfection and flawless, but still there person remains more or less in the same body. The transformation of the vampire, is more of a transformation of the soul, for lack of a better word. It is an internal transformation not an external one. The outside of the person does not change, but something inside of them undergoes the change. It is also a permanent transformation. Being that a person cannot go back and fort between being a human to being a vampire again. Once the transformation takes place there person remains than forever in the form of the vampire.
The other key differences and important thing to remember is the fact that werewolves are still living creatures. When a person becomes a werewolf they do not go through a death and rebirth process.
But vampires are among the undead. A vampire is a being that is no longer a living creature. And the cruciall part of becoming a vampire involves the physical death of the body. Than for the transformation to be complete, one must drink the immortal blood of another vampire so they can be reborn. Basically their mortal blood must be drained out of their body and than replenished and replaces with the vampires blood.
There is no possible substitute for this process. A vampire must be sired.
This is not so with werewolves. For one thing in the werewolf transformation, there does not have to be that equal exchange of fluids. that is if one were simply bit by a vampire, they would not than turn into a vampire, they would have to ingest the vampires blood. But with werewolves, one does not have to feed upon the werewolf in anyway. In most folk lore, to simply be bit by the werewolf is enough to stimulate the change. Werewolves do not have to be sired, because that werewolf transformation does not require one to directly take something from a werewolf, there could be other alternatives in which one might stimulate the ability to shape shift.
Now there are some stories that say if after a person dies, if the corpse is not properly taken care of, and the proper rites not preformed over the body, they could come back as a vampire, but again this is not something an individual has control over. There is no getting around the fact that in order to make the vampire transformation, one must experience physical death.
