"Do not mistake by these soft paws for innocence, nor these velvet ears for gentleness. I have watched centuries with eyes like garnets, and feasted on the warm, frightened breath of those who thought me nothing more than a woodland myth. I come not with snarls nor screeches, but with silence. A twitch of the nose, a glint of fang beneath a smile. You will not feel the pain until it’s poetry, and by then, your blood will be mine. Once, I nuzzled spring meadows and dreamt of clover and love. But the night gave me fangs and a hunger that no blossom could soothe. Now I walk in twilight—neither beast nor shadow, craving hearts that still remember warmth. They laugh when I hop. They coo when I sniff. They do not see the chill behind my crimson eyes. Let them come close. Let them offer carrots and kindness. I shall dine on more than their offerings.
The lagomorpyres (scientific name: Lepus vampyrus) also called “vampire lagomorphs” are the blood members of which there are two living families: the leporids (rabbits and hares) and ochotonids (pikas) that revealed from vampire curses emerge from their hearts and transforming themselves into monstrous vampiric demons. The word "Lagomorpyre" is an old combination between "Lagomorph" and "Vampire". In the modern resemblance of these vampire lagomorphs with horns are the rasselbocks and more compared to cursed ones from the fearsome critters are the Spook Rabbits.
An old Shepherd Darrin, last seen winter of the Red Moon:
“Folk think the blood-hungry beasts wear fangs and wings, hunt in packs, or howl under moons. But what is the worst of them? They twitch their noses, not their lips. They hide in the hedges and stone cracks, soft as wind, quick as thought. Vampire lagomorphs, they call ’em—rabbits, hares, pikas that no longer chew clover or flee from foxes. These little ones don’t eat—they drain. You won’t hear them coming. You’ll just wake colder. Slower. Lighter, like something’s missing that used to live under your skin. Some chirp like infants to lure the lonely. Some bite in dreams. Some sit and stare till your breath runs shallow. One leaves only your smile behind. Never trust silence in a meadow, boy. If the grass is still and the chirps are gone, they’ve already found you.”
Three types of lagomorpyres in Detailed diagram
“The clover tastes wrong. Too dry. Too far away. The night smells sweet now—like fur and fear. My teeth ache in daylight, and my shadow looks longer than it used to. I don’t know when the change began… only that I watched the moon rise one evening, and felt hungry in a way no root or herb could soothe.”
Some species of lagomorphs are two which contains leporids and ochotonids in each families. A complete collection of vampire lagomorphs—which includes both vampire leporids (rabbits and hares) and vampire ochotonids (pikas)—presented with individual descriptions, cursed origins, and folk stories. Each creature is unique, but all fall under the eerie category of undead or blood-drinking lagomorphs.
Leporids[]
“Ah, the moon—how it sings to me, silver and sharp. They think us meek, furred things of fear and flight. But I am the stillness in the hedgerow, the breath that stops the heart. My ears catch the flutter of every vein. My paws tread like snowflakes on graves. They called me prey. Let them learn: I do not flee. I feast.”
Whispered among hedge witches and graveyard keepers:
“Don’t follow the twitching tail, no matter how it hops—where it leads, the grass grows red and the bones lie smiling.”
Lagomorpyre rabbits/hares (jackrabbits) drink the wolf’s blood
In the leporids, the rabbits and hares (or jackrabbits) could transformed by the vampire curse if they ate the cursed fruits, plants, flowers, or vegetables. The vampire leporids are the most common subspecies of lagomorpyres. They are uncanny and unsettling, straddling the line between adorable and horrific. Their eyes are red-in-blood color or ghostly white. Their gaze can be hypnotic or reflective like a predator’s. Their front incisors are enlarged, sharpened to fang-like points. Some have additional rows of fine teeth, like a lamprey or serpent. Typically matted or slick, often they have black, white, or ghost-pale fur. Sometimes stained with blood or with unusual sheens (e.g., velvet, iridescence). Unlike actual leporids, they have long, sensitive, often twitching unnaturally or torn ears. In some cases, their ears are replaced by thin, bat-like membranes. Their body structures are maciated or bloated depending on hunger; some float, glide, or scurry unnaturally fast. Hind legs may be warped or elongated. Some vampire leporids can have wings (in rare cases), which are from bat or insect-like wings sprout from the shoulders or back, giving flight to some cursed breeds. And finally, their tail can be bloodstained, bony, forked, or missing entirely—used for balance during fast, jerky movement.
The Bunnicula is a famous lagomorpyre who sucks vegetables, especially carrots. The novel by Deborah & James Howe
Vampire rabbits and hares typically arise through one of several folkloric, which causes of Blood Magic or Dark Rituals, some are created as familiars or guardians by witches, necromancers, or blood cults.
The Starvation & Desperation are the legend stories tell of rabbits or hares (jackrabbits creatures) trapped during famines that turned to feeding on their own kind, cursed by nature for breaking the herbivore code. Vampire’s Curse, when a leporid get bitten and infected by an existing vampire (human or bat-like animal), the leporids become a vessel for the curse.
Some of them are cursed by the Burial Alive, the tales say entire warrens were buried or burned during plagues, and the vengeful spirits of these animals crawl back up—hungry and twisted. And even Alchemical or Arcane Experimentation were failed magical experiments fusing life with undeath or attempting to create immortal pets.
These vampiric leporid-creatures often appear in regional tales and warnings:
Omen of Death: Seeing a vampire leporid is said to mean a family member will fall ill or die within a fortnight.
The Hollow Warren: A tale in which a child follows a white rabbit into the woods and never returns; they say her laughter still echoes from below.
The Black-Eared Trickster: A rabbit that asks riddles at crossroads. If you answer wrong, it eats your shadow and you slowly fade from memory.
The Feast of the Blood Moon: Once every thirteen years, vampire hares are said to gather in ancient meadows to drink from a sacrificed deer. Those who spy on them are blinded by dawn.
The Farmstead Pact: A story where an old farmer makes a deal with a vampire rabbit: in exchange for safety, he must leave a fresh chicken at the edge of the woods each full moon. He stops once—his family disappears overnight.
Subtypes[]
The several of vampire leporid creatures that combine rabbit/hare-like features with vampiric traits. Each one has a distinct appearance and behaviors.
The Blood Lake
The Crimson Cottontail: Crimson Cottontails are a lagomorpyre-type of snow-white arctic rabbits with glowing red eyes and a tail that bleeds perpetually, staining the fur around their haunch. Their incisors are longer than usual, sharp as needles. The Behaviors are hunts during blood moons, paralyzing prey with a hypnotic gaze. They feed by puncturing arteries and lapping blood with a long, forked snakelike tongue. It is said to have been ordinary rabbits sacrificed in a pagan blood ritual by a starving hermit during a harsh winter. The hermit drank and its blood for survival, but when he died, the rabbits returned from the dead, thirsting for more. It’s believed the Crimson Cottontails appear only during blood moons. Farmers whisper that if one is seen near a coop or corral, animals—or even children—will be found bloodless by dawn. To repel them, people hang sprigs of wild garlic soaked in milk at their doorsteps.
An anthropomorphic nosfurabbit (or nosfuhare)
The Nosfurabbit/Nosfuhare: Nosfurabbits or Nosfuhares (old combined words of “Rabbit”/“Hare” and “Nosferatu”) are a rare lagomorpyre or a bat-winged jackrabbits with leathery, membranous ears and patchy fur. Their eyes are milky white, and their nose never twitch. And their skin is thin and translucent in places, showing blue veins beneath. The behaviors are gliding silently from cliffs or trees, attacking birds and small mammals. Their nests in abandoned warrens, dragging prey below the earth to feed in the dark. A desert witch, dying of thirst, summoned a familiar to carry her soul to the afterlife. Instead, the rabbits and hares became fused with her spirit, corrupted into monstrous, winged abominations.
The Dracobunny: Dracobunnies are sleek, velvet-furred rabbits with dragonfly wings and tiny, horn-like protrusions on its head. Their eyes are slitted like a serpent’s. They uses speed and agility to ambush prey. And they prefer warm blood and may be found lurking near sleeping livestock, leaving no wounds but pale, anemic victims. However, they were born from a miscast spell during an alchemist’s attempt to fuse mammalian and insect life. The result were beautiful but blood-hungry vampire rabbit-like beasts, released accidentally into the countryside.
The Bleeding Hare: Bleeding Hares are massive, hulking black hares with antler-like fangs curving from their lower jaws. Their fur are matted with old blood and bristles when agitated. They are territorial and aggressive creatures. These hulkers stalks other leporids, draining them dry and leaving carcasses arranged in strange patterns. Locals believe it’s a herald of plague. Once a sacred temple guardian, the hares were betrayed by the priests who starved it during a siege. They fed on the dying priests and were cursed by the temple’s protective deity to wander the earth, ever hungry for blood. In mountain villages, their appearance are said to presage sickness or civil war. Hunters who follow its tracks are never seen again, but their organs are often found neatly stacked on their doorsteps—still warm.
The Warren Wight: Warren Wights are pale, eyeless rabbits with a skull-like face and elongated limbs. Their claws are unusually long and curved like talons. They Dwells in cursed forests. Emerges only at night to hunt in silence. And they drains warmth and blood, leaving its victims frozen and stiff. They born from a miscast spell during an alchemist’s attempt to fuse mammalian and insect life. They formed from a warren of rabbits buried alive during a landslide, the Warren Wights are the vengeful souls of many merged into one body. They feed on warmth and life-force rather than blood.
The Velvet Fang: Velvet Fangs are elegant, long-eared leporids with midnight-blue fur and ruby eyes. Their incisors fold back when not in use. They have a faint scent of lavender. They Seduce its prey with an aura of calm, even affection. Victims often offer themselves willingly, falling into a trance as they feed. These leporids are said to be the result of a vampire noble’s curse—his beloved pet rabbits and hares drank his blood nightly while he slept, eventually becoming his familiar. When the noble perished, the rabbits/hares lived on, carrying a fragment of his soul.
Ochotonids[]
Undead pikas of the high places—silent, sharp-toothed parasites that bring death on cold winds.
An old saying among mountain herders of the Upper Spine:
“They are the heartbeat between stones, the breath you didn’t feel leave. Small as a fist, cold as buried bone—when the pikas stop chirping, something else has taken their place.”
Lagomorpyre pikas (also called Small lagomorpyre ones) are sucking the baby minotaur’s blood
In the ochotonids, the pikas (also known as "small ones") could transformed by the many types of vampire curses if they ate the cursed fruits, plants, flowers, or vegetables. The vampire ochotonids are vampiric pikas—and a lesser-known but chilling branch of vampire leporids. These small ones can normally squeaking mountain-dwellers are transformed into pale, parasitic terrors when cursed. Vampire ochotonids look like corrupted pikas but small, rounded herbivores of alpine regions—but with eerie, unnatural features. Their eyes are pitch-black or blood-red, reflecting like coals in the dark. Their pupils may be vertical, like a cat’s, or completely absent. Their fur is pale gray, icy white, or slate-colored, often patchy or molted. Some develop a greasy or waxy texture. Horribly, their teeth are front incisors elongate and sharpen, but they also develop a second pair of hidden fangs tucked behind the first—used to puncture veins. They have small rodent-like limbs and their paws become clawed, capable of gripping and climbing. They sometimes walk bipedally for short bursts. Unlike actual pikas, their ears are shrunken or misshapen—while still rounded, they may become bat-like or asymmetrical. They twitch constantly, detecting even heartbeats. From their body structures, they remain compact but unnervingly silent in motion. Some hover slightly above ground when excited or feeding. A scent of vampire pika is a faint smell of moldy grass and copper lingers around them, especially when they haven’t fed recently.
Small ones are feeding the blood soup
Vampire pikas originate from high-altitude curses or unnatural events tied to ancient ecosystems are the Cursed Altitude, when pikas nest too close to cursed mountain shrines or exposed ley lines, they absorb corrupted energies. And Glacial Burial, some pikas trapped and preserved in glacial ice are revived in strange ways—animated by necrotic spirits or vengeful forest gods.
The Blood Pact with Predators, a folklore says the first vampire pika begged a hawk for mercy, promising blood in return. The hawk granted it fangs and cursed hunger. Consumption of the Dead is a story telling about a small, rare pika might turn if it eats from the corpse of a vampire animal—especially if starved or infected. However, the old story known as the Ghost-Haunted Warrens are underground networks once inhabited by human dead can turn the burrowing pika into a vessel of bloodlust and madness.
Vampire ochotonids don’t just drink blood like vampires—they feed on life warmth, breath, and even memory in the folktales:
The Whispering Scree: Mountaineers claim that vampire pikas gather on loose scree slopes at dusk to sing in voices like human infants. Those who hear them fall under a death-sleep.
Cold Chewers: Stories tell of livestock with their noses gnawed off—silent attacks by pikas who drain blood through nasal tissue while the animal sleeps.
Burrow of the Black-Tongue: A legendary network of tunnels in the highlands where no pika chirps. They say a vampire queen lives there, her breath icy and her heart made of bone.
Offerings to the Stone: In certain Himalayan villages, villagers leave dried blood mixed with grass on stone altars to keep the vampire ochotonids at bay during winter.
The Last Chirp: If you hear a pika call after sunset, some say it’s a warning. “One chirp for death, two for disappearance, three for damnation.”
Subtypes[]
The Frost-Tongue: Frost Tongues are pale, ice-gray pikas with frostbitten-looking ears and a long, bluish tongues that trail from their mouth like a ribbon. Their breath smells like frozen iron. In the curse origin, these frost-pikas are said to have licked the blood of a dying sky-spirit trapped in glacial ice. Since then, they had craved warmth, draining it from animals with their chilling tongues. From the folklores, the travelers whisper of waking cold in their tents, only to find their firewood soaked and a small, pale shape nestled near their neck. They say “if you feed it, it follows forever”.
The Scree-Bleeder: Scree Bleeders are dust-colored pikas with cracked skin and blood-ringed eyes. Their feet are clawed and raw, always bleeding as they scramble over sharp stones. In the curse origin, a colony once trapped beneath a rockslide was fed upon by carrion birds. Only one survived—by feeding in turn. It still carries its trauma, and its hunger. From the folklore, Screes field where they’re seen are considered “blood-choked.” Herds avoid them, and guides swear the rocks themselves whisper, echoing with their feet.
The Hollow-Ear: Hollow Ears are small and hunched ones, with hollow, hornlike ears that funnel sound directly into their skull. Their hearing powers are so acute, they can detect blood flow. In the original of curse, there was a magical experiment meant to enhance a pika’s awareness, so it could evade predators. But the curse drove it mad with noise, until it sought silence in death. Now it brings that silence to others. From the Folklore, the miners say they hear faint keening in abandoned shafts—an ear-piercing whine that leaves blood dripping from the nose. “It listens you into death”.
The Blight-Furred: Blight Furreds are “furless” and blotched with scabs and dark lesions. Their skin is tight, and they moves with frantic, jerking spasms. And their eyes bulge, always staring. In the curse origin, they spawned from a plague pit where dozens of animals were thrown during a sickness. They returned alone, driven by some virulent hunger that outlived death. From the folklore, the shepherds believe its bite spreads wasting illness. They burn its tracks and kill bitten animals immediately, believing the sickness spreads with the wind.
The Black Peep: Black Peeps are jet-black furred and bestial pikas with an oily shine. Their eyes are wide and white, glowing faintly in the dark. They emits a high, childlike “peep” just before they strikes. The curse origin is about a child once kept a beloved pika as a pet in a cursed monastery. When the monks were slaughtered, only the pika survived. It learned from the dead. From the origin of Folklores, Their peeps are death omens. People who hear it are marked—they fall asleep and never wake, often smiling faintly. It’s said the pika feeds from the soul through dreams.
The Stone-Warren Shade: Stone-Warren Shades are ghostly white pikas with almost translucent skin. Their appear and disappear without warning, never making a sound. And their reflection shows their true form is a skeleton. In the curse origin, a cursed one by a mountain god after nesting in a shrine’s altar. The spirit punished its greed by stripping it of life but not motion. It exists in undeath. From the origins of folklore, if it enters their home, it will return until invited inside. Villagers carve “X” symbols above doors to ward it off. Children are warned not to answer soft scratching at the window.
Powers and abilities[]
"Swift as shadow and silent as snowfall, the vampire lagomorph slips through the night. Its crimson gaze ensnares the will, its leap breaks bone, and its bite drinks life itself. Born of moonlight and blood, it tunnels beneath graves and glides through gloom, ever hungry, ever hidden. Beware the thump in the dark—for where it echoes, death follows on padded feet."
Core Abilities[]
Nocturnal Vitality: They grow stronger, faster, and more aware after sunset. In darkness, they are nearly silent, blending into shadows with perfect ease.
Bloodsense: They can detect warm blood through vibrations in the ground, scent trails, or even by “hearing” heartbeats through their enormous ears.
Hypnotic Gaze: Their deep, reflective eyes can entrance prey, paralyzing them with calm or drawing them in with a false sense of safety.
Swift, Silent Movement: Despite their small or soft appearance, they can move with lightning bursts of speed, leaping great distances or vanishing into thickets before a victim can blink.
Specialized Traits[]
Burrow of Bone: Some lagomorpyres nest in ancient, bone-lined warrens that are spiritually warded. These dens are used to regenerate, store prey, or commune with ancestral spirits.
Hemogrowth: With enough blood, they can temporarily grow thorn-like claws, sharpened teeth, or even sprout leathery wings made of membrane and fur.
Charm of the Meadow: They can mimic the appearance and behavior of harmless hares or rabbits to lure in unsuspecting prey—especially effective against humans or animals familiar with them.
Curse of the Moonbite: A single bite from a lagomorpyre under a full moon may slowly begin to transform another creature, spreading vampirism like a quiet plague.
Supernatural Physical Traits, Dark Powers, Regeneration, and Durabilities[]
Enhanced Speed: Capable of moving faster than the eye can follow, especially in short bursts or sudden lunges.
Incredible Agility: Can leap vast distances, twist in mid-air, and scale vertical surfaces using claws or claws hidden beneath soft paws.
Silent Movement: Naturally silent footsteps for stealth approaches, amplified by supernatural control.
Blood Drain: Uses specialized fangs, incisors, or retractable proboscises to feed on blood.
Hypnotic Eyes: Lagomorpyres are capable of entrancing prey than the stoat's with prolonged eye contact—used for feeding or avoiding danger. When a lagomorpyre hypnosis the stoat, the stoat begins to look directly at the black-and-white circles.
Vampiric Charm: Subtle aura that attracts or lulls other animals or weak-minded beings into a calm or curious state.
Shadow Travel: Can merge with and move through shadows or even teleport short distances between them.
Shapeshifting: Some can morph into mist, a swarm of moths or blood-colored butterflies, or even a humanoid silhouette (much like an anthropomorphic rabbit) with lagomorph traits.
Necrotic Touch: Their bite or claws may cause cold rot, draining vitality even without full feeding.
Burrow of Dread: Can create or inhabit dens imbued with vampiric aura—these lairs feel unnaturally cold, ward off light, and may regenerate the creature.
Night Sight: Impeccable vision in pitch blackness, often accompanied by glowing or silvered pupils.
Rapid Healing: Can recover from wounds quickly, except those caused by weaknesses (sunlight, silver, fire, poisonous vegetables, etc.).
Extended Lifespan/Immortality: Can live indefinitely unless destroyed properly.
Pain Resistance: Shows no fear or reaction to injuries during combat.
Burrowing Assault: Uses tunneling to disappear and strike from below with terrifying precision.
Thumping Roar: A supernaturally amplified ground-thump that causes confusion or paralysis in nearby prey.
Warren Sense: Telepathic or empathic awareness of all lifeforms near their territory or warren.
Weaknesses[]
"Though cloaked in shadow and swift as dread, the vampire lagomorph is not without bane. Sunlight scalds its flesh, silver scorches its blood, and sacred earth repels its tread. Spill seeds before it, and it must count; bar your threshold with garlic or thorn, and it shall not pass. Destroy its burrow, and you unravel its soul. Remember—what hops like innocence may yet fall like ash at dawn."
Lagomorpyres are nocturnal by necessity. Direct sunlight causes their fur to smolder and skin to blister, eventually reducing them to ash if exposed for too long. Even cloudy daylight can weaken their powers, dulling their speed and numbing their senses.
Silver has a purifying quality that disrupts their dark essence. Contact with silver burns like acid, leaving deep wounds that resist healing. Silver traps or weapon tips are highly effective against them, and silver-threaded snares can hold them fast.
They are bound to their warren or feeding territory by instinct and magic. If removed too far from their native soil or if their burrow is destroyed, they become disoriented, physically weaker, and lose control over some of their powers.
Sunlight Sensitivity: Prolonged daylight weakens or harms them. Some wear woven cloaks of moss or hide underground during the day. Direct exposure burns their flesh or weakens them severely, some may combust or turn to ash if exposed too long.
They can be repelled by sacred herbs like rosemary or certain wooden charms.
Silver: weapons or traps made of silvers can cause searing pain and prevent regeneration. Silver-dusted carrots or bait may poison or weaken them.
Garlic and Certain herbs: Garlic causes nausea, burns the senses, or drives them into a frenzy. Other herbs like rosemary, vervain, or wild thyme may ward them off or disrupt their powers.
Burrow Dependency: They must rest in their home burrow or a patch of native soil during the day or risk losing vitality. If their burrow is destroyed, they become disoriented or weakened.
Overstimulation: Sensitive to loud sounds or rapid flashing lights due to heightened prey-animal instincts. May panic or become paralyzed in chaotic environments.
Compulsive Counting (Folklore Quirk): Some lagomorpyres compulsively count small objects (like pebbles, seeds, or twigs) if spilled in front of them.
Rooted Plants: They cannot cross a threshold marked by living roots or wild thickets, especially thorny or flowering bushes.
Territorial Anchoring: Strong connection to their warren or feeding territory; prolonged separation weakens their magic or instincts.
Artworks[]
Featured artwork[]
"Bloody Bunny and Dark Rabbit" by MBS150603[]
This digital artwork portrays two rabbit characters in a dark, blood-soaked setting. The piece captures a gothic atmosphere, aligning with your interest in vampire lagomorphs.
Additional artwork[]
"Vampire Hare Drinking Bloody Mary" by Lucia Heffernan[]
This framed art piece features a vampire hare enjoying a Bloody Mary cocktail. While it leans more towards a whimsical take, the dark tones and vampire theme might appeal to the aesthetic.
"The Tale of the Vampire Rabbit" by Michael Quinlyn-Nixon[]
An illustrated book set in Victorian Newcastle, it tells the fictional story of a vampire rabbit's origins. The detailed pencil illustrations and historical setting might provide the dark and historical elements are seeking to the darkness.
Other legends[]
The Albino Pikas of Greylace Kee[]
In the frost-laced spires of Greylace Keep, high above the mortal world, lives a rare and dreadful court: the albino vampire pikas, known as the White Sippers. Small as teacups and pale as bone-china, their fur gleams ivory under chandelier light. Their crimson eyes never blink. Their teeth are pin-prick perfect. They do not feed in the wild, nor gnaw on ankles like their feral kin. No—these creatures have been invited. For generations, the royal bloodline has allowed them to dwell within velvet-walled corridors and hidden banquet niches, so long as they drink with decorum.
And so, each dusk, the servants place silver bowls beside the hearths, each filled with steaming blood soup—a broth brewed from oxen, game, and whispered some, the unwelcome guest. The pikas gather in clusters, paws daintily gripping the bowl’s edge, lapping in silence. Not a drop is spilled. The Queen calls them “her silken companions.” The courtiers do not speak of the missing cat, the pale-footed child, or the noble who died smiling in his sleep. Some say the pikas whisper advice to the monarch in the dark. Others believe they’re waiting, their appetites only just beginning to wake. And always, always, the bowls are empty by morning.
Galleries[]
The Vampire Rabbit of Newcastle
By dyb
By darkxiirose
A black hare with vampiric coloured wood engraving
