About Alps...

Greetings all!
If you hadn't guessed, this is a club for fans of the supernatural creature the alp. Let me begin by explaining what an alp is.

If you want a good resource to start with, there is an entry on Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alp_%28f… can take a look at.

Ever since I first found out about these creatures I have been tirelessly seeking out any information I can on them. They go by many names and traits are sometimes altered due to regional interpretations and sometimes outright misunderstanding, which can confuse anyone trying to dig up the dirt on these little guys. That is why I started this club, to make sure people get the right idea. By the way, articles like this witcher.wikia.com/wiki/Alp are full of crap and have absolutely no resources to back them up, so beware. (and beware the nasty vampire boobs in the picture provided, too) Notice how the source links back to ITSELF. However it seems to be a wiki for a videogame, so ignore it. If it starts off stating the alp is female, also ignore it, because these people... tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php… of course, a lot of the info you'll turn up (online that is, check the library for ACCURATE stuff) suffers from: tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php….

If you want a good chuckle, look at the second paragraph, third sentence after "tortuous childbirth". www.vampyres.ca/portal/books/v… This is an example of an otherwise accurate entry being completely botched by misinformation. Slitting wrists, what the?! They mention my character alongside this and that makes me a little...I dunno. It makes me look incompetent, that's what!
But here is a prime example of good research: books.google.com/books?id=H1ax… Go to "preview book" since DA insists on gumming up the direct link with emotes.
(Many thanks to Nihilartikel for pointing out to me this book!)
and if you put the right keywords in, you'll be rewarded. The best thing to keep in mind is that people on the internet want to twist things into the way they believe, and not what was actually established. If you see mentions of bloody rivers, don't give it a second glance. If I hadn't researched the Alp offline, I would probably have as inaccurate view as most of these folks do! And that my friends, is why this gallery exists.

The biggest misconception I feel at liberty to point out is that in which the alp is simply a vampire. This frustrates me, especially speaking as a fan of vampires; because the alp is it's own unique entity. This does not prevent some people from simply depicting the alp as regular vampire with a funny name.

THE ALP IS NOT JUST A VAMPIRE!

Look at it this way: The alp is more like the platypus of vampire myth. It appears at a glance to be a hodge-podge of several other mythological beasties: Elf, imp, werewolf, dwarf, incubus, vampire, hobgoblin, demon and ghoul; just like the platypus looks like a beaver ran into a duck. But like the platypus, you find out it is not a combination of other things, it is it's own thing.

The appearance of the alp in default is rarely described, however many accounts describe the alp as any number of animals wearing a hat. The hat is perhaps the most unique feature of the alp, and the most often dismissed amongst those who just picked up the vampire bit and ran off with it. Drawing an alp without its hat is like drawing a unicorn without its horn! "Tarnkappe" is the name for the camouflage cap which render the alp invisible and allow it to shape-shift. The Tarnkappe is also related to dwarf mythology and most notably Albreich, but it is a helmet rather than a hat (Tarnhelm).
The hat can be any sort of hat but is most often a soft felt hat with a wide brim, and at times even a veil. The alp's most common forms are: a dog (people say it looks "lecherous")pig, cat, snake, rooster, a white butterfly and a fine mist. It uses the mist form to enter a dreamer's body through the nose and mouth.

The alp is typically male, but female versions exist and are often then befitting of the name "Mara". Alps of both gender of course are allowed here! Since the Alp assumes different names, all types are welcome. Our main focus is on the most common "Alp" though, since under different names sometimes their traits vary because they were conceived in different regions.

The alp's other most notable distinction is the namesake activity "Alpdrücken", which means "elf-pressure" and describes the habit of the alp to sit upon the chest of a sleeping person and becoming  heavier and heavier, until the person awakes from crushing weight in a breathless panic. Alps are also known to "press" farm animals and end up crushing the smaller ones like geese and hens.
Their vampiric tendency is in that they may occasionally suck blood from nipples. They also enjoy the taste of both cow's and women's breast milk. These take a backseat to their incubus tendencies, which I believe run a far stronger parallel.
The Alp is a haunter of dreams as well and may even occasion to lie upon a sleeping woman (if it is male, a man if it is the mara) to administer what is rumored to be an extremely unpleasant sexual encounter. This is rare however, as the alp is more likely to just give someone nightmares and is also rumored to not be one to force itself on a victim regarding these occasions (they seem fine with terrifying people however, but other traits suggest this is purely fae prankishness rather than purely out of malevolence)
They also are said to have an "evil eye", which the gaze of can render a person ill.

Alps are said to come from one of several origins: they were once friendly elves or dwarves who lived in the mountains and slowly became more evil, that a child born with a caul or after the mother used a horse-collar to ease birthing pains may grow up to become an alp, stillborn infants, a witch's curse or even a witch has summoned the alp to send to torment her enemies in the night.
This also brings up another common misconception: ALPS CANNOT TURN PEOPLE LIKE A VAMPIRE. I saw an alp someone had in their gallery (not wearing a hat!) that was "turned" into an alp. Sorry but that's not how it works, alps don't "turn" people into alps. People can be cursed into becoming something of a were-alp (they are only alps at night) but there is absolutely nothing I have found that suggests an alp attack "turns" someone into an alp, it's completely ridiculous. Mayhaps stealing a Tarnkappe can do it, but alps do not curse people into alp-hood. This just further shoves the poor alp into "special vampire" category rather than "super cool unique monster" category where it belongs! It's a cheap consolidation of monsters into one group, suddenly every demon is a vampire and every vampire is a demon! It's like how beagles are dogs, but dogs are not only beagles.

Alp's has a weakness against iron, much like many denizens of fairy-kind. A simple iron horshoe near the bed may repel the alp from further visitations. They also cannot leave the room of the one they torment except for the way they came in, so any blockage to their exit will invariably leave the alp trapped in the room. Alps also do not like to be caught in the act of pressing so a sentry may shoo them away as soon as they hear the sleeper moaning. Alps also do not like bright lights. Putting a broomstick under the pillow or placing shoes at the foot of the bed facing outward also seem to bother the alp. Also, if one wakes up during the attack and the alp has not fled yet, they can address the alp and ask it over for coffee the next morning. If the alp is a person with a curse, that person may arrive in the morning instead. Typically the alp will just arrive in its true form and can be then asked to be lead to its sender, if it has none the alp may instead be asked to kindly stop bothering you. It may oblige but only after it has had time to complain and insist. Snatching its hat seems like a good method since the alp offers a considerable reward for the return of its beloved possession (without it, the alp would be pretty ineffectual at its magical abilities!) Humorously enough, they appear to have a hatred for lemons and a sleeping alp can be convinced to stop bothering you by shoving a lemon in its mouth (or even when it is attacking you) but since it doesn't kill it, it's likely that it will wait some years and come back with a vengeance.

Well, that's not completely all, but I think there is enough information for you to get the idea.

If I'm missing anything of major importance, let me know right away. I may be missing spots here and there, but that longwinded ramble is actually my SUMMARY! Scary, eh? But that's why I linked the wiki.