Classicals, also known as Classics, are what most people visualize when they think of a Vampire. Classicals say that they have been "Brought Across", meaning brought across the threshold of death; or having been "turned", meaning transformed by infection from a living human into a not living Vampire ... (However, the term dead in this instance is not exactly the same in meaning as real death or as in "dead and buried" or Undead). Real vampires are alive and are living beings. Classicals are the kind of Vampires you see portrayed on "Forever Knight", and in Ann Rice novels. Dracula, in all of his incarnations, was supposed to be a turned Vampire -- purely from Bram Stoker.
We all know that Vlad was given the name of Drakul, which meant Dragon. Vlad's' father was known as The Dragon due to his leading association with an order called The Dragon. Vlad inherits the name, and an "A" is added, meaning "Son of", thus Dracula = Son of the Dragon. He may have been a bit mad, but he is still considered quite a hero in his homeland. Another meaning for the word Drakul does the church give “Devil”... at the time, for the inhumanity of the acts committed. As you all know, his name -- Vlad, the Impaler -- came from his impaling all those traitors and soldiers of opposing armies. He impaled them on large stakes. This line of impaled bodies stretched for miles from the battlefield leading into his town. The impaling was done, in an effort to appall and terrorize the attacking armies, despite the fact that they had Vlad vastly out-numbered. Not too surprisingly ... it worked. They felt he was insane. Horrified by the inhumanity, they simply retreated, with Vlad's army close behind in pursuit.  As to Vlad's drinking blood, I personally think he or his men started that story to frighten all who opposed him. However, it was the style of the times to partake of the blood or heart of he whom you had vanquished; providing you believed him to be brave and strong. It was a common practice. It was believed that Vlad made a pact with Satan on the death of his love. That is why Classicals are still believed, in some places, to be servants of the devil and to have come from hell.
CLASSICAL VAMPYRES
The pale, gaunt appearance of Classicals, in film and press, is purely fiction and the beliefs of the day. If you were dead, you lost weight. If you had no blood and were dead or newly dead, you were pale; "Pale as a Corpse", etc. It was once believed a Classical had to drink blood, not only for nourishment but to replenish his blood supply, which he did not have because he was believed to be dead. A Classic, having fed well, is believed to look quite human; rosy cheeks, bright eyes, etc. But when the blood began to dissipate, the corpse-like appearance returned: sunken eyes, gaunt, drawn and with pale skin. The red or yellow blazing eyes come from the church view that vampires are Minions of the Devil and are from hell. It was believed that Vampires, Classicals especially, could change to any animal, including: large cats, such as tigers, black leopards and black pumas, as well as dogs, wolves, bats or rats; not to mention fog and smoke. After all, they are Demons and can do anything, can't they? Of course not, but that was church view.
Real Classicals can only be infected by one who is already infected. The ones who claim to be undead (a fictional term) say they are killed by the draining of blood unto death and then revived into the undead state. This is purely fiction. An actual Classical needs to feed immediately, i.e.: to ingest fresh, living blood to restore health, vigor etc. Young ones - newly infected ones, usually have a hard time dealing with the rush of new emotions, strength and mental capabilities. Most do desperately try to maintain their humanity and it is always a struggle.
The real medical evidence suggests that the mixing of bodily fluids or blood with the Master (another fictional name for most turns Classicals (the fictional name for being infected) They really mean with the Parent), i.e., the Father or Mother who turned them. (Father or Mother does not mean the biological parent; rather it means the male or female who brought the Vampire over). This causes either a genetic imbalance because of the mixing of affected DNA, or the effects of enzymes or viruses, which slowly affect the changes, noticed. (Sometime, long ago, a human was infected with the Inheritor retrovirus containing the mutagen. This human's ability to be infected was due to his or her possibly unique body chemistry, or maybe the specific Inheritor's retrovirus was mutated further. This human became the first Classic. Old writings even speculated that after this human was infected, he/she became ill, as the altered mutagen tried to adapt to the alien body chemistry. But, instead of dying, the first Classic was born.)The highly volatile nature of the new mutagen meant more blood was necessary. As the old retrovirus mutagen began reshaping, the human's own unique chemistry adapted the mutagen. Thus, a new breed was born. This may account for the difficulty in creating new Classicals. Perhaps it is the rare individual with the correct body chemistry who can be infected.  As far as bringing children and babies across ...  As for babies, I think it is not done for several reasons. One is practicality. An adolescent or baby Vampyre is a pointless creation. But mostly because it is impossible. It is believed testosterone and estrogen levels are needed for the retrovirus in classics to infect. Children before the onset of puberty lack the appropriate levels)
Classicals, like Inheritors, must ingest blood. It is a biological need, not a psychological one. The criticism here is that blood cannot be digested through the human stomach and broken down into proteins and other nourishments. This is indeed true and a medical fact. It is one of the chief reasons why the existence of vampires is disbelieved, as such. However, the point to remember here is that blood is not broken down into it nutrients in the "normal human stomach". Those persons with what medicine calls today, "The Physical Vampire Condition" do break down the substances, somewhat. We are not speaking of Porphyria, the illness, here just yet.  The Physical Vampire Condition is the term for today's real Classical and Inheritor Vampires. If these people do not ingest blood for real food ... nourishment ... they get progressively weaker, feel ill, and experience aches and pains. Even though real Vampires can and do eat regular food as well, if they do not ingest blood, persons with the Physical Vampire Condition will die without blood transfusions. It is a VERY SERIOUS MATTER.
 
Attributes And Problems Almost all true Vampires or Vampiroids have the same or quite similar problems, including sensitivity, in varying degrees, to light and sun; Even indoor lighting and the lights in nightclubs. Some blister very badly, some deeply burn, some pass out, and some suffer heat stroke. Most have Day-Glare Blindness, similar to snow blindness or night blindness. Most can eat but have digestive problems. Most CAN go out into the day, but really would rather not. All feel ill and weak during the day and better and stronger as darkness descends.

Porphyria is an illness which manifests itself in the paling of the skin, a red rash about the mouth and nose, and rendering its' victims very hard to wake by day. This was also a cause of the legends. We all know about relatives nailing dead bodies into coffins to keep them from rising and spreading the illness which killed them in the first place. This is how STAKING began. Mostly those who died without a known reason, or died of consumption, now called TB, were staked in such a manner.  Children who died before baptism were staked as well, as it was believed that they were doomed and going straight to hell where the devil made them into little demons. I am sure some parents feel exactly this way about their little darlings today as well, without them dying. (According to modern beliefs of most Christian churches, children who die before baptism are considered innocents and favored by God, because they are innocent of mans' sins. This view has changed since early times when it was believed that any unapprised soul who died was directly scooped up by the devil. But such is now no longer considered a reality) In truth, real Vampires try to live as normal a lifestyle as they can. And most real Vampires keep away from humans and human affairs mostly, as much as they are able.