The History (and Mystery) of the Vatore Family
In 2023 I started a project to give my own interpretation and story to the Vatore siblings. I never ended up finishing it, but here is most of what I had prepared.
Pictured below: Elena and Stefano Vatore with their twin children Caleb and Lilith in the 1920s.
Here we see what is both the oldest known photograph of the Vatore family and the last photo of all four members alive and well. Stefano and Elena Vatore were Italian immigrants who moved to America in the 1880s to get a fresh start in life. They were both from wealthy Italian families and quickly made a name for themselves in Willow Creek. In the 1890s they welcomes a set of twins: Caleb and Lilith. By the point in time this photograph was taken, Elena was slowly dying of an unknown illness (assumed to be tuberculosis). This is the only known photograph of her. Despite her sickness, she appears poised and composed, surrounded by her family. Caleb and Lilith are around the age of twenty-seven here.
Pictured below: The family in the early 1930s, sometime after Elena’s passing.
After Elena Vatore's death, the family withdrew from society for many years. From this photograph it’s evident that even with their reclusiveness they managed to keep up with modern trends of fashion and home decor. Here is where the story starts to take a strange turn. This photo was taken roughly a decade after the previous one, and you can see how Stefano has aged over the years. Caleb and Lilith would have approaching forty years of age, yet they look as youthful as ever, albeit strangely pale. The twins were not seen in society very often in this period, and only ever at night. Their only appearances were at events held at their family home.
Pictured below: The Vatores at a train station in the 1940s.
In the early 40s, the twins began appearing in public again. They should have been starting to show signs of age, yet they still appeared as they did in the 20s. Caleb Vatore, at the supposed age of 53, chose to enlist in the war at this time. There is no public information of his service other than the fact that he was indeed in the army. Lilith Vatore began to entertain suitors, all men much younger (though it never appeared that way to outsiders) than her. None of these relationships ended in marriage.
Pictured below: The Vatores in the 1950s.
By this point, people were beyond suspicious of the twins’ youthful appearance. Their former classmates were all aging, yet the 60-something twins still looked half their age. This is the last known photograph of the Vatore family.
Pictured below: The “Mezzasalma” twins in 1967.
A Windenburg newspaper printed this photo of Lily and Carlo Mezzasalma, residents of a nearby neighborhood. You’ll notice a striking resemblance between these twins and Caleb and Lilith Vatore, who disappeared immediately after the death of their father in 1959. Not much is known about the two beyond their names and the fact that they lived in Windenburg for a time. Funnily enough, the surname Mezzasalma means “half-cadaver.”
Pictured below: The siblings behind the band “█████” in the 1970s.
Lucia and Cameron Altamura appeared (and later disappeared) out of thin air in the music scene in San Myshuno in the early 70s. The band they formed was a moderate local success. A set of pale twins with an Italian surname appearing and vanishing mysteriously sounds familiar by now, doesn’t it?
Lost image: The “Altamura” twins in 1986.
After the band broke up in 1981, the twins moved on to new creative endeavors. Lucia made a name for herself in the modern art scene, while Cameron published a few successful poetry books.
Lost image: Caleb and Lilith Vatore in 2017.
As we all know, vampires made their existence known to the public in 2004. The Vatore siblings were once again found in the small vampire neighborhood of Forgotten Hollow, living a perfectly ordinary immortal life.
Notes: The last two images aren't fully edited. I had more planned, but I never took any screenshots for anything after the 1970s. Anything redacted is something I planned on coming up with info or a name for but never did. The names of the parents being similar to characters from TVD is completely coincidental, I just looked up Italian names and those are the ones that sounded nice. I haven't even watched the show lol.