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142-464: True Blood is an American television drama series created by Alan Ball for HBO . It is based on The Southern Vampire Mysteries (also known as The Sookie Stackhouse novels ) by Charlaine Harris . The series revolves around Sookie Stackhouse ( Anna Paquin ), a telepathic waitress who is living in the rural town of Bon Temps, Louisiana two years after the invention of a synthetic blood called Tru Blood that has allowed vampires to "come out of

284-699: A Chicago church, and on a stage and in a bar in Seattle . The opening sequence of TRUE BLOOD contains shots that are composed of original documentaries, tabletop photography, studio and found footage which are completely handmade. Creative director Matt Mulder explains that they wanted the edit to “rumble through the swamps, wilderness and the cultures of the South to eventually reach into the hearts and minds of its inhabitants.” During editing, individual frames were splattered with drops of blood. The sequence's transitions were constructed differently; they were made with

426-422: A Golden Globe and an Emmy . The fictional universe depicted in the series is premised on the notion that vampires exist, unbeknownst to the majority of humans until two years before the series premiere, when the creation of synthetic blood ("Tru Blood") by Japanese scientists, which eliminated vampires' need for human blood to survive, allowed vampires to "come out of the coffin" and reveal their existence to

568-435: A Polaroid transfer technique. The last frame of one shot and the first frame of another were taken as a single Polaroid photo, which was divided between emulsion and backing. The emulsion was filmed being further separated by chemicals, and those shots of this separation were placed back into the final edit. Eight different typefaces, inspired by Southern road signs, were created manually for cast and crew credits, as well as

710-449: A True Blood jewelry line in collaboration with New York-based designer Udi Behr. Inspired by the series, the jewelry has a Gothic look and features sterling silver, polished steel, and rubies. In the same month, HBO.com began selling Tru:Blood, a beverage branded to resemble the fictional synthetic blood that appears in the show. The beverage is a carbonated blood orange-flavored drink, developed and manufactured by Omni Consumer Products ,

852-592: A deity or other supernatural entity or entities. Some religions have religious texts which they view as divinely or supernaturally revealed or inspired. For instance, Orthodox Jews , Christians and Muslims believe that the Torah was received from Yahweh on biblical Mount Sinai . Most Christians believe that both the Old Testament and the New Testament were inspired by God. Muslims believe

994-566: A maenad with the power to influence humans. She begins by manipulating Tara and Eggs to achieve her goal of summoning her god to earth, and eventually takes control of almost the entire population of Bon Temps. While Maryann begins establishing her hold on Bon Temps, Sookie is recruited by Eric to investigate the disappearance of his two-thousand-year-old maker and the Sheriff of Area 9 in Texas: Godric ( Allan Hyde ). While Sookie

1136-490: A non-physical entity ; such as a ghost , fairy , jinn or angel . The concepts of a person's spirit and soul , often also overlap, as both are either contrasted with or given ontological priority over the body and both are believed to survive bodily death in some religions, and "spirit" can also have the sense of " ghost ", i.e. a manifestation of the spirit of a deceased person. In English Bibles , "the Spirit" (with

1278-720: A polytheistic religion)", or anything revered as divine. C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers greater than those of ordinary humans, but who interacts with humans, positively or negatively, in ways that carry humans to new levels of consciousness , beyond the grounded preoccupations of ordinary life." A male deity is a god , while a female deity is a goddess . Religions can be categorized by how many deities they worship. Monotheistic religions accept only one deity (predominantly referred to as God), polytheistic religions accept multiple deities. Henotheistic religions accept one supreme deity without denying other deities, considering them as equivalent aspects of

1420-455: A semi-deity or other strange kind of being, such as this discourse examines the notion of. And besides these more absolute acceptions, if I may so call them, of the word nature , it has divers others (more relative), as nature is wont to be set or in opposition or contradistinction to other things, as when we say of a stone when it falls downwards that it does it by a natural motion , but that if it be thrown upwards its motion that way

1562-429: A serialized format , with most episodes ending on a cliffhanger that leads directly into the next. Episode titles are taken from the name of a song that appears on the soundtrack of that episode. During the course of the series, 80 episodes of True Blood aired over seven seasons, between September 7, 2008, and August 24, 2014. HBO began airing six mini-episodes of Drop of True Blood on April 24, 2010 to lead up to

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1704-399: A 1,000-year-old vampire and Sheriff of Area 5; and Lafayette Reynolds ( Nelsan Ellis ), a short order cook , drug dealer, road crew member, and medium . The show explores several contemporary issues such as the struggle for equal rights, discrimination, and violence against minorities and homosexuals, the problems of drug addiction, the power of faith and religion, the control/influence of

1846-587: A body in Detective Andy Bellefleur's car in Merlotte's parking lot. The second season loosely follows the plot of the second novel of The Southern Vampire Mysteries , Living Dead in Dallas . In addition, the character of Sophie-Anne Leclerq , initially introduced in the sixth novel Definitely Dead , was introduced as a major supporting character. The main theme of the season involves

1988-449: A body, especially a living one, as when physicians say that nature is strong or weak or spent, or that in such or such diseases nature left to herself will do the cure . Sometimes we take nature for the universe , or system of the corporeal works of God , as when it is said of a phoenix , or a chimera , that there is no such thing in nature , i.e. in the world. And sometimes too, and that most commonly, we would express by nature

2130-421: A by-product of the doctrine of creation ex nihilo . In process thought, there is no such thing as a realm of the natural in contrast to that which is supernatural. On the other hand, if "the natural" is defined more neutrally as "what is in the nature of things," then process metaphysics characterizes the natural as the creative activity of actual entities. In Whitehead's words, "It lies in the nature of things that

2272-632: A capital "S"), specifically denotes the Holy Spirit . Spirit is often used metaphysically to refer to the consciousness or personality . Historically, it was also used to refer to a "subtle" as opposed to "gross" material substance, as in the famous last paragraph of Sir Isaac Newton 's Principia Mathematica . A demon (from Koine Greek δαιμόνιον daimónion ) is a supernatural and often malevolent being prevalent in religion , occultism , literature , fiction , mythology and folklore . In Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in

2414-475: A company that specializes in defictionalizing brands from television and movies, and FMCG Manufacturing Company, a specialist manufacturer of licensed entertainment products. In June 2010, HBO held a special event at a number of movie theaters around the U.S., complete with red carpet, searchlights, and swag bags. Contest winners were invited to watch a live special, the Season 2 finale, a preview of Season 3, and

2556-431: A frog, while the rotting of a fox's head is sped up to reveal maggots feeding off the corpse. Rebirth is represented by an image of a woman being "washed clean" from her sins in a lake, and a preacher blessing and possibly performing an exorcism on a member of his congregation. Some of the footage used in the sequence was filmed on location. Digital Kitchen took a four-day trip to Louisiana to film; it also shot scenes at

2698-401: A group of infected vampires heading toward the bar during a human/vampire outdoor night barbecue mixer. The final season premiered on June 22, 2014, with the last episode airing on August 24. In this season, Bon Temps is terrorized by a group of vampires infected with the virus created in the previous season. They kill Tara and kidnap Arlene, Holly, Jane Bodehouse, Kevin and Nicole. Pam travels

2840-420: A live interview on the set of True Blood with the cast and Alan Ball. HBO also began selling True Blood figural busts featuring Bill, Sookie, and Eric. Busts of other characters became available later. HBO and IDW Publishing announced at the 2010 WonderCon that they would be publishing a comic book based on the series. Alan Ball developed and wrote the comic. The first booklet, with a print run of 53,000,

2982-446: A medieval scholastic of the 12th century, explored causes beyond nature, questioning how certain phenomena could be attributed solely to God. In his writings, he used the term praeter naturam to describe these occurrences. In the scholastic period, Thomas Aquinas classified miracles into three categories: "above nature", "beyond nature" and "against nature". In doing so, he sharpened the distinction between nature and miracles more than

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3124-493: A medium, while Sam hires a new waitress at Merlotte's, Wiccan Holly Cleary ( Lauren Bowles ). In season 4, Jessica Tuck ( Nan Flanagan ) and Janina Gavankar (Luna) became season regulars. Alexandra Breckenridge (Kate) and Vedette Lim (Naomi) became recurring actresses. Joining the cast for season five was Christopher Meloni , who previously starred on another of HBO 's own original series Oz as well as Law & Order: Special Victims Unit for 12 years. Also joining

3266-461: A more prominent contribution to the cast after a brief introduction in the first season. In the penultimate episode of the second season, once the conflict in Texas is concluded, the vampire queen of Louisiana Sophie-Anne Leclerq ( Evan Rachel Wood ) is introduced. Both Bill and Eric visit her in an attempt to find out how to defeat Maryann. Bill uses the information provided by Sophie-Anne to devise

3408-400: A more social character, usually in a religious context, as seen in traditional African medicine . Fortune-telling, on the other hand, is a more everyday practice for personal purposes. Particular divination methods vary by culture and religion. Divination is dismissed by the scientific community and skeptics as being superstition . In the 2nd century, Lucian devoted a witty essay to

3550-404: A physical system by a subject without any known intermediate energy or instrumentation" (1945:305). Views on the "supernatural" vary, for example it may be seen as: Anthropological studies across cultures indicate that people do not hold or use natural and supernatural explanations in a mutually exclusive or dichotomous fashion. Instead, the reconciliation of natural and supernatural explanations

3692-403: A plan involving Sam and Sookie, and the three manage to kill Maryann in the season two finale. Subsequently, Bill takes Sookie out to an exclusive French restaurant to propose to her. However, before she can give her answer, Bill is kidnapped. Season three picks up straight after the events of season two with Sookie on the hunt to track down Bill and his kidnappers. She turns to Eric for help, who

3834-559: A potential love interest for Sookie. He will also help Sookie and Jason discover the truth about their parents' murders. Robert Patrick , who guest starred in season five as Jackson Herveaux, was promoted to series regular for season six. Rutger Hauer , who starred in Blade Runner and Batman Begins , was announced as a series regular playing Macklyn, a character with "strong ties to Sookie and Jason." As reported by The Hollywood Reporter , Adina Porter would be returning for

3976-445: A querent should proceed by reading signs, events, or omens , or through alleged contact with a supernatural agency. Divination can be seen as a systematic method with which to organize what appear to be disjointed, random facets of existence such that they provide insight into a problem at hand. If a distinction is to be made between divination and fortune-telling , divination has a more formal or ritualistic element and often contains

4118-407: A spiritual entity that may be conjured and controlled. Magic or sorcery is the use of rituals , symbols , actions, gestures , or language with the aim of utilizing supernatural forces. Belief in and practice of magic has been present since the earliest human cultures and continues to have an important spiritual, religious and medicinal role in many cultures today. The term magic has

4260-450: A stone let fall in the air is by nature carried towards the centre of the earth , and, on the contrary, that fire or flame does naturally move upwards toward firmament . Sometimes we understand by nature the established course of things, as when we say that nature makes the night succeed the day , nature hath made respiration necessary to the life of men. Sometimes we take nature for an aggregate of powers belonging to

4402-411: A strange "accident". During the second season of True Blood , the influence of Maryann Forrester and the conflict between vampires and humans is expanded. Most of the cast from the first season returns and several new main characters are introduced. The same style of interconnected storytelling used in the first season is repeated, with the foremost plot focusing on Maryann Forrester being revealed as

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4544-539: A summer premiere. True Blood' s Emmy-nominated title sequence is composed of portrayals of the show's Deep South setting, and runs to " Bad Things " by Jace Everett . The original featurette was created around the Jennifer Herrema ( Royal Trux ) song "RadTimesXpress". Conceptually, the sequence was constructed around the idea of "the whore in the house of prayer" by intermingling contradictory images of sex, violence, and religion and displaying them from

4686-404: A supernatural entity reported as being present during the event is called a vision . Direct conversations between the recipient and the supernatural entity, or physical marks such as stigmata , have been reported. In rare cases, such as that of Saint Juan Diego , physical artifacts accompany the revelation. The Roman Catholic concept of interior locution includes just an inner voice heard by

4828-482: A two-year agreement with HBO to develop and produce original programming for the network. True Blood became the first project under the deal after Ball became acquainted with Charlaine Harris 's Southern Vampire Mystery books. One day, while early for a dental appointment, Ball was browsing through a Barnes & Noble bookshop and came across Dead Until Dark (2001), the first installment in Harris' series. He read

4970-402: A vampire as punishment. The immature Jessica is left under Bill's care and starts to grow up both as a vampire and as a person. In the end, it is revealed that Arlene Fowler's fiancé, Rene Lenier, has been killing women who associate with vampires. Further, he is actually a man named Drew Marshall who created a false identity, complete with a fake Cajun accent. The season ends with the discovery of

5112-522: A vampire named Warlow. Hoyt gets involved with a hate group, then decides to leave for Alaska, just as Andy heads towards life as a family man, and Lafayette tries to deal with the powers given to him by Jesus. The season ends with the Authority leadership being wiped out during the True Blood crisis, and Bill drinking the entirety of the sacred vial of Lilith in front of Sookie and Eric. He soon meets

5254-409: A vampire to convince him to stop his campaign, but she is put into a vampire camp by her father along with Eric, Pam, Jessica, and Tara, where they are all supposed to meet the sun according to Bill’s prophecy. Bill asks Sookie for help, who is considering becoming Warlow's vampire-fairy bride after discovering her parents tried to kill her when she was young. Eric has discovered that Sarah Newlin created

5396-572: A vampire. Bill and Eric are captured by the Vampire Authority for killing Nan Flanagan. The two are almost sentenced to death by the Guardian, Roman, before revealing that Russell Edgington is alive and free after being released by a mysterious vampire. With the help of Sookie, the team discovers his hiding place and brings him in. Russell and his new vampire-companion, Steve Newlin, along with Salome, and Eric's vampire sister, Nora, redefine

5538-438: A variety of meanings, and there is no widely agreed upon definition of what it is. Scholars of religion have defined magic in different ways. One approach, associated with the anthropologists Edward Tylor and James G. Frazer , suggests that magic and science are opposites. An alternative approach, associated with the sociologists Marcel Mauss and Emile Durkheim , argues that magic takes place in private, while religion

5680-503: A variety of ways – masculine, feminine, androgynous and gender neutral. Historically, many ancient cultures – such as Ancient India , Ancient Iraq , Ancient Egyptian , Ancient Greek , Ancient Roman , Nordic and Asian culture – personified natural phenomena , variously as either their conscious causes or simply their effects, respectively. Some Avestan and Vedic deities were viewed as ethical concepts. In Indian religions , deities have been envisioned as manifesting within

5822-434: A virus that kills vampires, later witnessing Dr. Overlark and Governor Burrell infect Nora in front of him. When the vampires are about to meet the sun, Bill offers his blood to them, allowing them to walk in the daylight. The season finishes six months later where Sookie is dating Alcide, Bill has released a book about the effects of drinking Lilith's blood, and Sam being the mayor of Bon Temps and selling his bar to Arlene, and

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5964-453: Is violent . So chemists distinguish vitriol into natural and fictitious , or made by art, i.e. by the intervention of human power or skill; so it is said that water , kept suspended in a sucking pump, is not in its natural place, as that is which is stagnant in the well. We say also that wicked men are still in the state of nature , but the regenerate in a state of grace ; that cures wrought by medicines are natural operations; but

6106-433: Is a combination of extensive evidence of something not occurring , combined with an underlying scientific theory , very successful in making predictions, whose assumptions lead logically to the conclusion that something is impossible. While an impossibility assertion in natural science can never be absolutely proved, it could be refuted by the observation of a single counterexample . Such a counterexample would require that

6248-491: Is a communal and organised activity. Many scholars of religion have rejected the utility of the term magic and it has become increasingly unpopular within scholarship since the 1990s. The term magic comes from the Old Persian magu , a word that applied to a form of religious functionary about which little is known. During the late sixth and early fifth centuries BC, this term was adopted into Ancient Greek , where it

6390-407: Is a school of thought influenced by the metaphysical process philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead (1861–1947) and further developed by Charles Hartshorne (1897–2000). It is not possible, in process metaphysics, to conceive divine activity as a "supernatural" intervention into the "natural" order of events. Process theists usually regard the distinction between the supernatural and the natural as

6532-535: Is absent from Bon Temps, Sam hires Daphne Landry ( Ashley Jones ) to join Merlotte's staff. Daphne (who is revealed to also be a shapeshifter ) begins a romance with Sam, but is later exposed as working for Maryann. Jason also leaves Bon Temps for Dallas to join the Fellowship of the Sun, which Reverend Newlin has steered in a new militant direction despite the protestations of his wife Sarah ( Anna Camp ). Godric

6674-574: Is also revealed later in the season, a major plot element from the eighth and ninth novels From Dead to Worse and Dead and Gone . This season ends with Jason left to take care of the werepanthers of Hotshot, Tara leaving Bon Temps after a traumatic experience with a vampire, Sookie discovering that Bill was first sent to Bon Temps by the Vampire Queen of Louisiana, Sam shooting his brother, Tommy, and Hoyt and Jessica moving in together. The final cliffhanger involves Claudine taking Sookie away to

6816-487: Is based in the fictional town of Bon Temps, Louisiana, a noticeable number of the actors are originally from outside the United States. In an interview, Ball explained that he didn't intentionally seek out "non-American" actors, but was willing to go anywhere he needed to in order "to find the actor who makes the character breathe". Ball went on to explain that, in casting, there was more of a focus on who would portray

6958-412: Is characterized by her relationship with her alcoholic and abusive mother Lettie Mae ( Adina Porter ) and her own inner "demons". During the season, Lettie Mae achieves sobriety but Tara's life begins to spin out of control. Kicked out of her home and totaling her car in a drunk driving crash, she's taken in by "social worker" Maryann Forrester ( Michelle Forbes ). While staying with Maryann, Tara

7100-500: Is defined in the Journal of Parapsychology as "personal factors or processes in nature which transcend accepted laws" (1948: 311) and "which are non-physical in nature" (1962:310), and it is used to cover both extrasensory perception (ESP), an "awareness of or response to an external event or influence not apprehended by sensory means" (1962:309) or inferred from sensory knowledge, and psychokinesis (PK), "the direct influence exerted on

7242-441: Is discovered in the custody of the Fellowship, and one of Godric's lieutenants, Isabel Beaumont ( Valerie Cruz ), sends her human boyfriend Hugo ( Christopher Gartin ) to assist Sookie in infiltrating the church. Though Eric's primary interest in Dallas is finding Godric, he also attempts to place himself between Sookie and Bill. To accomplish this, he enlists the aid of Bill's maker Lorena ( Mariana Klaveno ); , who thus becomes

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7384-489: Is found in many ancient cultures, and a belief in rebirth/ metempsychosis was held by Greek historic figures, such as Pythagoras , Socrates and Plato . It is also a common belief of various ancient and modern religions such as Spiritism , Theosophy and Eckankar and as an esoteric belief in many streams of Orthodox Judaism . It is found as well in many tribal societies around the world, in places such as Australia , East Asia , Siberia and South America . Although

7526-501: Is hired as a bartender at Merlotte's by bar owner, shapeshifter, and admirer of Sookie, Sam Merlotte ( Sam Trammell ), with whom Tara later has a brief relationship. Tara's cousin Lafayette Reynolds ( Nelsan Ellis ) already works as a cook at Merlotte's (in addition to several other jobs that include road crew, prostitute, and drug dealer) with Andy's cousin and Iraq War veteran , Terry ( Todd Lowe ). Tara's story

7668-403: Is introduced to "Eggs" Benedict Talley ( Mehcad Brooks ), to whom she becomes attracted. The final major plotline of the first season revolves around the elements of vampire society that Sookie and Bill's relationship introduce. While trying to prove her brother's innocence in relation to Maudette and Dawn's murders, Bill takes Sookie to the vampire bar "Fangtasia" to investigate. There, Sookie

7810-624: Is introduced to Fangtasia's owner and the vampire sheriff of "Area 5" in Louisiana: Eric Northman ( Alexander Skarsgård ). Eric is immediately interested in Sookie and her strange abilities, but his progeny and assistant Pam ( Kristin Bauer ) is less impressed. Eric employs Sookie to find a thief in his bar, but the perpetrator (a vampire named Longshadow) attempts to kill Sookie when she reveals his identity. Bill stakes and kills

7952-414: Is known as " angelology ". In fine art , angels are usually depicted as having the shape of human beings of extraordinary beauty; they are often identified using the symbols of bird wings , halos and light . Prophecy involves a process in which messages are communicated by a god to a prophet . Such messages typically involve inspiration, interpretation, or revelation of divine will concerning

8094-515: Is natural or ordinary; unnaturally or extraordinarily great; abnormal, extraordinary". Obsolete uses include "of, relating to, or dealing with metaphysics ". As a noun, the term can mean "a supernatural being", with a particularly strong history of employment in relation to entities from the mythologies of the indigenous peoples of the Americas . The ancient world had no word that resembled "supernatural". Dialogues from Neoplatonic philosophy in

8236-471: Is normal and pervasive across cultures. Cross cultural studies indicate that there is coexistence of natural and supernatural explanations in both adults and children for explaining numerous things about the world, such as illness, death, and origins. Context and cultural input play a large role in determining when and how individuals incorporate natural and supernatural explanations. The coexistence of natural and supernatural explanations in individuals may be

8378-640: Is not interested (seeing this turn of events as a chance to get Sookie for himself), but he ends up sending werewolf Alcide Herveaux ( Joe Manganiello ) for assistance after it is revealed that Bill was taken by V-addicted werewolves in the employ of the 3000-year-old vampire king of Mississippi, Russell Edgington ( Denis O'Hare ). Meanwhile, back in Bon Temps, Lafayette embarks on a relationship with his mother's care nurse and brujo Jesús Velasquez ( Kevin Alejandro ) and learns about his own special powers as

8520-402: Is possible within the boundaries of the laws of physics. Epistemologically , the relationship between the supernatural and the natural is indistinct in terms of natural phenomena that, ex hypothesi, violate the laws of nature, in so far as such laws are realistically accountable . Parapsychologists use the term psi to refer to an assumed unitary force underlying the phenomena they study. Psi

8662-436: Is set two years after the invention of a synthetic blood product branded "Tru Blood" that has allowed vampires to "come out of the coffin" and let their presence be known to mankind. It chronicles the vampires' struggle for equal rights and assimilation while anti-vampire organizations begin to gain power. Sookie's world is turned upside down when she falls in love with 174-year-old vampire Bill Compton ( Stephen Moyer ), and for

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8804-473: Is that there is disagreement about the definition of "natural" and the limits of naturalism . Concepts in the supernatural domain are closely related to concepts in religious spirituality and occultism or spiritualism . For sometimes we use the word nature for that Author of nature whom the schoolmen , harshly enough, call natura naturans , as when it is said that nature hath made man partly corporeal and partly immaterial . Sometimes we mean by

8946-470: Is the philosophical or religious concept that an aspect of a living being starts a new life in a different physical body or form after each biological death . It is also called rebirth or transmigration , and is a part of the Saṃsāra doctrine of cyclic existence. It is a central tenet of all major Indian religions , namely Jainism , Hinduism , Buddhism and Sikhism . The idea of reincarnation

9088-509: Is the adherence to the supernatural (beliefs, and not violations of causality and the physical laws). Occurring as both an adjective and a noun , antecedents of the modern English compound supernatural enter the language from two sources: via Middle French ( supernaturel ) and directly from the Middle French's term's ancestor, post- Classical Latin ( supernaturalis ). Post-classical Latin supernaturalis first occurs in

9230-404: Is with HBO's new series from death-obsessed Alan Ball, creator of the legendary Six Feet Under , whose new show True Blood , won't so much make your blood run cold as it will leave you cold. Robert Bianco of USA Today concluded: Supernatural The supernatural is featured in folklore and religious contexts, but can also feature as an explanation in more secular contexts, as in

9372-458: The Abrahamic traditions , including ancient and medieval Christian demonology , a demon is considered a harmful spiritual entity, below the heavenly planes which may cause demonic possession , calling for an exorcism . In Western occultism and Renaissance magic , which grew out of an amalgamation of Greco-Roman magic , Jewish Aggadah and Christian demonology , a demon is believed to be

9514-552: The Quran was revealed by God to Muhammad word by word through the angel Gabriel ( Jibril ). In Hinduism , some Vedas are considered apauruṣeya , "not human compositions", and are supposed to have been directly revealed, and thus are called śruti , "what is heard". Aleister Crowley stated that The Book of the Law had been revealed to him through a higher being that called itself Aiwass . A revelation communicated by

9656-621: The Roman era as well as the Indian religions, have been the subject of recent scholarly research. Unity Church and its founder Charles Fillmore teaches reincarnation. In recent decades, many Europeans and North Americans have developed an interest in reincarnation, and many contemporary works mention it. Karma ( / ˈ k ɑːr m ə / ; Sanskrit : कर्म , romanized :  karma , IPA: [ˈkɐɽmɐ] ; Pali : kamma ) means action, work or deed; it also refers to

9798-489: The afterlife , or in exceptional cases enter heaven alive . Heaven is often described as a "higher place", the holiest place, a Paradise , in contrast to hell or the Underworld or the "low places" and universally or conditionally accessible by earthly beings according to various standards of divinity , goodness , piety , faith , or other virtues or right beliefs or simply the will of God . Some believe in

9940-503: The miraculous ones wrought by Christ and his apostles were supernatural . Nomological possibility is possibility under the actual laws of nature . Most philosophers since David Hume have held that the laws of nature are metaphysically contingent—that there could have been different natural laws than the ones that actually obtain. If so, then it would not be logically or metaphysically impossible, for example, for you to travel to Alpha Centauri in one day; it would just have to be

10082-433: The nature of a thing the essence , or that which the schoolmen scruple not to call the quiddity of a thing, namely, the attribute or attributes on whose score it is what it is, whether the thing be corporeal or not, as when we attempt to define the nature of an angle , or of a triangle , or of a fluid body, as such. Sometimes we take nature for an internal principle of motion , as when we say that

10224-487: The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes. The first season of True Blood received positive reviews, despite initial impressions being mixed. Linda Stasi of the New York Post wrote of the opening episodes: If HBO's new vampire show is any indication, there would still be countless deaths – especially among vampire hunters and the viewers who love them – because everyone would be dying of boredom. And so it

10366-431: The "true death", but shortly after, he "rises from the blood", as an even more powerful vampire reincarnation of Lilith ("Billith"). The sixth season of True Blood premiered on June 16, 2013. After Alan Ball's departure from the series at the end of season 5, Brian Buckner replaced Ball as the show's showrunner. Season six focuses on Bill's abilities after he had drunk Lilith's blood. Sookie and Jason try to find Warlow,

10508-429: The 16th century, Antonia, possesses the body of Marnie in order to exact revenge on all vampires. Sookie starts a romance with Eric who has amnesia due to a spell cast by Antonia/Marnie. The witch Antonia eventually realizes the wrongdoing she's caused to innocent people and decides to stop. Yet Marnie, addicted to Antonia's power, binds her against her will to acquire her powers. Subplots include Lafayette's introduction to

10650-506: The 6th century, composed of the Latin prefix super- and nātūrālis (see nature ). The earliest known appearance of the word in the English language occurs in a Middle English translation of Catherine of Siena 's Dialogue ( orcherd of Syon , around 1425; Þei haue not þanne þe supernaturel lyȝt ne þe liȝt of kunnynge, bycause þei vndirstoden it not ). The semantic value of

10792-438: The Bon Temps bar "Merlotte's". The show's main protagonist, Sookie Stackhouse ( Anna Paquin ), is a telepath and waitress at Merlotte's. In the opening episode she saves Merlotte's first vampire customer, Bill Compton ( Stephen Moyer ), when a local couple attempts to drain him of his blood (vampire blood is known on the show as a human narcotic: "V" or "V Juice"). Through the relationship that develops between Sookie and Bill,

10934-614: The Middle Ages, although in the early modern period Italian humanists reinterpreted the term in a positive sense to establish the idea of natural magic . Both negative and positive understandings of the term were retained in Western culture over the following centuries, with the former largely influencing early academic usages of the word. Throughout history, there have been examples of individuals who practiced magic and referred to themselves as magicians. This trend has proliferated in

11076-511: The UK "TV on Video" chart. However, it reached only number six in the combined DVD chart. In its first week of release in North America, it sold over 660,000 units, earning nearly $ 20 million. In its second week of release in North America, it sold a further 120,000 units (making a combined total of 784,000 units sold), earning another $ 4 million. The series has an approval rating of 70% on

11218-572: The US. By the end of 2009, the first season DVD had sold over 1.6 million units and taken in over $ 57 million. It was the only TV show in the 50 top-selling DVDs of 2009. The second season DVD sold a total of 1,159,509 units in 2010, earning over $ 41 million. The third season DVD was the 61st best-selling DVD of 2011, selling almost 1 million copies and earning over $ 30 million. It was the best selling TV box set of 2011. In its first week of release—the week ending June 2, 2012—season four debuted at number one on

11360-479: The assumptions underlying the theory that implied the impossibility be re-examined. Some philosophers, such as Sydney Shoemaker , have argued that the laws of nature are in fact necessary, not contingent; if so, then nomological possibility is equivalent to metaphysical possibility. The term supernatural is often used interchangeably with paranormal or preternatural —the latter typically limited to an adjective for describing abilities which appear to exceed what

11502-425: The case that you could travel faster than the speed of light. But of course there is an important sense in which this is not nomologically possible; given that the laws of nature are what they are. In the philosophy of natural science , impossibility assertions come to be widely accepted as overwhelmingly probable rather than considered proved to the point of being unchallengeable. The basis for this strong acceptance

11644-512: The cases of superstitions or belief in the paranormal . The term is attributed to non-physical entities , such as angels , demons , gods and spirits . It also includes claimed abilities embodied in or provided by such beings, including magic , telekinesis , levitation , precognition and extrasensory perception . The supernatural is hypernymic to religion . Religions are standardized supernaturalist worldviews, or at least more complete than single supernaturalist views. Supernaturalism

11786-409: The cast is Scott Foley as Patrick, Terry's old war buddy, Louis Herthum as JD, Kelly Overton as Rikki, a new werewolf curious how Marcus died, Carolyn Hennesy is expected to be Rosalyn Harris, a Texas vampire with twang, and Jacob Hopkins will play child vampire Chancellor Alexander Drew. For season six, it was announced that Robert Kazinsky would join the principal cast as Ben, a faerie and

11928-639: The character in a compelling way rather than who would physically resemble the characters from the book. Noting that there's a definite difference between the characters and storylines portrayed in True Blood and the ones depicted in The Southern Vampire Mysteries , he described Harris as being very understanding in terms of how her work was being reinterpreted. The major characters of the first season of True Blood are introduced among various intertwining plot lines that surround

12070-714: The coffin" and allow their presence to be known to mankind. Now they are struggling for equal rights and assimilation, while anti-vampire organizations begin to gain power. Sookie's world is turned upside down when she falls in love with 173-year-old vampire Bill Compton ( Stephen Moyer ) and for the first time must navigate the trials, tribulations and terrors of intimacy and relationships. Other characters include Tara Thornton ( Rutina Wesley ), Sookie's tough-talking best friend, her womanizing brother Jason ( Ryan Kwanten ), thousand year old vampire and Sheriff of Area 5, Eric Northman ( Alexander Skarsgård ), and her shape-shifting boss Sam Merlotte ( Sam Trammell ). True Blood follows

12212-604: The completion of the development deal. It was written, directed, and produced by Ball. Cast members Paquin, Kwanten, and Trammell were announced in February 2007, and Moyer later in April. The pilot was shot in the early summer of 2007 and was officially ordered to series in August, at which point Ball had already written more episodes. Production on the series began later that fall, with Brook Kerr , who portrayed Tara Thornton in

12354-439: The concept of the soul of the deceased making its own journey to the underworld, with the dead needing to be taken across a defining obstacle such as a lake or a river to reach this destination. Imagery of such journeys can be found in both ancient and modern art. The descent to the underworld has been described as "the single most important myth for Modernist authors". A spirit is a supernatural being, often but not exclusively

12496-522: The creatures cannot do, in traditional theism, in comparison to what they can do in process metaphysics (that is, to be part creators of the world with God). Heaven , or the heavens , is a common religious, cosmological , or transcendent place where beings such as gods , angels , spirits, saints , or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned , or live. According to the beliefs of some religions, heavenly beings can descend to Earth or incarnate , and earthly beings can ascend to heaven in

12638-415: The disappearance of Godric , the 2,000-year-old vampire Sheriff of Area 9. Eric enlists Sookie and Bill's aid in finding the ancient vampire in Dallas. Their paths cross Jason's as he seeks to discover meaning in his life with the Fellowship of the Sun, a church dedicated to anti-vampire activities. A second theme concerns a maenad named Maryann who visits Bon Temps after Tara attracts her attention at

12780-413: The earliest portrayals of vampires in legend, literature, and cinema. The second, A New Type , discusses vampire culture from Nosferatu to today's sensual, sexual creatures. To that end, the show also covered the modern vampire subculture and real-life vampire clubs. Actors and writers from True Blood appeared in the documentaries. The shows first aired on September 6, 2008, on HBO. Thousands of DVDs of

12922-409: The early Church Fathers had done. As a result, he had created a dichotomy of sorts of the natural and supernatural. Though the phrase "supra naturam" was used since the 4th century AD, it was in the 1200s that Thomas Aquinas used the term "supernaturalis". Despite this, the term had to wait until the end of the medieval period before it became more popularly used. The discussions on "nature" from

13064-408: The end of the first season. Maryann is a figure from Sam 's past and knows his true identity as a shapeshifter. Her influence on the town and its residents results in mayhem that grows more destructive as the season progresses. At the end of the season, Bill proposes to Sookie but is kidnapped by unknown assailants when Sookie retreats to the bathroom to consider his proposal. Season 3 loosely follows

13206-412: The entries that followed and became interested in "bringing [Harris'] vision to television". Having already had two other adaptation options for the books, Harris said she chose to work with him, though, because "[Ball] really 'got' me. That's how he convinced me to go with him. I just felt that he understood what I was doing with the books." The project's hour-long pilot was ordered concurrently with

13348-537: The episodes, usually heard during the closing credits. The title usually indicates something about the events that will unfold throughout the given episode. For example, episode ten of season four is titled " Burning Down the House ", and the end credits feature a cover version of the classic Talking Heads song performed by The Used . The premiere of True Blood was prefaced with a viral marketing / alternate reality game (ARG) campaign, based at BloodCopy.com, throughout

13490-482: The first episode were handed out to attendees of Midnight Madness, a special film festival. Blockbuster Video provided free rental of the first episode of True Blood several days before it was broadcast on HBO. On April 16, 2009, HBO released the first teaser poster for season 2. The image uses a perspective technique that shows observers one of two images. A minute-long promotional video advertising season two, which featured Bob Dylan 's " Beyond Here Lies Nothin' ",

13632-517: The first time, she must navigate the trials and terrors of intimacy and relationships. The show was broadcast on the premium cable network HBO , in the United States, and was produced by HBO in association with Ball's production company, Your Face Goes Here Entertainment. The series premiered on September 7, 2008, and concluded on August 24, 2014, comprising seven seasons and 80 episodes. The first five seasons received highly positive reviews, and both nominations and wins for several awards, including

13774-425: The idea of rebirth in many schools of Indian religions (particularly Hinduism , Buddhism , Jainism and Sikhism ) as well as Taoism . In these schools, karma in the present affects one's future in the current life, as well as the nature and quality of future lives – one's saṃsāra . In Catholic theology , the supernatural order is, according to New Advent , defined as "the ensemble of effects exceeding

13916-493: The idea that vampires should be given rights equal to those afforded the mortals of the True Blood universe. During the first season, one of the ways in which anti-vampire sentiment is expressed is through regular televised appearances by the "Fellowship of the Sun", a Dallas-based church that in Season 2 becomes headed by the Reverend Steve Newlin ( Michael McMillian ) after his father and family are killed in

14058-466: The land of Faerie. A coven of witches, led by Marnie, poses a threat to vampires when they discover the witches are working on necromancy. Sookie returns to Bon Temps after a year (even though for her she was away for only a few minutes in Faerie) to find Bill as the new King of Louisiana and that her brother and friends had given up hope of finding her. As the series progresses, a powerful necromancer from

14200-671: The majority of denominations within Christianity and Islam do not believe that individuals reincarnate, particular groups within these religions do refer to reincarnation; these groups include the mainstream historical and contemporary followers of Cathars , Alawites , the Druze and the Rosicrucians . The historical relations between these sects and the beliefs about reincarnation that were characteristic of Neoplatonism , Orphism , Hermeticism , Manicheanism and Gnosticism of

14342-429: The many enter into complex unity" (Whitehead 1978, 21). It is tempting to emphasize process theism's denial of the supernatural and thereby highlight that the processed God cannot do in comparison what the traditional God could do (that is, to bring something from nothing). In fairness, however, equal stress should be placed on process theism's denial of the natural (as traditionally conceived) so that one may highlight what

14484-432: The media, the quest for identity, and the importance of family. The main mystery of the first season concerns the murders of women connected to Sookie's brother, Jason. Maudette Pickens and Dawn Green are both strangled shortly after having been alone with him. Though Detective Bellefleur has little doubt that Jason is the killer, the town sheriff does not suspect him. Sookie's grandmother is murdered shortly afterward. After

14626-521: The modern period, with a growing number of magicians appearing within the esoteric milieu. British esotericist Aleister Crowley described magic as the art of effecting change in accordance with will. Divination (from Latin divinare "to foresee, to be inspired by a god", related to divinus , divine ) is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic , standardized process or ritual. Used in various forms throughout history, diviners ascertain their interpretations of how

14768-413: The murders, Jason becomes addicted to vampire blood and has a short relationship with another addict, Amy Burley, which ends when she is murdered as well. The season also focuses on Sookie's relationship with Bill and Sam's relationship with Sookie's friend Tara. Bill explains the rules of being a vampire to Sookie and, after killing a vampire to defend her, is forced to "turn" a young girl named Jessica into

14910-399: The new Tru Blood with the antidote. The last scene of the series shows a pregnant Sookie sitting outside at a table full of people on Thanksgiving beside an unknown man. They kiss and drink, and everyone around them appears to be happy. True Blood employs a broad ensemble cast composed of regular, central characters and a rotating group of impermanent supporting characters. Though the series

15052-468: The original pilot, replaced by Rutina Wesley . Two more episodes of the series had been filmed before the 2007-08 Writers Guild of America strike shut down production of the 12-episode first season until February 2008. That September, after only the first two episodes of the series had aired, HBO placed an order for a second season of 12 episodes, with production scheduled to commence in January 2009 for

15194-607: The original score for the series, which features the cello, guitar, prepared piano , and glass harmonica among other instruments, all of which he performs himself. The main theme song is "Bad Things" by country music artist Jace Everett , from his 2005 self-titled debut. Both Nathan Barr and Jace Everett won 2009 awards from Broadcast Music Incorporated in the BMI Cable Awards category for, respectively, True Blood's original score and theme song. The show's individual episode titles are named after songs featured in

15336-478: The outcomes two distinct cognitive domains: one concerned with the physical-mechanical relations and another with social relations. Studies on indigenous groups have allowed for insights on how such coexistence of explanations may function. A deity ( / ˈ d iː ə t i / or / ˈ d eɪ . ə t i / ) is a supernatural being considered divine or sacred . The Oxford Dictionary of English defines deity as "a god or goddess (in

15478-698: The plot of the third novel of The Southern Vampire Mysteries, Club Dead , and introduces werewolves to the show's mythology through Alcide, a werewolf hired by Eric to help Sookie find Bill. It also introduces the characters of Russell Edgington , the Vampire King of Mississippi, who wishes to overturn the Vampire Authority. In addition, some characters from the fourth novel Dead to the World are introduced: Crystal Norris as Jason's love interest, her family of werepanthers from Hotshot, and Sookie's "faerie godmother", Claudine. Sookie's heritage as part faerie

15620-456: The point of view of "a supernatural , predatory creature observing human beings from the shadows ..." Ideas of redemption and forgiveness are also explored, and thus the sequence progresses from morning to night and culminates in a baptism . The title sequence was created by the independent film company Digital Kitchen. The sequence also features images and themes of death and rebirth; the circle of life. A Venus fly-trap can be seen engulfing

15762-493: The possibility of a heaven on Earth in a world to come . Another belief is in an axis mundi or world tree which connects the heavens, the terrestrial world and the underworld . In Indian religions , heaven is considered as Svarga loka , and the soul is again subjected to rebirth in different living forms according to its karma . This cycle can be broken after a soul achieves Moksha or Nirvana . Any place of existence, either of humans, souls or deities, outside

15904-404: The powers of the created universe and gratuitously produced by God for the purpose of raising the rational creature above its native sphere to a God-like life and destiny." The Modern Catholic Dictionary defines it as "the sum total of heavenly destiny and all the divinely established means of reaching that destiny, which surpass the mere powers and capacities of human nature." Process theology

16046-436: The prophet's social world and events to come (compare divine knowledge ). Prophecy is not limited to any one culture. It is a common property to all known ancient societies around the world, some more than others. Many systems and rules about prophecy have been proposed over several millennia. In religion and theology , revelation is the revealing or disclosing of some form of truth or knowledge through communication with

16188-488: The recipient. In the Abrahamic religions , the term is used to refer to the process by which God reveals knowledge of himself, his will and his divine providence to the world of human beings. In secondary usage, revelation refers to the resulting human knowledge about God, prophecy and other divine things. Revelation from a supernatural source plays a less important role in some other religious traditions such as Buddhism , Confucianism and Taoism . Reincarnation

16330-560: The same divine principle; and nontheistic religions deny any supreme eternal creator deity but accept a pantheon of deities which live, die and are reborn just like any other being. Various cultures have conceptualized a deity differently than a monotheistic God . A deity need not be omnipotent , omnipresent , omniscient , omnibenevolent or eternal , The monotheistic God, however, does have these attributes . Monotheistic religions typically refer to God in masculine terms, while other religions refer to their deities in

16472-435: The scholastic period were diverse and unsettled with some postulating that even miracles are natural and that natural magic was a natural part of the world. The metaphysical considerations of the existence of the supernatural can be difficult to approach as an exercise in philosophy or theology because any dependencies on its antithesis, the natural , will ultimately have to be inverted or rejected. One complicating factor

16614-407: The season three premiere. True Blood True Blood is an American fantasy horror drama television series produced and created by Alan Ball . It is based on The Southern Vampire Mysteries , a series of novels by Charlaine Harris . The series revolves around Sookie Stackhouse ( Anna Paquin ), a telepathic waitress living in the fictional rural town of Bon Temps, Louisiana. It

16756-400: The season, Lafayette entering a relationship with Jessica's ex-boyfriend James, and Sam leaving Bon Temps with Nicole. At the end of the series, Bill refuses to take the antidote to heal himself from the virus and asks Sookie to give him the "ultimate kindness". Sookie eventually agrees and strikes Bill's heart with a wooden stick in his grave at Bon Temps cemetery. Pam and Eric successfully sell

16898-450: The series, other supernatural creatures are introduced, among them shapeshifters , werewolves , faeries , witches , and a maenad . The series revolves around Sookie Stackhouse ( Anna Paquin ), a telepathic human-faerie hybrid known as a halfling (not to be confused with similarly named, but unrelated creatures found in other fantasy works). Sookie is a waitress at Merlotte's Bar and Grill, owned by Sam Merlotte ( Sam Trammell ) in

17040-485: The seventh season as a series regular after being credited as a Special Guest Star since season two. Also upgraded to regulars are season six guest stars Amelia Rose Blaire as Willa Burrell, Bailey Noble as Adilyn Bellefleur, Luke Grimes as James and Karolina Wydra as Violet Mazurski. Series creator Alan Ball had previously worked with the cable channel HBO on Six Feet Under , which ran for five seasons. In October 2005, after Six Feet Under wrapped, Ball signed

17182-466: The show's title card. In a 2010 issue of TV Guide , the show's opening title sequence ranked #5 on a list of TV's top 10 credits sequences, as selected by readers. Gary Calamar , who supervises the series' music, said his goal for the show's soundtrack is to create something "swampy, bluesy and spooky" and to feature local Louisiana musicians. True Blood soundtrack albums have twice earned Grammy Award nominations. Composer Nathan Barr writes

17324-504: The small Louisiana town of Bon Temps. Sam is a shapeshifter, though this secret is kept hidden from most of the town. Other characters include Bill Compton ( Stephen Moyer ), a 173-year-old vampire who has returned to Bon Temps to take up residence in his former home following the death of his last remaining relative; Tara Thornton ( Rutina Wesley ), Sookie's tough-talking but insecure best friend; Jason ( Ryan Kwanten ), Sookie's womanizing brother; Eric Northman ( Alexander Skarsgård ),

17466-406: The spiritual principle of cause and effect where intent and actions of an individual (cause) influence the future of that individual (effect). Good intent and good deeds contribute to good karma and future happiness, while bad intent and bad deeds contribute to bad karma and future suffering. With origins in ancient India 's Vedic civilization , the philosophy of karma is closely associated with

17608-569: The summer. This included setting up multiple websites, encoding web address into unmarked envelopes mailed to high-profile blog writers and others, and even performances by a "vampire" who attempted to reach out to others of their kind, to discuss the recent creation of "TrueBlood", a fictional beverage featured in the show. A MySpace account with the username "Blood" had, as of June 19, uploaded two videos; one entitled "Vampire Taste Test – True Blood vs Human", and one called "BloodCopy Exclusive INTERVIEW WITH SAMSON THE VAMPIRE". A prequel comic

17750-475: The tangible world (Heaven, Hell, or other) is referred to as otherworld . The underworld is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld. The concept of an underworld is found in almost every civilization and "may be as old as humanity itself". Common features of underworld myths are accounts of living people making journeys to

17892-1135: The temple of every living being's body, as sensory organs and mind. Deities have also been envisioned as a form of existence ( Saṃsāra ) after rebirth , for human beings who gain merit through an ethical life, where they become guardian deities and live blissfully in heaven , but are also subject to death when their merit runs out. An angel is generally a supernatural being found in various religions and mythologies . In Abrahamic religions and Zoroastrianism , angels are often depicted as benevolent celestial beings who act as intermediaries between God or Heaven and Earth . Other roles of angels include protecting and guiding human beings and carrying out God's tasks. Within Abrahamic religions, angels are often organized into hierarchies , although such rankings may vary between sects in each religion, and are given specific names or titles, such as Gabriel or " Destroying angel ." The term "angel" has also been expanded to various notions of spirits or figures found in other religious traditions. The theological study of angels

18034-423: The term has shifted over the history of its use. Originally the term referred exclusively to Christian understandings of the world. For example, as an adjective, the term can mean "belonging to a realm or system that transcends nature, as that of divine, magical, or ghostly beings; attributed to or thought to reveal some force beyond scientific understanding or the laws of nature; occult, paranormal" or "more than what

18176-522: The thief to save her, but has committed a serious crime in killing another vampire. When Bill is tried for his crime, his punishment is to transform seventeen-year-old Jessica Hamby ( Deborah Ann Woll ) into a vampire to replace the one he destroyed. A secondary plotline introduced in the first season (which later becomes a main plotline in Season 2) is that although many humans are attracted to vampires (referred to as "fang bangers") and flock to establishments like Fangtasia, not all people are accepting of

18318-460: The third century AD influenced the development of the concept of the supernatural, which later evolved through Christian theology . The term nature had existed since antiquity, with Latin authors like Augustine using the word and its cognates at least 600 times in City of God . In the medieval period, "nature" had ten different meanings and "natural" had eleven different meanings. Peter Lombard ,

18460-414: The turmoil he encounters. Rene, who becomes engaged to Merlotte's waitress Arlene Fowler ( Carrie Preston ), is eventually exposed as the Bon Temps murderer and is killed in a final confrontation with Sookie. A secondary plot in the first season (that later develops as the primary storyline in the second) revolves around Sookie's best friend Tara Thornton ( Rutina Wesley ). In the first episode, Tara

18602-448: The underworld , often for some heroic purpose. Other myths reinforce traditions that entrance of souls to the underworld requires a proper observation of ceremony, such as the ancient Greek story of the recently dead Patroclus haunting Achilles until his body could be properly buried for this purpose. Persons having social status were dressed and equipped in order to better navigate the underworld. A number of mythologies incorporate

18744-510: The values of the Authority and view humans as nothing more than food: just as Lilith of the Vampire bible wanted. Meanwhile, Alcide deals with his troubled rise to pack-master, Terry learns he is death-cursed after committing a terrible crime during the war in Iraq , while Tara learns how to deal with her newly given life as Pam's progeny. Jason and Sookie discover that their parents were murdered by

18886-400: The vampire who killed their parents, with a fairy grandfather named Niall who arrives in Bon Temps while Louisiana governor Burrell leads a platform to eradicate the entire vampire race with Sarah Newlin. Sam and Alcide fight for Emma's safety; Terry struggles to live with himself after having killed Patrick; Andy raises his fairy daughters. Eric decides to turn the governor's daughter Willa into

19028-401: The viewer is always aware of Jason's innocence in their deaths, Detective Andy Bellefleur ( Chris Bauer ) targets him as the prime suspect in the investigation he conducts with Sheriff Bud Dearborne ( William Sanderson ) to identify their killer. Jason's best friends and co-workers, Hoyt Fortenberry ( Jim Parrack ) and Rene Lenier ( Michael Raymond-James ) provide him with support despite

19170-559: The viewer progressively learns more about vampire culture and the limitations of vampire physiology (e.g. susceptibility to silver and the sun). The major plot of the first season revolves around the murder of several women connected to Sookie's older brother, Jason ( Ryan Kwanten ). The women murdered include sexual partner Maudette Pickens (Danielle Sapia), on-and-off romantic interest and Merlotte's waitress Dawn Green ( Lynn Collins ), grandmother Adele ( Lois Smith ) or simply "Gran", and girlfriend Amy Burley ( Lizzy Caplan ). Though

19312-673: The world in search of Eric, who is found in France infected by the virus. They return to Bon Temps and help Sookie, Bill, and Jessica rescue the people who were kidnapped, after Sookie and Bill’s first attempt results in Alcide's death and Sookie being infected by the virus which she later transmits to Bill. Eric and Pam search for Sarah Newlin, who supposedly has an antidote for the virus. Several characters encounter closure like Lettie Mae making peace with Tara through visions caused by vampire blood, Jessica and Hoyt getting married after reuniting during

19454-466: The world of magic and his abilities as a medium, Sam's family troubles, Alcide and Debbie's troubled relationship, and Jason, Hoyt and Jessica's love triangle. The finale is a series of cliffhangers, including a warning from the ghost of Rene that Terry will cause Arlene trouble, the escape of Russell Edgington, the reappearance of Steve Newlin as a vampire, and the shooting of Tara. The season starts with Sookie and Lafayette asking for Pam to turn Tara into

19596-531: The world. This so-called "Great Revelation" has split vampires into two camps: those who wish to integrate into human society (i.e., "mainstream") by campaigning for citizenship and equal rights, and those who think human-vampire co-existence is impossible, because it conflicts with the inherently predatory and violent nature of vampires. It has also caused similar divisions amongst non-vampires; some believe that vampires should be accepted and granted rights, while others view them as monsters to be destroyed. Throughout

19738-594: Was handed out to attendees of the 2008 Comic-Con . The comic centers around an old vampire named Lamar, who tells the reader about how TruBlood surfaced and was discussed between many vampires before going public. At one point, Lamar wonders if TruBlood is making the world safe for vampires or from them. Several commercials featured on HBO and Facebook aired prior to the series premiere, placing vampires in ads similar to those of beer and wine. HBO produced and broadcast two documentaries to promote True Blood , entitled "True Bloodlines". The first, Vampire Legends , explored

19880-607: Was released in July 2010 and soon sold out. The second issue went on sale August 18, 2010, with a second printing of the first issue going on sale August 25. Six comics were issued in the series, and they were compiled as the graphic novel All Together Now on February 15, 2011. This was the first in a series of four graphic novels released by HBO under the True Blood franchise and sold in major bookstores. Ensuing titles include Tainted Love , The French Quarter , and Ongoing . The True Blood DVDs have been consistent best-sellers in

20022-485: Was released via Entertainment Tonight in early May. There was also a website for The Fellowship of the Sun, antagonists from the book series, featuring videos about hot-button issues such as becoming a vampire. In September 2009, HBO filed a trademark registration with the United States Patent and Trademark Office for a possible future electronic game based on True Blood . The network then launched

20164-409: Was used with negative connotations, to apply to religious rites that were regarded as fraudulent, unconventional and dangerous. This meaning of the term was then adopted by Latin in the first century BC. The concept was then incorporated into Christian theology during the first century AD, where magic was associated with demons and thus defined against religion. This concept was pervasive throughout

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