Werewolves with a Moonlight Ring do not need to transform to activate the bite
Werewolf Venom is an ability of werewolves and vampire-werewolf hybrids to generate an extremely deadly toxin that is fatal to vampires and harmful to Original vampires. It is secreted through their fangs which allow them to be transferred through a bite.
They are produced by the salivary glands found in mouths of both werewolves and hybrids and is usually used as a weapon against their vampire enemies, as one of the easiest methods of killing a vampire.
Werewolves
To werewolves, it can only be achieved when one transforms during the Full Moon. However, it can be activated at will through use of Moonlight Rings or evolving.
Hybrids
To hybrids, it is activated at will either in human form or in werewolf form due to their ability to fully control their transformations at will.
Upgraded Original Vampires
To Upgraded Original Vampires, it is activated with their "true face" as they are upgraded vampires.
Effects
Klaus biting Will
Whenever a vampire is bitten by a werewolf or hybrid, the venom will be transmitted into the vampire's bloodstream from the werewolf's mouth. Once the blood is contaminated by the toxin, the vampire's heart will pump the venom throughout their entire cardiovascular and systemic circulatory system, during which time it will infect every cell in the vampire's body.
The length of time needed for the saliva to destroy the bitten vampire can vary based on several factors, such as whether it was a werewolf or hybrid who bit the vampire and how transformed the werewolf was at the time. After bitten by a very experienced and fully-transformed werewolf named Jules, the vampire Rose-Marie rapidly deteriorated until Damon Salvatore ultimately decided to euthanize her roughly a day afterward. On the other hand, when Damon himself was bitten by Tyler Lockwood, a new werewolf on his second Full Moon who wasn't fully transformed at the time (he was still fully-clothed in human form, with only his eyes and fangs having transformed), it took approximately three days for him to be on the verge of death.
A werewolf's bite will also cause a vampire to hallucinate and go rabid as if it were a wild animal, causing them to lash out as their bodies went into survival mode in hopes that human blood would heal them. A vampire's death by a werewolf bite is very slow and painful, which is why many who are bitten are ultimately "mercy-killed" before they reach that point. Werewolf bites cannot kill an Original Vampire, as Elijah Mikaelson mentioned to Elena Gilbert when they were talking about how to kill Klaus Mikaelson. However, it does weaken them temporarily, as Rebekah Mikaelson felt dizzy and had severe hallucinations after drinking a beer laced with a concentrated dose of hybrid venom. It wore off within hours; she just had to rest for a while for her body to metabolize it.
The effects of the venom of an Upgraded Original vampire was scientifically engineered from each strain of the original seven werewolf bloodlines. This was subsequently incorporated in the the spell that created the Upgraded Original vampire. The venom is potent enough to cause a vampire to have strong hallucinations and to quickly deteriorate from the bite, more so than that of a werewolf or hybrid. It is deadly enough to even kill an Original vampire and consequently can kill non-Original vampires, and presumably vampire hybrids. The latter, however, hasn't been proven explicitly, though Davina attempted to use Marcel's venom to sacrifice Klaus, implying its fatal effects.
Toxin
Weaponized venom
In The Rager, it was shown that one can extract the venom of werewolves, hybrids, and Upgraded Original vampires by using a syringe inserted into the specie in question's gums to take a sample. From there, it can be used mixed in food or drink (such as when Connor Jordan injected it into a keg of beer that was delivered to Rebekah's party) or can be used to fill or coat bullets (such as when Galen Vaughn used werewolf venom-laced bullets to shoot Damon in Graduation), and it will affect any vampire who ingests it or is otherwise infected with it. Werewolf and hybrid bites are fatal to vampires much more quickly - typically a vampire will die or be on the verge of death within twenty-four hours, as seen in the case of Nadia Petrova. In Behind the Black Horizon, the bite of Upgraded Original vampires are even more fatal than werewolves and hybrids bites, being capable of even killing Original vampires. This was demonstrated when Lucien Castle, recently turned into an Upgraded Original vampire, bit Finn Mikaelson, an Original vampire, and died soon thereafter.
Cures
One cure for werewolf venom is the blood of the original hybrid, Niklaus Mikaelson, as well as the blood of his daughter, a tribrid, Hope. Both can be used to cure a werewolf bite. However, Klaus has since died as of When The Saints Go Marching In and only Hope's blood remains.
However, Dr. Wes Maxfield thought it possible to synthesize a cure from the venom of a werewolf and the speculation was revealed to be correct as Kingmaker Land Development Inc. created a vaccine that can cure the venom. An indirect cure was found in the antidote to the Ripper Compound which cured Elena of being an Augustine Vampire along with the toxin infused with her at the time.
The venom of Upgraded Original Vampire has one known cure; the anti-venom created by Freya using Klaus blood and the seven individual strains of Werewolf venom from which it was originally created from. Although, based on a Siphoner's ability to siphon 'magic', this is likely another known cure but has yet to be established. Klaus' blood could alleviate the symptoms but could not cure its effects.
Siphoners and witch-vampire hybrids can siphon the magic from the venom. Thus, curing a vampire by nullifying its effects.
Humans
It has not been shown how a werewolf bite would affect a human in the case that they are attacked (which is unlikely due to their ferocity and above-vampire prowess). When the supernatural vampire hunter Connor laced the keg of beer at Rebekah's party with werewolf venom, quite a few humans drank it with seemingly no consequences, so it can be presumed that werewolf venom itself has no effect on typical human beings. Klaus fed on the human Camille O'Connell in Après Moi, Le Déluge and she felt fine afterwards.
Bitten Vampires
Trivia
- Damon, Elena and Rebekah are the only main vampires who have suffered the effects of werewolf venom without actually being bitten by a werewolf or hybrid (Though Damon had also been bitten by a werewolf prior to that experience).
- There are seven known strains of werewolf venom stemming from each of the seven original werewolf bloodlines.
- Damon mercy-killed Rose and Will before the effects of the werewolf bite could be fatal.
- Nadia Petrova, Finn Mikaelson and Camille O'Connell are the only vampires shown on screen to die solely due to a werewolf/hybrid bite so far.
- It was speculated by Wes Maxfield that because werewolf venom is a toxin, it could presumably have an antidote created by scientific means rather than Klaus' blood. However this was never proven only mere speculation.
- In While You Were Sleeping, the werewolf-venom-enhanced Ripper Compound that Elena was injected with was later cured thanks to the antidote created by an ally of the Travelers and delivered by Enzo. This suggests that a scientific cure for werewolf bites may be possible.
- It was later confirmed that it is possible to create a scientific cure for werewolf bites, as Lucien Castle, with the research of Kingmaker Land Development Inc., was able to develop a vaccine that can burn out the venom in a vampire's system to allow them to heal, which he used to cure himself of Jackson's bite. Likewise, Kingmaker used this to experiment on making an advanced strain of werewolf venom by poisoning a captured vampire with the venom and curing her with the vaccine before they finally developed a strain that even the vaccine couldn't heal.
- It is possible for vampires of extraordinary willpower to be able to overcome the effects of the werewolf venom. Mikael demonstrated in Live and Let Die that because of his indomitable will and warrior instincts, he is capable of fighting through the effects of the werewolf venom with great focus, which allowed him to recover from the bites much faster than his children Elijah and Rebekah did when they were infected with the venom. In From a Cradle to a Grave, Mikael drank the blood of vampires who had been bitten by numerous werewolves with little to no negative effects, as well. Shen Min, whose willpower was able to overcome an Original's compulsion, was likewise able to resist the effects of werewolf venom, as despite having been bitten by Hayley, he was able to defeat both her and Marcel without much effort.
- The venom of an Upgraded Original Vampire's bite — a mix of the venom of the seven royal bloodlines — is the only werewolf venom able to kill Original Vampires. It was initially believed to have no cure as neither Klaus or Hope's blood could heal it.
- However, in Gather Up the Killers, this is proven to be not true as Freya creates the cure or antivenom against the advanced werewolf venom using Klaus' blood and the venom from the seven werewolf packs as ingredients.
- A Siphoner is able to siphon the magic from the bite.
- The same applies to witch-vampire hybrids who, although remain affected by it, can cure themselves through siphoning as shown in I'm Thinking Of You All The While.
- In Behind the Black Horizon, Finn became the first Original vampire to die from werewolf venom.
- He was also the first to be bitten by an Upgraded Original Vampire, followed by his brothers Elijah and Kol in The Bloody Crown.