Alaric Saltzman

Alaric J. "Ric" Saltzman is a human, vampire hunter, former history teacher at Mystic Falls High School and a former Enhanced Original, not by being one of the first vampires as the Mikaelson Family is, but instead being turned through an altered version of the spell used on the Mikaelson family. He originally came to Mystic Falls to find the vampire who killed his wife, but learned that she voluntarily became a vampire and left him. He also learned that his wife had a child when she was a teenager, a daughter named Elena Gilbert, his student. Alaric began a romantic relationship with her adoptive aunt, Jenna. Following Jenna's tragic death, he seemed to step into his step-father role to Elena and is a father figure to her brother, Jeremy. He is also Damon's best friend alongside Enzo, Damon even calling Alaric "brother" on occasions.

Through overuse of the Gilbert Ring, Esther manipulated his spirit while he was on The Other Side before he would resurrect, and as a result he developed an alter ego, called The Darkness by Bonnie and Dark Alaric or Evil Alaric to others, that hated vampires and vampire sympathizers, killing members of the Mystic Falls Founder's Council who protected the secrets of vampires. Alaric became an Enhanced Original Vampire through Esther's magic so he could kill her children with the last, and indestructible, White Oak Stake, to make the vampire species extinct before his death, his life having been linked to Elena's. This leads Rebekah to kill her to stop Alaric. Alaric is now resurrected as his Original Vampire self, while his alter-ego appears to have gone away for good upon his resurrection. While trying to save Damon from Tripp Cooke, Alaric was pulled into the magic purification zone over Mystic Falls. He temporarily dies from the stab wound that killed him before his transition, when the magic that made him an Enhanced Original was stripped from his body. Jo Parker revived him with her medical skills, but upon resurrection, Alaric has reverted back to his human self, as the spell that made him a vampire was stripped away completely upon his temporary death.

As a vampire hunter, he designed several different weapons to fight vampires which include vervain tranquilizers and arm vest stakes.

As a ghost, he watched over Damon, Jeremy, and Elena. In the last two episodes of the Fourth Season, his spirit was brought back into the world of the living (albeit confined within the Expression Triangle) where his presence proved crucial at off-setting the threat of the Hunters of the Five in their goal to kill Silas after curing him of his Immortality. His ghost is resurrected in Home, with the exceptions of Damon, Bonnie, and Lexi, from The Other Side before its destruction, being the last to cross over to the land of the living.

After being resurrected, he is now a college professor at Whitmore College teaching Occult Studies.

Alaric is a non-biological relative of Elena and Jeremy, the Petrova Family and the Gilbert Family, due to being Elena's step-father through his marriage to Isobel.

Early life
The Saltzmans are descendants of German immigrants who arrived in Texas in 1755. He was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts. He mentions to Jenna Sommers that during high school, he wore eyeglasses and had a skin condition. While attending Duke University, he met and then married Isobel Flemming, a parapsychologist (it's revealed by Meredith that Isobel filed a restraining order against him twice) who had an interest in vampires, a topic he would regularly tease her about.

He said that she was "Like Mulder, except hotter, and a girl". At some point, Isobel gave him a ring and told him to always wear it. One night, he returned home late to find a vampire in his bedroom drinking Isobel's blood. Her body was never found and she was assumed to be dead. Alaric took over her research and found out about Mystic Falls and the rumors about vampires being alive in the town. He went there to find out the truth and discover what had happened to his wife.

He also created a number of anti-vampire weapons, so as to protect himself and others from them.

Season One - Season Six
See Alaric Saltzmans page on The Vampire Diaries wikia.

Physical Appearance
Alaric can be described as tall, about 6'2 in height, with and athletic build. A handsome man with short, brown hair that is gelled on the top and has blue eyes. He often wears casual clothing, t-shirts, button downs, jackets, jeans, etc. He's mostly seen wearing dark colors, but occasionally wears brighter ones such as pink or white shirts. He appears between the ages of 34-36.

Human
When introduced, Alaric was a mysterious man who seemed outwardly warm and friendly both with his students, and with strangers. He was quick to give Jeremy a second chance, and immediately started to bond with Jenna. However, this facade showed a darker side, one tinged with guilt and grief. Namely, he carried the burden of the disappearance of his wife and a fierce dedication to discover what had happened to her. He proved to be an intelligent and talented vampire hunter, shown when he killed Logan Fell. However, he was also stubborn and dedicated to finding out what happened to his wife. Namely, he ignored Stefan's warnings to stay away from Damon and attacked him, which led to his first death.

His fixation on Isobel Flemming eventually came to pass when he learned of her transformation into a vampire and he managed to let her go, namely after she compelled him to do so, so that he could go along with his life. This allowed him to develop his relationship with Jenna.

Alaric started to warm up to the others and started to form a sort of partnership with Damon as they investigated what happened to Isobel and her connection to John Gilbert. This partnership eventually evolved into a particularly strong friendship, some even considering Damon to be Alaric's best friend, and Alaric as Damon's only friend.

However, after Jenna's death, Alaric was unhinged and started to fall into a state of depression when he was seen drinking away the pain. While he was portrayed as a moderate drinker before the incident, Jenna's death led him to develop a rather severe drinking problem with Meredith Fell calling him a borderline alcoholic. He tried to take care of Elena and Jeremy, but had difficulty living up to the task. This dark part of him was also emphasized due to the many times that he had died and came back to life. It also connected to his suppressed guilt at the way his life had taken and all the pain that had resulted from it which made him fall prey to the darkness within him and turned him into a serial killer.

Enhanced Original Vampire
After Alaric was turned into an Enhanced Original, his darker aspect took complete control, and although now a vampire, was determined to hunt down the Original family and end the existence of vampires, showing that that was all he cared about by agreeing to be desiccated after he had finished his work. His hatred of vampires and vampire sympathizers was just as potent as it had been during his fits of insanity, outing former friends to the Town Council to be hunted down. He also considered his real personality a disgrace, who had befriended the very things that had ruined his life and also was disgusted by ever having been friends with Damon.

Since returning from the Other Side, Alaric seemingly retains his original personality, coupled with his vampiric abilities. He was there for Elena as she grieved the loss of Damon and stood by the rest of the gang as Bonnie and Damon pass on. He admits to Elena that he hates every single part of being a vampire. He drinks from blood bags not from the vein, he seems to not be able to control his hunger when he smells blood.

Ghost
For unknown reasons, Alaric completely reverted to his original personality when he died. When Bonnie dropped the veil to the Other Side, Alaric retained his vampire powers as well as his personality as if his darker personality simply disappeared when he died. It is possible Esther used magic while encouraging his dark side when he would die with the ring, making it so that after he transitioned his dark side would have full control. As it could have been part of Esther's spell, then it makes sense that he regained his true personality upon death, which would break Esther's tampering with his mind.

Tools and Weapons
As a proficient vampire hunter, Alaric used many weapons and tools to aid in his one man war. These weapons were kept in his apartment, car, and even at the school; always close-by and ready for use. He would often loan his vampire slaying weapons to his friends and allies when they were in need of them. As a form of protection against supernatural creatures, Isobel Flemming gift to Alaric a magic ring of resurrection.
 * Stakes - Alaric would primarily use stakes in combat, taking an element of surprise approach in his battles against deadly vampires like Logan Fell and Damon Salvatore.
 * Stake Launcher - Alaric used an air propelled stake launcher that he'd keep nearby at the school. When he first met Stefan, he tried to kill him with the help of this weapon.
 * Arm Cuff Stake - A hidden device under his sleeve which would allow you to either draw the stake from seemingly nowhere or if you punched an opponent with enough force, launch it forward. He taught Elena how to use this weapon effectively.
 * White Oak Stake - Once he had been turned into an Original vampire by Esther, who wanted him to hunt down the Originals, he used the white oak stake along with his new powers to try and make all vampires extinct.
 * Vervain Darts
 * Vervain Grenades
 * Wolfsbane Grenades
 * Gilbert Ring - Alaric always wore the Gilbert Ring that his wife Isobel had given to him. (Isobel obtained it from John Gilbert) It allowed him to be resurrected after being killed by a supernatural creature or by supernatural means, a very handy trinket for someone hunting vampires, though it did end up having some negative effects. Alaric's Gilbert Ring was used to melt and bind its protective magic to the last White Oak Stake, making it indestructible, and the ring is now no more.

Name

 * "Alaric" Gothic name meaning "ruler of all". Was the name of the king of the Visigoths who sacked Rome in 410 and might have precipitate the fall of Rome.
 * Saltzman is an Ashkenazic Jewish occupational name for a producer or seller of salt, from German Salz "salt" + Mann "man". Altered spelling of German Salzmann.

Trivia

 * His bank account password is "Vampslayer"
 * Kevin Williamson originally wanted James Van Der Beek for the role of "Alaric". The two previously worked together for the first two seasons of "Dawson's Creek". James Van Der Beek is replaced by Blue Crush star Matthew Davis for the role as Alaric.
 * In the books his name was Alaric K. Saltzman. In the series "K" is not mentioned. Instead it's a J as seen on his tombstone.
 * In the books Alaric was much younger and was a researcher instead of a vampire hunter. He also had a relationship with Meredith Sulez and was never married or met Elena's aunt. In the series Alaric meets Meredith Fell and starts a relationship with her a while after Elena's aunt Jenna dies.
 * He is the only non-Gilbert, besides Matt Donovan in season 4, shown to use the Gilbert Ring.
 * He had relationships with two women (Isobel and Jenna) who were both turned into vampires and died, and both are related to Elena Gilbert.
 * Alaric had since had a relationship with Meredith Fell that ended before his death, and Jo Parker, an ex-witch who became his fiancée, but she is murdered at their wedding by her psychotic brother Kai, which also kills their unborn twins.
 * Alaric is technically Elena's stepfather, as he married her mother, Isobel Flemming.
 * Ironically, in the series, Alaric is a vampire hunter but in the books, Meredith says she is a vampire hunter.
 * Like Jeremy, he has been killed twice by Damon Salvatore.
 * Alaric is the first character to use a White Oak Ash Dagger on screen.
 * Logan Fell was the first vampire that Alaric killed.
 * Alaric has killed the most Original Vampires (while they were linked), with the exception of Mikael and Klaus.
 * He has most deaths in the series (8).
 * Season 1
 * Staked by Damon Salvatore (A Few Good Men)
 * Season 2
 * Stabbed by Stevie (Crying Wolf)
 * Season 3
 * Broken neck by Damon Salvatore (Disturbing Behavior)
 * Hit by a car by Tony (The New Deal)
 * Stabbed by Elena Gilbert (Bringing Out The Dead)
 * Broken Neck by Klaus (Heart of Darkness)
 * Staked by Esther (Do Not Go Gentle)
 * Elena's death caused by Rebekah (The Departed)
 * Alaric has been killed by most species seen on the show.
 * Damon Salvatore, a vampire
 * Stevie, a werewolf
 * Tony, a hybrid
 * Elena Gilbert, a Petrova Doppelgänger
 * Klaus, the Original Hybrid
 * Esther, a witch
 * Rebekah (indirectly), an Original Vampire
 * Alaric completed his transition by drinking the blood of a witch, just like Jenna.
 * He was the only Original not part of the Mikaelson Family.
 * He was the first Original to be destroyed without the use of a White Oak Stake.
 * Elena is the first person and vampire shown to be compelled by Alaric in the series.
 * Of all the Originals in the Original Vampire species, Alaric was considered the strongest and most determined while possessed by his Alter Ego, stopping at nothing to make vampires extinct.
 * Alaric was the third main character to die after Vicki and Jenna, but before Jeremy and Bonnie.
 * He is the first male main character to die.
 * He is the third main character to transition into a vampire before death, after Vicki and Jenna.
 * Alaric was the first Original to become a ghost, Kol being the second. Mikael was a ghost on the Other Side first, but made no on-screen appearances until appearing on TO.
 * Excluding Henrik and Freya Mikaelson, Alaric has killed every member of the Original Family at one point except for Mikael.
 * He was the only Original whose body didn't burn upon death.
 * He's the only Original who can't be killed by the White Oak Stake, thus implying a wooden stake wouldn't kill him or slow him down like the other Originals (Finn, Elijah, Kol, Rebekah, or Mikael). Klaus is also immune to normal stakes through the heart from his werewolf side, evidenced by his fight with Tyler Lockwood in the bayou.
 * Like normal vampires who die when the source of their bloodline dies Alaric did the same when Elena died but much faster.
 * Alaric was a lethal vampire hunter as a normal human, with only supernatural hunters such as The Brotherhood of The Five trumping his skills and weaponry.
 * Alaric is resurrected with many of the other deceased main characters in the Season Five finale before The Other Side is completely destroyed, being the last to cross back to the living.
 * He is the fourth Original Vampire to be resurrected, the first being Mikael and the second and third being Finn and Kol respectively (only in spirit).
 * Alaric is the second Original to be fully resurrected into his Original Vampire body in TVD, alongside Mikael in TO.
 * Alaric was still an Enhanced Original after his resurrection.
 * It is unknown if Alaric's life is still linked to Elena's upon resurrection.
 * It is confirmed in Season 6 that Alaric can compel vampires, since he was made with Esther's Original Vampire Spell, retaining, for the most part, the powers of Original Vampires.
 * A new rivalry? We are very excited about Alaric’s return and plan to incorporate him in Elena’s life, hoping to give a type of parental touchstone to her... Enzo, as we left him, is still a bit of a loose canon wild thing and I can’t wait until the two butt heads.
 * Julie Plec says that although Enzo (Michael Malarkey) can be charming, she hints that he will more likely piss Alaric off.
 * Alaric reveals that since his return to the living as an Original Vampire, drinking bourbon barely makes a dent, indicating his vampirism makes it harder to get drunk like he used to.
 * In The More You Ignore Me The Closer I Get, Alaric becomes a human again.
 * In Let Her Go Jo finds out she's pregnant with his baby.
 * After losing Jo and the twins in I'm Thinking Of You All The While, Alaric attempted to kill himself. He failed, due to using all of his bullets in an attempt to kill Kai in revenge for killing Jo and the twins.