"A cocky and witty vamp from 19th century England, Spike got his former (pre-bloodsucker) name, William the Bloody, because of his bloody awful poetry. In 1880 the sensitive poet was sired by his Vampire lover Drusilla and dubbed Spike because of his penchant for torturing victims with railroad spikes. Spike has killed two Slayers: one lived during the Boxer Rebellion; the second was a punk rock kid in New York whose trench coat has become part of Spike's signature look.

As one of the most interesting members of Sunnydale's night stalkers, Spike had an off-and-on romance with Drusilla, who ended up leaving our favorite bad boy the first time for the Chaos Demon and the second time for the Fungus Demon. According to Dru, the Victorian poet-turned-psychotic Slayer killer simply wasn't evil enough for her.

The wandering Spike returned to Sunnydale in search of the Gem of Amarra, which would make him invincible. Eventually, Spike began dating Harmony, the former Sunnydale High snob-turned-fang-face. Not surprisingly, that didn't work out, and somewhere along the line, Spike developed an unhealthy interest in more than just Buffy's blood: he wanted her body.

When the Initiative implanted a chip in Spike's head to render him harmless to humans, Spike became more a fringe member of the Scooby Gang than a nemesis. His sharp tongue and seductive attitude were eventually irresistible to Buffy, and they began a torrid affair that was both literally and figuratively destructive. Their subsequent breakup destroyed Spike and drove him to attack Buffy, but she fought back and declared she could never love him.

Devastated, Spike took off for Africa in search of a powerful demon who could help him give the Slayer what's coming to her. Regardless of what he was expecting, Spike received something no one anticipated: the return of his soul. Now, all bets are off, and who knows what will happen between Spike and the rest of the gang when he returns to Sunnydale?"

Date of Turning: 1880

Place of Birth: London, England

Occupation: Ex-poet/Vampire

During the episode "The Initiative" (season 4, episode 7) Spike says that he is 126 years old, but in "School Hard," Giles stated that he was "barely 200." Giles got his information from a book and could have been wrong. If Spike is counting the number of years he was a human (before becoming a vampier), then he must have been born in late 1872 or in 1873. If Spike is only referring to to his years as a vampire, then he must have been turned then. The UPN website (as seen above) shows the date of his turning as 1880.

Graham, a soldier from the Initiative, states in the same episode ("The Initiative") that vampires do not generate body heat (the Initiative's heat sensor clocked Spike in at 62.3 degrees Fahrenheit). So this means that they are the same temperature as the area around them.

ETOnline.Com Joss Whedon Answers! March 31, 2000

Question: Two questions that you have given conflicting answers for in the past -- how old is Spike (over 200 or 126), and who's his sire (Angel or Dru)??? What are the official answers?

JOSS Whedon: I don't have the math in front of me to figure out Spike's age, but it is closer to 126 than 200. I believe it was in 1850 that Angel made Drusilla and then Drusilla made Spike. Now, this is where it gets confusing for everybody, your sire can mean anybody in the line that made you. So, Drusilla is Spike's sire, but so is Angel in the sense that Angel made Drusilla and Drusilla made Spike. If we were being more literal we would call him a grandsire, but that term does not exist in the vampire world, so sire just means somebody that you are connected to because they came before you on the line. By that reckoning you could say that Darla is Spike's sire since she made Angel.

What's In a Name? The meaning of Spike's names.