Ben McKittrick

Benjamin "Ben" McKittrick was a former high school football player for Mystic Falls High School, but was a few years ahead of Matt, Bonnie, Elena, Tyler and Caroline in school. Ben worked as a bartender at the Mystic Grill after graduating. Later, he was turned into a vampire by Anna and was killed by Stefan Salvatore.
==Early History==
Ben was a lifelong resident of Mystic Falls, and a former star of the local football team. After high school, his friends moved away to go to college, but he didn't, so he became a washed-up jock and began working as a bartender at the Mystic Grill.
==Throughout The Vampire Diaries Series==
===Season One===
He was turned into a vampire by Anna, a centuries-old vampire who needed a convenient partner with "eyes and ears" around the town to help her with her agenda, which was to free her mother from the vampire tomb under the old Fell's Church. She felt sympathy for Ben's hopelessness regarding where he was going in life.
Pretending still to be human, he continued working as a bartender at the Grill and was chivalrous enough to come to Bonnie's aid when she was being bothered by Damon, though this later turned out to be revealed as part of his and Anna's plan. Anna's mother Pearl had been among those rounded up and locked in the tomb in 1864, and she needed a Bennett witch to help her in her quest to open it.
Anna and Ben had a somewhat romantic relationship, although Anna basically used Ben as a tool in her plot. Ben's task to aid Anna in opening the tomb was to seduce and kidnap Bonnie Bennett with the intention to use her to lift her ancestor Emily's spell that kept the tomb sealed. They kidnapped Elena to use as leverage to motivate Bonnie to perform the spell. Both were later rescued by Stefan, who burst into the hotel room where Anna and Ben were staying and burnt Ben with the sunlight through the door. As Ben cowered away from the sun behind a bed, Stefan warned Ben to leave town, though Ben chose to ignore the threat.
Being a newly turned vampire, Ben was boastful and arrogant, reveling in his immortality and newfound strength and speed. It is likely that he was not changed against his will, as when Stefan told him that all Anna cared about was freeing her mother, Ben replied that it didn't matter because she had already given him what he wanted. He told Stefan he wasn't strong enough to beat him because of Stefan's 'vegetarian' diet, which gave him more diminished abilities than vampires who drank human blood, but since he was much older, Stefan easily subdued him and killed him by using a flamethrower to set him ablaze.
==Personality==
Being a newly turned vampire, Ben was boastful and arrogant, and reveled in his new powers. It is likely that he was not changed against his will, as when Stefan told him that all Anna cared about was freeing her mother, Ben replied that it didn't matter because she had already given him what he wanted. He told Stefan he wasn't strong enough to beat him because of Stefan's "vegetarian" diet, but as Stefan was much older than Ben, he was easily able to kill him by setting him on fire with a flamethrower.
==Physical Appearance==
Ben was an attractive older teen with an athletic build and tall stature. He had short, dark brown hair and brown eyes.
==Powers and Abilities==
Ben possessed all the standard powers and abilities of a non-Original vampire.
==Weaknesses==
Ben had the typical weaknesses of a non-Original vampire.
==Relationships==
===Bonnie Bennett===
Ben was Bonnie's first love interest. They had first met at Mystic Grill when she and Caroline had went there after the Halloween dance. Caroline had told her that she shouldn't date him, but Bonnie went ahead and did just that. They dated for about three episodes and shared their first kiss. Shortly afterwards, Ben abducted Bonnie and brought her to his sire, Anna. In the end, Ben was only using Bonnie for his own gain and proved that he had no feelings for her.
===Anna===
At some point, Anna possibly turned Ben and used him to capture Bonnie and Elena. She even kissed him, but it was clear that she didn't feel any romantic feelings for him. She just saw him as a pawn and a means to an end. She only used him to continue with her plans to free her mother from the Vampire's Tomb.
===Other Relationships===
*Stefan and Ben (Enemies/Stefan killed him)
*Elena and Ben (Enemies)
==Appearances==
Season One
*Unpleasantville
*Children of the Damned
*Fool Me Once (Death)
==Name==
*Ben is short form of Benjamin. It is of Hebrew origin, and means "son of my right hand".https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_(name)
*McKittrick is of Scottish and Irish origin. It comes from an Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Shitrig, a patronymic from a Gaelic form of the Old Norse personal name Sigtryggr, which is composed of the elements sigr "victory" + tryggr "true".https://www.ancestry.com/name-origin?surname=mckittrick
==Trivia==
*Ben was the first vampire in the series to be killed with fire.
*Ben was attacked by fire twice -
**First by Bonnie Bennett, who splashed water from a cup onto him and set it on fire.
**Second by Stefan Salvatore, who set him ablaze with a flamethrower.
*Ben was the first man Bonnie was attracted to who was secretly conspiring against her and her friends. The second was Luka Martin. Also both men were killed by a Salvatore brother with a flamethrower.
*The actor who played Ben, Sean Faris, played a character in the Smallville episode, Nocturne, who also avoided sunlight.
*It is not clear if he was a Jerk Jock or a Dumb Jock . Either way, his glory days are over, he is just a bartender in a small town - a Jaded Washout .
*With the Other Side's collapse and destruction of Hell, he either found peace or went to a dimension similar to Hell, if one exists.
==Gallery==
TVD112-020-Matt-Ben.png
TVD112-021-Ben.png
TVD112-027-Bonnie-Ben-Damon.png
TVD112-028~Bonnie-Ben.png
TVD112-088-Ben.png
TVD112-095-Bonnie-Ben.png
TVD112-097~Bonnie-Ben.png
TVD112-157-Ben.png
TVD112-160~Anna-Ben.png
TVD112-161-Ben-Anna.png
TVD112-162-Anna-Ben.png
TVD113-026-Ben.png
TVD113-027-Ben-Sunlight.png
TVD113-028-Ben-Journal-Anna.png
TVD113-037-Flashback~Giuseppe-Benjamin-Johnathan.png
TVD113-038-Flashback~Johnathan-Giuseppe-Benjamin.png
TVD113-049-Anna-Ben.png
TVD113-076-Ben-Bonnie.png
TVD113-077-Ben.png
TVD113-084-Ben.png
TVD113-123-Ben.png
TVD113-125-Ben-Bonnie.png
TVD113-127-Ben-Bonnie.png
TVD113-128-Bonnie-Ben.png
TVD113-139-Flashback-Benjamin-Johnathan.png
TVD114-002-Ben.png
TVD114-003-Ben.png
TVD114-004~Elena-Anna-Ben.png
TVD114-014-Ben.png
TVD114-038-Ben-Bonnie.png
TVD114-041~Elena-Ben~Bonnie.png
TVD114-042-Ben-Elena.png
TVD114-049~Bonnie-Ben.png
TVD114-051~Bonnie-Stefan~Elena-Ben.png
TVD114-052-Ben-Sunlight.png
TVD114-054-Ben.png
TVD114-061-Ben.png
TVD114-084-Duke's Party~Jeremy-Anna-Ben.png
TVD114-102-Ben-Jeremy~Stefan.png
TVD114-113-Ben-Jeremy~Stefan.png
TVD114-115-Ben-Stefan.png
==References==
==See also==
fr:Ben McKittrick
Category:Characters
Category:The Vampire Diaries (series)
Category:The Vampire Diaries Characters
Category:The Vampire Diaries Season One Characters
Category:Male Characters
Category:Recurring Characters
Category:Antagonists
Category:Mystic Falls Residents
Category:Supernatural
Category:Vampires
Category:Ghosts
Category:Deceased