Alaric Saltzman is a main character of The Vampire Diaries. He is a former recurring character of first half of Season One, Season Four and Season Five. He also served as the main antagonist in Season Three along with the Mikaelson Family. Alaric 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 Bonnie; 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 lead 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.