The Vampire Diaries is coming back soon, and the first promo featuring season 4 footage has been released! See glimpses of Elena’s transformation and what Stefan is willing to do to prevent it!

The stunning first look at season 4 promises “A new chapter” in The Vampire Diaries series, as Elena is faced with the fact that her human self has died, and that she is transitioning into a vampire.

Well… not if Stefan can help it. While Damon is ready to sit back and let her feed so she can complete her transition, Stefan is going to be looking for any possible way to reverse what Meredith did to Elena when she fed her the blood.

With Jeremy’s help, Bonnie seeks to save Elena by traveling to the other side, to find Elena’s spirit – insinuating, by the way, that vampires are not really the people they were before they transformed, which the series has previously led us to believe.

Meanwhile, Caroline gets frisky with what we assume to be Klaus in Tyler’s body. And she and her mother also seem to find themselves in another dangerous situation, this time with a couple of scary-looking newcomers. Could they be in league with the new vampire hunter in town, played by Todd Williams?

While this is the first promo released for season 4, we have received some episode stills showing scenes that were also glimpsed in this trailer.

Many questions arise now: will Elena transition, and if yes (which, let’s face it, is probably the case), who will force her to feed? Damon? Or maybe her own urges will be too strong. Will Bonnie come back from her trip to the other side unscathed? And when will Caroline discover the truth about, er, Klauler?

You can expect lots of discussion and analysis of this trailer on the next Vampire Hype podcast, so make sure to listen and subscribe via iTunes!

What did you think about this trailer? Did it satiate your need for new The Vampire Diaries content, or has it just made the wait until October 11 even more unbearable?!