Protection against Vampires

Coinciding with the emergence of the belief in vampires was the designation of methods of protecting oneself from them. In the West, the vampire first appeared as a threat to infants and to mothers at the time of birth, and the best protection available was the use of magic. The earliest barriers known to have been used against vampire attacks were magical words and acts, which survived in the more recent use of prayer and Bible quotes. In the first century, Ovid left an account of an ancient ritual to protect a child, which included touching the door where the infant resided with a branch of a plant, sprinkling the entrance of the house with water, and killing a pig that was offered to the strix (vampire) as alternative food. The words spoken during this ritual included: Birds of the night (i.e., the strix), spare the entrails of the boy. For a small victim (the pig) falls. Take heart for heart, I pray, entrails for entrails. This life we give you in place of a better one.

After the pronunciation of the formula, the house was further secured with thorn branches at the window.

This ancient account of warding off the attack of a vampire mentions one of the several most common items that served to protect people from vampires: the thorn. The hawthorn, in part because of its association with the story of Jesus' death, was the most common across southern Europe, but other thorns were used as magical barriers against both vampires and witches. Both the obvious problems that the wild thorn bush had presented to humans and its many values when properly utilized suggested the extension of its role into the supernatural realm. And in fact, it was reported as an anti-witch and anti-vampire shield not only in Europe, but in Asia and the Americas.

Possibly even more than thorns, the pungent herb garlic, which was utilized as both a medicine and a food flavoring, was also a protective device used to ward off witches and vampires. Garlic was found in all parts of the world, particularly in the warmer climates, and everywhere found its way onto the list of anti-vampire items. Garlic's inherent value as a medicine, coupled with its strong offensive smell, suggest its power to drive away the forces of evil.

The other ubiquitous protective device against vampires was seeds. All around the world people scattered seeds between themselves and the suspected vampire as a barrier. Vampires were thought to be fascinated with counting seeds, be they mustard, millet, grass, linen, carrot, poppy, or rice. The seeds might be scattered in the coffin, over the grave, on the path between the grave site and the village, or around a home that the vampire might enter. The vampire would either have to count the seeds slowly, one per year, or be caught in a situation of having to collect and count enough seeds that it could not finish its task before dawn.

In Europe, especially since medieval times, objects sacred to Christianity, most commonly the crucifix, the eucharistic wafer, and holy water, have been cited as effective protective devices. Vampires were identified with the realm of the devil, and Satan and his minions could not exist in the presence of the holy. Mere priests, also being sinners, were not themselves holy whereas the cross and eucharistic host were symbolic of the very presence of God. In Latin American countries, sacred pendants were attached to a child's bed clothes. In Eastern Orthodox countries, an icon (such as a holy picture) had the same sacred value as a crucifix. Around the world, several other sacred objects have been noted, but were not prominent in non-Christian societies. Here the vampire, indeed the whole realm of evil, was not seen in such polarized categories as it was in the Christian world.

The use of holy objects that banished the unholy also led to a consideration of various purifying agents. The most universal was fire. Fire, while destructive, cleansed. It was a major agent in destroying the vampire, but could also be used to drive the vampire away.

From accounts around the world, numerous items have been used to ward off vampiric evil. Some are purely defensive, forming a barrier between the vampire and its potential victim. Others create an aura or atmosphere that the vampire would avoid. A few were more offensive and would actually harm the vampire. Typical of the defensive protective devices would be the many things that could be placed in a bedroom to ward off a vampire. Shoes turned around, a mirror placed by the door, and a broom put behind a door all served in one or more cultures as a vampire barrier.

Items with illumination or smell, such as candles or garlic, were usually the best to create a protective atmosphere. However, metal, typically pieces of iron, placed under or near a baby's crib was thought to keep vampires away in many diverse cultures. Iron, when used as a structural feature could form a strong physical barrier for it was substance that vampires avoid. To a lesser extent, silver was used in a similar manner. Needles, knives, and scissors were also placed near the bed to be used against the vampire in the advent of an attack.

Protection against the Modern Vampire: With the secularization of the vampire myth in the late twentieth century, most of the prophylactic attributes of traditional protective items were lost. Recent vampires have been affected little by holy objects, thorns or seeds. Garlic alone remained an almost universal item that vampires were believed to avoid, and only a minority of contemporary Westerners used garlic with any regularity. Modern novels left victims with few protections from the onslaught of a vampire. Even fire, also still universally avoided by vampires, rarely occurred in modern society in a form useful to stave off a vampire's effort to reach its victim. Modern vampires generally have extra strength , but can be overcome by a group of people.

In recent novels and films, victims have had little to protect them should a vampire single them out. The only forces holding the vampire in check were: a possible moral commitment not to kill; or rational consideration, to be discrete, that kept a vampire from leaving a trail of blood-drained bodies to be found by authorities who would then discern the vampire's existence.