What are vampires afraid of?

Answer 1

First Answer:

Garlic, silver, sunlight (all of which can either seriously harm or kill according to tradition), the cross, holy water (from traditional Christian teaching that vampires are agents of the devil thus being unable to gaze upon or touch any sacred object), the stake, being burned alive (two common methods that supposedly kill any vampire for good) and depending on who you believe, various other minor things that might just be very annoying to them.

Second Answer by InuNoTaisho

Garlic was the potent plant of choice because of its overpowering smell and the fact that the scent of it is so strong that it actually comes out of the pores of the skin with sweat. Since it was so good at "repelling", it became a belief that it would work on vampires.

Silver is a metal that will burn the skin of vampires and will kill them if it is introduced to the inside of their bodies as an arrow tip or as a bullet. This is because in biblical lore, Jesus was betrayed by Judas for a handful silver coins. Because of its involvement with the slaying of Jesus, silver was deemed a "holy" metal and was forever denied to the forces of evil. This is why a vampire can never touch it.

Mirrors in the old days were made using a silver coating on the back to make the reflective surface. Again, because silver was declared a holy metal, silver could not reflect the image of one so damned as a vampire. Interestingly, this is also why they didn't photograph well when photo processes came along. The processes that used a silver plate or silver based emulsions could not capture the image of a vampire.

The sun is a distinct purifying agent throughout history. It emits ultraviolet, which is commonly used in some purification techniques today, and it also emits a great deal of heat and light. Heat and fire are used to make meat and foods safe to eat, and light dispels darkness and lights the way. From a pure philosophical standpoint, the sun has many properties that a vampire would find disagreeable. A vampire is buried in the cold ground or in a cold stone mausoleum. He/she is interred in the dark away from the light. Their bodies are cold and icy to the touch and they are devoid of the "light" of life. This is why it was believed that exposure to the sun would burn them to ashes.

There is a great deal more vampire lore, but these are the principal "fears" a vampire would have (according to classical beliefs).