Safety from Vampires!

juniper_branch_fullIt’s so reassuring to me that in legends, vampires cannot enter your home unless you invite them! That makes them almost safer than humans! Humans who bear you ill will can smash in through a window, charge through your wall with a chainsaw, and such. Vampires can’t touch you if you’re safe and cozy inside. If a vampire’s standing outside waiting to do you harm, too bad for them! You can even stand right up at the doorway or window and stick your tongue out at the vampire, or bite your thumb at it! You can dance a little jig and insult its vampire prowess all you want, and there’s nothing it can do as long as you don’t step outside or invite it in. You can just bring out some garlic, have yourself a cup of tea, and sleep peacefully inside until sunrise!
There are lots of ways to protect yourself from vampires. Hang garlic cloves all around your house. Hang up bells. Throw some poppy seeds across your porch. Pour some unbroken lines of salt across entryways, and sleep in a circle of salt. Wrap silver chains around your doors! Hang up a crucifix. Keep some holy water handy.
Why do these things work? Salt is a common protective tool against demons and evil beings of all sorts. It was held as important from even ancient times. It’s essential to humans, has been used in rituals, and used as a preserver, of course. It could keep things from decaying, or at least slow the process. It was soon ascribed with magical powers; the ability to keep evil away.
Garlic was used in many cultures, and much folklore has garlic protecting against all sorts of evil, including werewolves.
Other sorts of plants and leaves like holly and juniper would protect against vampires. Beliefs about different substances that warded off evil were applied to vampire creatures as well. Also, vampires are said to be unable to cross a thicket of wild rose or hawthorn. These are protecting plants against evil, from unknown origins.
Many cultures, including Greek and Chinese, have myths about spirits that cannot cross moving bodies of water. This has been applied to the vampire as well, over time.
Holy water and crucifixes come, of course, from the Christian mythologies about protection from devils and demons. Water blessed by a priest would be destructive to any agent of evil. Crucifixes, the symbol of sacrifice and God’s love, would surely protect from any creature of Satan. Silver may also have some religious connections, but the origin of the silver myth is uncertain.
Mirrors are also stem from religious superstition. Mirrors are supposed to be the reflection of the soul; pure mirrors, backed in silver. Vampires have no soul.
Why bells? Why poppy seeds? Well, demons of all sort had an aversion to the ringing of bells. The sound of bells was loathsome to evil spirits, and so vampires are equally repelled. Poppy seeds, or any sort of small seeds, or anything of that sort, were useful, according to myth, because vampires would have to stop and count every single seed before they could continue. And the hope would be that the vampire would get stuck counting seeds and not notice the time, and then the sun would rise and destroy the creature.

By Holiday

Holiday is a secretive squonk from deep in the darkness of the forests. She loves helping people, reading about obscure myths and folklore, and having adventures.

9 comments

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  3. seriously GARLIC SALT what is this THE OLD STONE AGE OR SOMETHING what are 3 you no nothing about vamps nothing unlike me where i know everything there is to know bye people

  4. I think this website is for the kids or something. I honestly thing everything that was said in this article came from movies and fiction books! Salt is for demons and ghosts Logically I do not believe vampires because a percentage of our human blood is made of salt so it does not make sense! Any demon or unholy being as you call them can touch a cross but do not like them as it represents everything they are against! Holly water is the same it can cause harm possibly but it wouldn’t be deadly. Silver maybe I have no clue about this only what movies and books say but I do not understand the reason behind it. The dumbest shit I saw was the poppy seeds I do not know of anyone or anything that would be retarded enough to count thousands of seeds why seeds so now vampires have OCD?? LOL! Say they had to count all the seeds for some odd reason, they are very fast at everything what would make a person think they could not count super fast as well… Then wild roses and moving bodies of water again not logical to me simple reasons wild roses are at the beach so vampires don’t go to the beach at night? Also moving bodies of water so they cant travel either come on!!!!!!!! I really know nothing about vampires other than they deserve respect as someone higher on the food chain and my elders, and some common sense!

    1. This website isn’t for kids. All the things mentioned in this post come directly from old vampire folklore. The salt, the seeds..etc. it was all things once believed back in the day.

  5. Interestingly, holy water is made from consecrated salt. One consecrates the salt first by reading aloud Psalm 103, then taking natural water, sprinkle the holy salt into it, recite prayers, exorcise the water.

    That crude you may find around the screw on cap, storing holy water in a metal flask is most likely salt residual.

    So, it’s another salt prevention?

    The benediction of the salt….
    “The Blessing of the Father Almighty be upon this Creature of Salt, and let all malignity and hindrance be cast forth hence from, and let all good enter herein, for without Thee man cannot live, wherefore I bless thee and invoke thee, that thou mayest aid me.” – Key of Solomon the King Book II Chapter 5

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