Further, the holy symbols associated with the vampire are generally those of the Catholic and Greek Orthodox Churches, reflecting the region of Europe in which the vampire myth matured. Generally those stories are closer to the vampire tradition of Europe, a tradition that evolved in an intensely religious world.
The situation was far different in 19th century and earlier fiction. Holy Symbols in Folklore and Pre-Twentieth Century Vampire FictionĪs can be seen from Davis’ survey above, the trend in modern Vampire fiction is away from the efficacy of Holy symbols as wards against the undead. It could also reflect a spreading disinterest in religion and a rejection of religion’s control over the individual. I attribute this to a growing awareness in our society of the variety of religious experiences available around the world, and the recognition that there are many people (including vampires) to whom Christian religious symbols are meaningless. I think that the five examples cited show that modern authors are definitely moving away from religious symbolism to control/avoid vampires. He expects to be struck by lightening or something, but is unharmed even though he is in ‘a House of God’ and touches the crucifix.
He is not afraid of religious symbols, but occasionally pretends to be intimidated so as to get his adversary to drop his/her guard.Īnne Rice’s Louis ( Interview With The Vampire) even goes into a Catholic church in Paris, enters a confessional and ends up killing the priest. Elrod’s series, The Vampire Files, states that he was a pretty good guy before he died, and he is still a pretty good guy as a vampire. Valentine lets his servants use crucifixes to control the other vampires, and doesn’t tell his fledglings there is no power in such symbols. Somtow, Valentine the vampire has outgrown any fear of silver or religious symbols, but younger vampires believe that such items can hurt them, so they are intimidated by them. The vampires are allergic to silver and certain types of wood. In Those Who Hunt The Night by Barbara Hambly, the vampires are unaffected by religious symbols one even wears a crucifix. In The Dracula Tape by Fred Saberhagen, Count Dracula explains that he is not frightened by religious symbols, but that he has such respect for Christianity (being a Catholic himself, as I recall) that he objects to the profaning of sacred symbols by their use against him.
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