Vampire Prevention

by Kimberley
(England)

Question:
I know vampires cannot enter your house with out being invited in and cross's also keep them away from you, but are there any other ways at preventing vampires??

Answer:
Good question, Kimberley. There are several things you can do to keep vampires at a safe distance, though some work better than others.

As you mentioned, vampires cannot enter your house without being invited in. This, of course, is the easiest way to keep a vampire from getting too close, but at the same time you can't live your life never leaving your house. Home is the safest place (as long as you have not invited a vampire into it), but even that can be reinforced by adding some other tricks, such as hanging garlic from your porch.

As many legends suggest, garlic is an effective vampire deterrent to some extent. This page explains it in greater detail, but the gist is that vampires are highly "allergic" to a chemical in garlic that can be detected in both its taste and odor. Since vampires don't exactly have a hard time finding prey, the scent of garlic alone can sometimes be enough to convince them to choose a more appetizing target.

Crosses are one of many possible totems that can be used to deter vampires and other undead creatures and spirits. Explaining all of the variations is too big for this discussion, but I'll try to post something eventually. For now, the important thing to remember is that the symbol must have spiritual meaning to the bearer of the symbol in order for it to be effective. A Christian can use a cross if they believe that it will protect them from evil, but someone who doesn't believe this will not be protected using the same symbol. Any symbol or totem can be used as long as the user truly believes that it wards off evil. There are many stones and gems that can be made into amulets that have been believed for centuries to provide these powerful warding effects.

Sunlight is a natural deterrent, which keeps vampires away during the day. This, at least, allows someone being stalked by a vampire to be out on a sunny day and then rest safely at a protected home at night. If you are without sunlight, you can also use artifical sources of ultraviolet (UV) light to the same effect. Blacklights are one form of UV light, though probably the least effective, as they are low-energy, long-wave forms of UV light that don't cause a lot of damage to the sunlight-afflicted. Other forms of UV light are available, but are also potentially dangerous, so anyone considering using UV light should proceed with great caution.

Ultimately, there are only a few ways of keeping a vampire away. Unless you want to live as a prisoner in your own home, you probably aren't going to be able to keep one away completely. Like many predators, though, they tend to look for easy prey, so making yourself a more difficult or less desireable target amongst a group may very well be enough to keep you out of danger.

If you do find yourself the target of a vampire, be sure to read the article on how to kill a vampire so at least you will be prepared to fight back.

-Mike