7
votes
Accepted
Why is silver in particular effective against dark creatures like vampires?
First I'll get this out of the way: No research is truly comprehensive without TVTropes:
The myth of silver's mystical properties goes deep into human history. As a noble metal akin to gold, this ...
- 90
6
votes
Why can't vampires walk in the sun?
We should perhaps first note that vampires are hardly the only creatures that can not stand sunlight; it is a common attribute among mystical creatures that they only appear at night, and that some of ...
- 6,037
5
votes
Are there any mythological cures for vampirism?
Most cultures believed that vampires were humans that were raised from the dead or demons, so they didn't look into cures so much as killing them or preventing them from coming back from the dead.
It'...
- 151
4
votes
Why don't vampires migrate?
The ethnographer Nikolaos Politis in tale 933 of his Paradoseis records the belief that vrykolakes, the Greek folklore version of the vampire, cannot cross the sea. Although this doesn't completely ...
- 17.1k
4
votes
Why can't vampires walk in the sun?
If you're looking for a Doylist answer, as it were, vampirism is linked to the actual disease porphyria. Someone with chronic porphyria develops blisters after being out in the sun for a short amount ...
4
votes
Accepted
Are vampires vulnerable to crucifixes because of the crucifixion of Jesus?
This question might be of interest.
If it's correct that modern vampire folklore largely derives from Stoker, then most likely the answer to your question is yes. Vampire literature only seems to ...
- 623
2
votes
Are there official terms in any cultures for vampire hideouts?
In English, you often see "lair" used. You can see a bunch as book titles, even going back to the 19th century.
Lair, of course, isn't only used with vampires, but I think that's history ...
cmw♦
- 7,401
2
votes
Why don't vampires migrate?
I suppose it depends on your definition of "vampire", but a defining characteristic of the vampire in the medieval world was that he must return to his grave to rest. With that stipulation long ...
2
votes
Why do so many cultures have monsters that prey on families?
The family unit was like a religion to people in the olden days and the importance of family honour more keenly felt, even to the extent that anything (bad) that happened in the family might have to ...
- 127
2
votes
Vampires in Religious texts
The Greeks had a myth on vampires found in Delphi scriptures.
That evening he walked to the pond and found a swan which he then killed and offered to Artemis who then appeared to him. She had been ...
2
votes
What's the origin of “vampires must be invited”?
The belief goes back at least to the 17th century. Leo Allatius recorded in De Graecorum hodie quorundam opinationibus (On the Beliefs of the Greeks, published in 1645) that a vrykolakas cannot harm ...
- 17.1k
1
vote
Can Vampires Take Form of Nocturnal Animals?
if I remember right it's also suggested he turns into a large dog at some point in London so the dog or wolf could be possible.
do you specifically mean European vampires because most cultures have ...
- 11
1
vote
Are vampires called anything else in European folklore?
Vampires
Vampires of European and other mythologies often overlap in concept with modern ideas of witches, zombies, and werewolves, however the ostensibly Romanian term Nosferatu has cultural ...
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