Many concepts associated with vampires such as vampires having no reflection in a mirror or shunning garlic are believe to have been part of the myth for centuries. Instead, many of them originated in 1897 with the publication of Bram Stoker’s Dracula.
Vampires Can Turn Into Bats
Though vampires and bats were often associated with one another in earlier tales, it was not until Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula that vampires actually transformed themselves into bats. In the story, Dracula rules bats. He often assumes bat-like characteristics and his presence at night is often signified by a bat hovering outside a potential victim’s window.
Vampires Have No Reflection in Mirrors
Soon after his arrival, guest Jonathan Harker noticed that Dracula’s castle was devoid of mirrors. Harker was spooked when Dracula came up behind him and he noticed that his host’s reflection did not appear in his shaving mirror. Count Dracula, complaining that mirrors were objects of human vanity, shattered the mirror.
The concept of the vampire not being able to see his reflection does not appear in earlier vampire lore, but folklore about mirrors is seen as revealing the soul.
Vampires Cannot Bear Contact With the Crucifix
The crucifix also entered vampire lore through Bram Stoker’s Dracula as a powerful tool against vampires. It was not specifically mentioned in historic vampire tales as being harmful to vampires, though it was long used as a sacred object for warding off evil in general. Following Dracula, the crucifix became a standard of vampire fiction. In Dracula, the crucifix did not burn the flesh of the vampire, but being near one did cause him to lose his supernatural strength
Vampires Can’t Stand Garlic
The vampire’s aversion to garlic also has its roots in Stoker’s Dracula. Van Helsing treated Lucy with garlic by bringing garlands of it into her room, which kept the vampire from entering.
The following vampire myths did not originate with Dracula. Most of them are part of earlier folklore.
Vampires Sleep in Coffins
Early literary vampires did not sleep in coffins. In the novel, Dracula did not have to sleep in a coffin, but he did have to sleep in his native soil, so he transported crates of it wherever he traveled. The coffin was derived specifically from the 1931 Dracula movie in which vampire for the first time rose out of their coffins. After that, boxes of earth in vampire lore were gradually were replaced by coffins.
Vampires Only Come Out at Night; Sunlight is Harmful
As nocturnal creatures, vampires have an aversion to sunlight. In Dracula, Jonathan Harker noted in his diary, “I have not yet seen the Count in the daylight. Can it be that he sleeps when others wake that he may be awake whilst they sleep!” Dracula’s power was strongest at night. In the daytime had diminished powers, but he was not destroyed or burned by sunlight.
Wooden Stake and Decapitation
The method of killing a vampire by impaling them on a stake and cutting off the head was part of European folklore long before Dracula. The idea of driving a wooden stake through the heart to kill a vampire comes from an ancient practice that predates the use of coffins when corpses of suspected vampires were staked to the ground to keep them from wandering. In literature, Carmilla was killed by a wooden stake in the novella of the same name by Sheridan Le Fanu.
Decapitation is the surest means of killing a vampire and ensuring they won’t return. Lucy was destroyed by a stake through the heart and decapitation after Van Helsing convinced her fiancé that she had joined the undead.
Sources:
Melton, Gordon J. The Vampire Book:
The Vampire Book, The Encyclopedia of the Undead, 2nd Edition. Canton, MI: Visible Ink Press, 1999.
ISBN 1-57859-9071X
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