Free Vampires Through the Ages by Brian Righi Page B

a group of common villagers, armed with only rudimentary shovels, torches, and a handful of wooden stakes, can indeed force the hunter to become the hunted. Turning the tables on one of history’s most infamous creatures was by no means an exact science, however, and it was achieved through a variety of methods that varied from culture to culture and depended to a large degree on the religious beliefs of the population and the resources at hand. Make no mistake about it though, in the centuries-old battle against the undead, man was by no means defenseless.
    Protective Talismans and Wards
    Perhaps one of the oldest weapons at man’s disposal was the widespread use of talismans and other wards, ranging anywhere from magical amulets and sacred symbols to some of the most ordinary objects the peasants could get their hands on. Objects such as crucifixes, mirrors, horseshoes, scissors, fishing nets, holy water, precious metals, and common herbs were just some of the items topping the list. As different as they may seem, what they all held in common was a supernatural ability to repel evil or bring good fortune.
    Two of the most potent wards in the folklore of the vampire are items that can still be found in most household kitchens today and were not only employed against bloodsucking revenants but also witches, demons, and other evil spirits. The first is a simple species of onion known by the Latin name Allium sativum or, for the rest of us, garlic. Marked by a distinctively pungent smell, it was first used as a charm among the Egyptians, who hung wreaths of it next to the beds of their children to chase off a type of vampiric night spirit known for stealing the breath of infants as they slept. In China and other parts of Asia, garlic was smeared on the foreheads of children to keep them from falling prey to similar creatures, and in the West Indies it was an important ingredient in magical spells to protect from evil. Amid the lands of Eastern Europe, garlic was eaten as everyday protection against vampires and was rubbed on the doors and windowsills of houses, the gateposts of farms, and the horns of cattle.
    If garlic reached a bit of an obsession for some, then at times it could even be taken too far, such as on January 9, 1973, when an article appeared in the London Times titled “Immigrant’s Fears of Vampires Led to Death.” The article described a sixty-eight-year-old Polish man in Stoke-on-Trent named Demitrious Myiciura, who died in his sleep after accidentally choking on a piece of garlic. It appears that he placed a sliver of it in his mouth before going to bed and also smeared it on the bedroom’s windowsills and stuffed it in the keyhole of his door. As an added precaution, he placed bags of salt near his head and between his legs. His landlady later told investigators that the man believed vampires were trying to get him.
    A second ward, briefly mentioned in the case of the Polish man above, is salt. While generally utilized as a food preservative and seasoning, it’s not only the oldest mineral used by man but also essential in sustaining human life as one of the primary electrolytes in the body. In some traditions its powers went even beyond these, and it was placed in the cribs of infants to protect them from evil until they could be baptized or upon coffins before burial to keep evil spirits from entering the corpse. Even in today’s world of scientific reasoning and rationalism, glimpses of its former use still remain in the superstition of throwing a pinch of it over the shoulder if a salt shaker is accidentally knocked over.
    As with garlic, there were a number of plants and herbs employed as wards against the vampire, including mustard seeds, which were sprinkled on the rooftops of many European homes to keep the creature out. The same effect was achieved in certain South American countries by hanging an aloe plant behind a door. In Bosnia, one interesting ritual, practiced