In variations on the vampire-destroying ritual of Exorcism, garlic is usually placed in the mouth of the monster in order to purify the connection between the flesh and the spirit, which thereby eliminates tainted spiritual energy.
However there’s an early Christian belief that when Satan left Eden, garlic plants grew from his left footprints and onion from the right. In Islamic beliefs, the Koran says: “Whoever eats onions, garlic or leeks should not go to the mosque because his breath may disturb the angels and the people.”
Jason Beam, Eternal Empress
“This piece is Eternal Empress, and features supermodel Christy Hemme. Christy is a very power person who exemplifies the qualities of beauty, strength, and intensity. I can think of no better qualities for a vampire queen. And, perhaps no more frightening qualities as well.”—Jason Beam is a photographer, artist, and illustrator.
Garlic’s protective qualities, however, far outweigh any occasional connection to evil. In fact, garlic is used as a protection against many kinds of evil throughout Europe and Asia, and is hung on doorways and windows to ward off vampires, werewolves, evil witches, ghosts, and demons. In Bavaria, for example, the Blautsauger is kept from entering a house by smearing the windows and doors with mashed garlic. In some countries, including Bavaria, garlic paste is lathered onto livestock to keep them safe from vampiric attack.
WHAT ABOUT A POINTED STICK?
The stake through the heart business is a tricky one because it does appear in folktales of vampires from all over the world, but it is not used to kill the undead. Despite the quick, clean “dustings” shown on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or the bloody stakings in so many vampire films, the stake was not generally a weapon used to actually destroy a vampire7 but a tool in a more elaborate exorcism. In cases of ritual destruction of a vampire, a stake (of wood or metal) was driven through the body (chest, stomach, wherever) of a resting vampire. This did not end the vampire’s life (or un-life) but rather pinned the vampire either to its coffin or to the ground, preventing it from rising. Once restrained in this fashion, the vampire slayers would decapitate the creature, often filling the mouth with garlic. The corpse was then either re-interred or burned. It is the decapitation and burning, not the staking, that does the job.
BURN, BABY, BURN
There are few constants in vampire disposal, though by far the great majority of the world’s many vampiric creatures fear fire, and that puts a new topspin on the adage that “fire cleanses.” Fire destroys the physical remains to such a degree that there is nothing substantial left to reanimate. And it’s widely believed that even hellish evil is destroyed so long as it is burned while inside a reanimated human body.
Like most aspects of monster hunting, incineration has been frequently ritualized. In the Czech Republic, for example, when the vampiric Nelapsi is burned, the ashes are spread over fields and along roads as a final charm against evil. In Romania, the ashes of a destroyed Strigoi are mixed with water and fed to the members of the Strigoi’s surviving human family to cure them of any sickness or evil taint. Here are some other variations on fire as a weapon against evil.
Need fire: This custom, also known as “wildfire,” appears throughout Europe. To begin the process all of the other fires in a village are extinguished and a new fire is ignited by the ages-old tradition of rubbing two sticks together or using the rope-and-stake method. The new spark is blessed according to local traditions, some of which are not exactly textbook Christian, and many of which significantly predate the Christian era. Once the fire is burning, all other candles, torches, and cookfires are lit from it, either directly or in a kindle-down-the-lane method. In this way all of the fire in the village starts from the same source. The need fire is used to ignite a bonfire in the center of a field on which green branches and leaves have been thrown to produce a thick and visible smoke. If there is a blight on the livestock that is believed to be of supernatural origin, then all of the livestock are walked through the smoke. In most cases the villagers walk through the smoke as well, thereby receiving a purifying blessing. If it is discovered that a single fire burned in the village that was not started by this fire, then the magic fails, and in some cases invites more and terrible evil into the village. This is a serious offense. A need fire created in the small village of Quedlinburg, Leipzig, in 1855 was spoiled by a small night candle left burning in the local parsonage. Even smoke from a cigar or a pipe lit by a match is enough to spoil the effect.
Bone fire: A variation of this ritual involves cremating any livestock believed to be infected by a vampire, or even the bones of a vampire itself. Or, lacking the actual monster, then effigies of evil things such as vampires, witches, and werewolves are thrown into the fire. The body is completely burned, with the blaze stoked until even the toughest bones are reduced to ash. This type of sacrifice actually gave the blaze its name: bone fire (though over the years the name has been bastardized to the more common “bonfire”). In a ritual similar to the need fire, once this fire has burned down and cooled, the villagers will quickly walk through the smoky ashes, purifying themselves of any taint of evil. Livestock and even family pets are likewise driven through the ashes to remove any taint of evil from each living thing in the village. A small part of the fire is kept aside and allowed to burn, and when everyone has passed through the ashes, embers or tapers from this special fire are carried to each person’s home and used to reignite the hearth fires. Then the ember is extinguished and kept as a talisman against evil. The remaining ashes from the bonfire are scattered along the roads as a final defense against supernatural forces. In some cases, the ashes of a torched vampire are mixed with pure water and given to members of the vampire’s living family as protection against a similar fate.
Variations on need fires and bone fires abound, though often the direct connection between the blaze and the spiritual protection afforded to the people is not consciously considered. For many, a bonfire is a place to party; and yet the shared experience takes us back to some tribal bonding ritual that is itself a defense against the unknown.
Common fire rituals include:
• January 6. Bonfires are lit to celebrate the Epiphany day. Straw witches dressed in old clothes are thrown into the fire to ward off evil and remove it from the community.
• January 6. The last day of the Icelandic Christmas season sees bonfires lit for good luck and prosperity.
• April 30. The residents of Limerick, Ireland, build bonfires to celebrate Beltane, the day that marks the midpoint in the sun’s progress between the spring equinox and summer solstice. Since the Celtic year was based on both lunar and solar cycles, it is possible that the holiday was celebrated on the full moon nearest the midpoint between the spring equinox and the summer solstice.8 Though this celebration is primarily held in Limerick, it was originally widespread throughout the Celtic lands and there is some movement to restore it to common practice.
• May 1. On a more mundane level, Slovenians build bonfires on this date to celebrate Labor Day.
• June 21. On midsummer’s night eve, a pagan event is celebrated with a bonfire in honor of the summer solstice.
• June 23. In Denmark, the bonfires are held on the night of June 23, combined with the burning of a witch made from straw and clothes.
• June 24. On the celebration of the solemnity of John the Baptist (holy day in the liturgical calendar that begins with the vigil on the evening before the actual date of a feast in celebration of Jesus or a saint), and on Saturday night before Easter, bonfires are lit throughout continental Europe. A similar festival, known as “Bonfire Night,” is held on June 23 in Ireland and other Celtic countries.
• October 31. In Ireland bonfires blaze in celebration of Halloween.
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