Jewish ways to repel a vampire

DahlELama

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Ha, I love this idea--there seem to be so many areas where vampire lore and Jewish law overlap, from sundown being a crucial time to the necessity but non-kosher status of blood to Jews specifically posting religious artifacts on doorposts while vampires have to be invited to enter homes. I also can't help but imagine interactions between vampires and Kohanim (priests descended from Aaron), who aren't allowed to be in the vicinity of the dead.
 

poeticjustice_2001

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What a cool idea!

There are several writers out there that make vampires repelled by any religious symbol.. or in the case of Patricia Briggs, any symbol the person has faith in, even non-religious (her main character repels a vampire with her pendant of a lamb, because it has spiritual significance to her).
I think it's a cool idea overall, but if the vampire isn't Jewish but is repelled by Jewish symbols, maybe you should look up some basic Jewish mysticism info? Just to help with the logic in the plot.

Good luck!
 

J.S.F.

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The Star of David is the only thing I've ever heard of which can repel vampires of the Jewish persuasion or even of the Christian one. The first time I ever read about it was in one of Jack Chalker's books, 'And the devil will drag you under' which was written around twenty or so years ago. A really good read and one of the characters suggests repelling vampires using a cross if you're Christian or a Star of David if you're Jewish. You might also try using the symbol of "Chai" ("life") which would be the antithesis of a vampire's. JMO....
 

Shakesbear

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I find that very interesting - surely the vampires religion when s/he was a human would determine what religious artefact would be most suitable. What would be the point of waving a cross at a vampire that had been a Jewish human? Or a Magen David at a vampire that had been Christian?
 

horrorshowjack

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I am Legend (book not movie) had it work based on the vampire's mortal beliefs. A Jewish vamp freaked out about the Tablets of Moses, but didn't care about the cross.

Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires stated that statues of Buddha would work against vamps, but I don't remember if that was just Chinese ones or not. Chinese western vampires that is, not hopping vampires.
 

GeorgeK

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A can of wd40 with the fine spray tip and a lighter...Holy Symbol That You Undead Mother Sucker! (Btw...do not test that within a quarter mile of paper, plastic, wood, vehicles, asphalt or any living thing including low flying flocks of geese. It is also definitely not the recommended way to get rid of a wasp nest in the eaves of your garage, whether or not it has aluminum siding)

I can't do You Tubes, but am told that there are some spectacular ones to watch
 

jr7110

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There is a Silent film from 1920 called "The Dybbuk" and it is more like "The Exorcist" than a vampire film but a Dybbuk is an evil spirit in Jewish lore that possesses a human. It is not a "vampire" tale, but since Jewish symbolism is used to exorcise the spirit it could prove helpful in giving you some ideas for your story. Here is a wikipedia link and this film is actually available on Netflix if you want to rent it as research:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dybbuk
 

blacbird

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It isn't exactly a vampire story, but I'd recommend everyone read The Golem, by Gustav Meyrich, for a good look at the totemic supernatural in Jewish life in a European Ghetto a century ago.

caw
 

richcapo

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Just have the Jew beat the hell out of the vampire by whatever means. I'm sick of the magic doodad solution to the vampire problem. If you need magic involved in the beatdown, have the Jew invoke the strength of Metatron or the power of the Sephiroth and then rip the vampire to pieces -- a physical and metaphysical attack -- over the course of a badass battle.

Whipping out a cross or whatever to deal with a vampire is as lame as whipping out a chunk of Kryptonite to deal with Superman in my opinion. Just not a fan of that deus ex trinketna stuff.
 

thothguard51

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Jewish ways to repel a vampire

Start singing the Draddle (<sp?) song or whatever it is called...

Sorry, couldn't resist...
 

StephanieFox

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I don't know if this has been mentioned, but it would be hard to be a Jewish vampire because to keep kosher, you have to remove as much blood as possible from meat. You can't eat blood. Slaughtered animals are drained of all blood, which is allowed to go into the earth. You can't eat things made of blood, like blood sausage. So, you can't drink blood like a vampire would have to do. Plus, humans aren't kosher, either.

Of course a Jewish vampire could be secular or Reform.
 

Kaaba

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I don't know if this has been mentioned, but it would be hard to be a Jewish vampire because to keep kosher, you have to remove as much blood as possible from meat. You can't eat blood. Slaughtered animals are drained of all blood, which is allowed to go into the earth. You can't eat things made of blood, like blood sausage. So, you can't drink blood like a vampire would have to do. Plus, humans aren't kosher, either.

All the old testament references to blood being forbidden to consume could be used to make vampires realistic in a Jewish setting. The taboo could be explained by that supernatural creatures exist of the habit of consuming blood.
 

Maryn

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Psst! Kaaba, you have resurrected a dead thread from a decade ago. We call it "necro-ing" the thread. It's frowned upon because after ten years, the person who posed the original question is often long gone. In this case, the person was last here at the end of 2013.

You're not in trouble for doing this one time or anything, but we ask that you not do it. When or if you have a similar question or new information to add on a thread that's old, it makes more sense to start a new thread and in your post, include a link to the old one.

Maryn, guiding new users since way before the original post
 
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Kaaba

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sorry! I didn't look at the dates on the thread. it was close to the top of the board, so this board must not receive very much action.
 

Maryn

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Not a problem. Some boards move at a glacial pace, and others zip along busily. It's all good.
 

dickson

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There was a Mel Brooks film with a Jewish Vampire in it (can't remember the name...) and a scene where you have the typical cliche of the woman in a nightdress in bed with the Vampire approaching, she wakes up and brandishes a crucifix at him to which he responds in a very stereotypical Jewish voice 'Sorry, wrong vampire'. That scene has stuck in my mind for decades despite forgetting everything else about the film including the title (and I am not even sure it was Mel Brooks... but he was the only person I am aware of doing Jewish jokes in Hollywood at the time).

And yes, George in Being Human is Jewish and has a Star of David which repels vampires... Most things I have read on the topic consider it the faith of the person being attacked rather than the faith of the vampire which repels. In fact, in Dr Who 'The Curse of Fenric' the Haemovores are repelled by faith in anything (the Doctor has faith in himself, Ace has faith in the Doctor which is later destroyed, the local vicar doesn't have faith in god which is why he gets eaten...).

Though I beleive that in the original vampire story, Dracula, he is repelled by crosses only because they represent the church he disavowed upon becoming a vampire. I have always been amused at how many Vampire writer ever since seems to have taken this feature and wrote it into thier own creations (though some do so to deny it is true...)
I believe you are thinking of ‘The Fearless Vampire Killers’. It was directed by Roman Polanski and is, if memory serves , the only film starring Sharon Tate.
 
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dickson

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I wonder what kind of revenants Jewish folk belief has. Golems no. Dybbuks, maybe. A dybbuk is a ghost that possesses mortals. The play of that name by Ansky is justly famous.