Can you Really Kill a Vampire that E-Z?

Question

Buffy and a lot of other things on TV show all you need is a stake, but where did the mallet go? Tell me as much as you know about killing vampires. If you ask me all you need is a shot gun. What is this world coming to? Sticking to the roots and oldest way people kill vampires gets best answer...

Answer 1

Ok, not that I have much of an opinion either way as to whether there *are* folkloric vampires running about or not, but....

Hasn't it occurred to anyone that anything in the Mass Media, like movies and TV, might well be either a composite of *a lot* of different myths, or entirely fictionalized? At best? And that at worst, you are talking about vampire "stories" that exist primarily to confuse the issue and to spread false info?

Look. I am going to the big one, the one written source that predates the movies, TV, the whole ball'o'wax, ok?

Bram Stoker. *His* _Dracula_. Understand though that even *that* might have some errors. ^_^

Sunlight? Ehh, it works in your favor, since its presence negates most traditional vampiric ability, but it is NOT an instant kill. All your "prey" has to do is cover up, wear lots of clothing so no flesh is exposed, and *hide* to survive sunlight....and even on exposure, it's more a slow, agonizing *decay* than it is an instant kill....

Stakes? They hurt like any other wound, maybe a little more, but you *are* dealing with a dead body that somehow keeps on ticking....so the creature will eventually adapt and recover if you don't follow up. It's a stun or knockout move at best.

Garlic? Running Water? They might be deterrents, might not, but if the folklore and its variations from one culture to the next are any indication, these are more psychological *quirks* than anything else, your vampiric "prey" may or may not have these "quirks".

Holy water? Holy symbols? Well, we are dealing with something that might well qualify as "undead", but....are you a sincere and devout Bible-thumper? How about a fanatical Muslim? Do you go to your place of worship every week and pray *daily* like your life depends on it?

Really....the material signs of faith likely aren't going to do a whole lot for anyone who is not a zealot, or deeply devout at least. It is likely the faith itself that turns, not the object.

So what does work, across all cultures and all folklore?

Weaken the creature....hunt it by the light of day, keep a man of faith at your side just in case.

Stun the creature....ANY weapon through the heart will stun the thing according to Stoker, so stick to high-powered archery, like cross-bow bolts (just make sure they aren't armor-piercing or they will go all the way through the prey). Don't close the distance unless the creature is weakened *and also* stunned.

Then CUT OFF THE HEAD. Really, this is the one thing that seems to hold true and work across ALL cultures. Cut off the head, keep it separate from the body, preferably either burn them miles apart or bury them miles apart.

Keep in mind though that for all we know, the *book* might have been full of it too. :p

Just saying. ;)

Answer 2

No it is not as easy as that to kill a vampire. The real problem is that people do not really read up on vampires and how to kill them. The cross will not effect them, nor would a shot-gun. But a stake made of ash-wood would kill them dead. The problem of this world in that people just don't read any more. That is why we are really so easy to be confused by hearsay. That could lead to our destruction. Do vampires really exist, well there are facts for and against. And facts are still far more stranger then fictions..

Answer 3

You an kill a Vampire by putting a wooden stake through their heart. For the girl up there that asked what a hole in the heart could do? Well the Vampire's spirit is trapped inside the heart. And when you stab the heart the spirit escapes...at leas that's what i heard.

Answer 4

sticking a stake all the way through a person is about as difficult as putting it through a sheet of plywood. It can be done, but not by a little girl. The best way to ensure full penetration of the human body (best done with a spear or bayonet) is to concentrate on speed, not force.
I have not knowingly killed a vampire, but I assume it wouldn't be much different.

Answer 5

i guess you have to look at it in the dynamic way. vampires would tend to have reflexes about ten times sharper than humans, so a slayer would have to be trained in the martial arts to counter any movement that they make. if a person is strong enough, a mallet is not necessary when driving a stick through the heart. the problem is that the sternum is in the way so a slayer would have to know exactly how to pierce the heart through the side or a few inches off center. i hope this helps with your curiosity.

Answer 6

Fire a silver jacketed, garlic essenced, .50 Caliber Explosive Round from a Browning Automatic Machinegun at the heart and head of a vampire. Note, the bullet should have a cross, a Jewish star, a star & crescent, and as many religous symbols as you can fit on the bullet surface.

Answer 7

It used to be you you had to find yourself a white horse with no black hairs, take it to the graveyard and walk it over the graves until it refused to step on the vampire's grave. Then you had to dig up the vampire, open its chest, remove its heart and burn the heart. Tsk, now it's all about instant results and a Big Mac afterwards. Where's the pride? Where's the art?

Answer 8

You need a stake or a lance, something which makes a wound and keeps it open. Basically you need to get air into their bloodstream, that's what kills them. A gun won't work because the flesh just heals around the bullet.

Answer 9

How about aerosol based nano tech robots that synthesize cellulose?

they get inside the vampire and stake them from inside by building micro stakes from within the torso/heart.

Answer 10

Wooden stake through the heart.

Exposure to sunlight.