Why are vampires traditionally repelled by the Holy Cross?

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The premise of the Holy Cross acting as a ward against vampires is a common trope in horror films and literature (Bram Stoker’s DRACULA being the most famous example), but there never seems to be a consistent explanation about why. I’ve heard a number of possible reasons, which vary from fearing/hating the Cross because it represents eternal life without becoming undead, to a symbol of Good’s absolute triumph over Evil. But do Catholics have a more specific cause in mind?

I’m presenting this question as a writer who’s putting together his own horror novel featuring vampires, and would like to hear an articulate answer from actual Christians who would be in the know.
 
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Vampirism is traditionally associated with witchcraft and consorting with demons. It is worth noting that of the two major slanders against Vlad Tepes were blood drinking and witchcraft (he was also accused of vicious cruelty, but that part was true). It’s hard to envision a creature that rises as an undead thing that isn’t associated with evil spirits, really.

It is worth noting that until Dracula, vampires were much more frequently depicted as shambling, blood drinking corpses than suave, almost human things.
 
I reread the novel a year or two ago and, now that you mention it, I don’t recall seeing anything at all in it about crosses. Could that be something that came in later, with the movie adaptations? I have the book on my shelf – I’ll check.

[Edit]
I was wrong. I found an instance right away. In Chapter 16, the undead Lucy approaches Arthur:

“Come to me, Arthur! Leave these others and come to me. My arms are hungry for you. Come, and we can rest together. Come my husband, come!”

… [Arthur] opened wide his arms. She was leaping for them, when Van Helsing sprang forward and held between them his little golden crucifix. She recoiled from it, and, with a suddenly distorted face, full of rage, dashed past him as if to enter the tomb.
 
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As in the movie Fright Night (1st one) when an atheist puts a crucifix in from of the Vampire’s face… The vampire just laughs and says: “You have to have faith for this to work on me”

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FatherMerrin said:
consistent explanation
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Probably because the modern portrayal of vampires in fiction literature is an assemblage of different local folklores and superstitions, sometimes with little thematic connection between them (apart from drinking blood).

Because of that, I’m wary about attributing any sort of serious theological argument about why vampires are afraid of crucifixes.

It’s also worth noting that Bram Stoker was an Anglican (not a Catholic), so much of his portrayal of Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy (and many other minorities) tends to reflect some of the stereotypes embedded in Victorian English thought.

If you have access to a university library, a good article to read is Noelle Bowles’ ‘Crucifix, Communion, and Convent: The Real Presence of Anglican Ritualism in Bram Stoker’s “Dracula”’ published in Christianity and Literature (2013, vol. 62).
 
The trope about faith being necessary is an interesting one because it implies a lot about why the crucifix affects the creature. For instance, it implies that it is not just God and his holiness that is casting the creature out. When it comes to the sacramental our faith isn’t an issue. The consecrated host is still the body and blood of Christ even if the priest is struggling with his faith.

Obviously waving a crucifix in a vampire’s face isn’t one of the seven Sacraments, but in theory it could still be a visible sign of an invisible grace. If so, an evil spirit should have at least some reaction to it even if the wielder’s faith is weak. Not to mention that evil spirits probably don’t like reminders of Christ’s sacrifice.
 
There is a very funny movie from before Roman Polanski was a criminal (and before Sharon Tate was murdered), The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967)

In one scene a woman holds out a crucifix to repel a vampire, who happened to have been Jewish before he was turned. He chuckles

" Oy vey , have you got the wrong vampire."

😂 🧛
 
In 1816, eighty years before Bram Stoker published his Dracula, J. W. Polidori wrote a short story called The Vampyre. It was highly successful, both in book form and as a stage adaptation. Is there anything about crosses in it? I don’t know, I have never read it. But it might be interesting to find out.

 
I’ve watched that scene too, and although it’s meant to be comedic, it does raise a few interesting questions. Would any vampire be repelled by the Cross, holy water, etc. regardless of their ethnicity and religious orientation prior to becoming undead? I know Bithynian pointed out that it’s a risky business attributing theological arguments to vampires and their apprehension of the Cross, but as a writer, I can’t help being fixated on these things, especially in this day and age where a lot of secular writers either eliminate religion from the equation entirely (i.e. the BLADE movies), or turn the vampire’s fear/hatred of the Cross into something more psychological than spiritual (i.e. the 2020 BBC version of DRACULA starring Claes Bang).

Like Inquiry said, the consecrated host is still the body and blood of Christ even if the priest is struggling with his faith, so the Cross would still supposedly work on any vampire whether or not they’ were Catholic, Jewish, Buddhist, Islamic, animistic, or atheistic in their former human lives. I realize that notion stirs up a dangerous hornet’s nest of controversy (not to mention anti-political correctness), but I’d rather put it forward here than on any other forum!
 
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No author is required to stick to any established vampire framework. Be creative!

The new Netflix/BBC Dracula proposes the explanation that Dracula fears death, of which the cross is a symbol.

The film version of Interview with the Vampire simply has Louis stating “I’m rather fond of looking at crucifixes”.

So even within vampire lore, things vary.
 
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In the movie Dracula 2000 the background of Dracula is revealed to be:

Dracula is is none other than the Apostle Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus for a bribe of thirty pieces of silver. (hence his fear and hatred of the Crucifix/cross, and vulnerability to silver) As he went to hang himself, the rope snapped and as punishment he was cursed to live for two thousand years as a vampire.
 
I remember a TV show which put forth the idea of vampires drinking blood to maintain their immortality.

It’s similar to the very Catholic idea of the body and blood of Christ which is consumed as a requirement for life everlasting.
 
I remember enjoying a movie I saw just one time, on first release, back in the twentieth century – a French comedy called Dracula & Son. The rebellious teenage son refuses to drink blood. Christopher Lee, no less, plays the father.
 
FatherMerrin said:
I’m presenting this question as a writer who’s putting together his own horror novel featuring vampires, and would like to hear an articulate answer from actual Christians who would be in the know.
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I don’t see why you need to be tied to a pre-existing mythology. Vampires are make-believe, so you’re entirely free to create whatever reasons you wish. The ones in your book will exist in a world of your own making.

In Tolkein’s world, elves are tall and impressive because that’s how Tolkein made them. In Disney’s world they’re little and cute, because that’s how Disney made them.
 
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BartholomewB said:
I reread the novel a year or two ago and, now that you mention it, I don’t recall seeing anything at all in it about crosses. Could that be something that came in later, with the movie adaptations? I have the book on my shelf – I’ll check.

[Edit]
I was wrong. I found an instance right away. In Chapter 16, the undead Lucy approaches Arthur:

“Come to me, Arthur! Leave these others and come to me. My arms are hungry for you. Come, and we can rest together. Come my husband, come!”

… [Arthur] opened wide his arms. She was leaping for them, when Van Helsing sprang forward and held between them his little golden crucifix. She recoiled from it, and, with a suddenly distorted face, full of rage, dashed past him as if to enter the tomb.
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It occurs much earlier than that, at the start of the novel in fact. When discovering Arthur is heading to Dracula’s castle, a woman tries to convince him not to go, but he insists he has to (it’s for a business venture, he has no idea Dracula is a vampire). She asks him to at least take and wear a crucifix, which he does, which helps protect him from Dracula.
 
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I have to admit I love vampire lore! I’ve read all the interview with the vampire books (interesting journey away from and back and away from Catholicism by the author too). Have Dracula lined up on the bbc ready to watch over the weekend. They’re just metal, I love ‘em. I think that they hate the cross because they tried to gain eternal life for themselves rather than through faith in Christ so their punishment is to be undead 🧛‍♀️
 
The authors just make things up to suit whatever they want so you can make any explanation you want depending on what type of effect you want.
 
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steph03 said:
As in the movie Fright Night (1st one) when an atheist puts a crucifix in from of the Vampire’s face… The vampire just laughs and says: “You have to have faith for this to work on me”
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This is also done in the game Vampire: The Masquerade. Someone holding a cross, or any holy symbol, had to have “true faith”. Otherwise, it did nothing to the vampire.
 
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