Concerning classic question: What’s the Best Way to Kill a Vampire?
Hello there!
I was just wondering what Cecil’s sources were for this.
Reason being that I’ve been doing a great deal of research on this subject recently, so welcome any and all credible sources on the subject.
But, also, I was a little confused by some of the answers, as they contradicted what I’ve read from several scholarly sources, including a 1927 article in Folklore by Agnes Murgoci. Not only have I never seen strigoi spelled “Strigoiul,” but usually cutting the heart is not enough–the heart (if not the entire body) must be burnt. Then the ashes were either commonly disposed of in running water or mixed with water and given to people to drink in order to ward off the vampire’s curse (or remedy sickness in general?). From what I’ve read, methods such as garlic in the mouth were more a method of preventing the vampire from rising, as opposed to killing it. Same with nails in the head or burying the corpse face-down (as well as the other methods listed that involve binding or weighing down the grave). There were many ways to keep a vampire in the grave, thus protecting the townspeople, but I’ve not read anywhere (yet) that these preventative methods were also ways of permanently killing the vampire. Only destroying the heart–and often the entire body–by fire were the only surefire (pardon my pun) ways of killing one.
At least, that is what I have gathered from my sources. This is why I am eager to see what sources Cecil used. I am well aware that when scholars attempt to record legends passed down by oral tradition, that they will often find many contradicting testimonies and lores. That’s why I find it best to check various sources before coming to any conclusions on a topic. 