# Origin of Vampire Invitation Myth **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 29, 2009, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-vampire-invitation-myth/515563 "2009-10-29T04:35:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-vampire-invitation-myth/515563/21 "2009-10-30T15:00:00Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Stoker, as I pointed out, codified the behavior of vampires, rather than using pieces of it uncommented as part of a story. In doing so he created many of the traits of the vampire we take as a matter of course – the not being seen in a mirror, the avoidance of garlic, the sensitivity to a crucifix, the ability to change into a bat. He also made up several that we’ve pretty much ignored – sensitivity to the communion Host, not casting a shadow. And, interestingly, Stoker was codifying traditional elements and making up new ones precisely to have his characters going beyond these. Dracula, says the Stoker-created myth, must return to their native earth every night. _Okay_, says Dracula, _But I can Take my Earth With Me_, and sends boxes of Transylvanian dirt to England. Vampires can’t cross water, but Dracula has himself sent by parcel service across the water, so someone else takes him. Vampires are torpid in sunlight . Okay, so Dracula wears a straw hat and dark glasses. It’s the Ancient Monster getting around his limitations using Modern Science and Commercial Services. And his opponents do the same – they use the newly developed and new-fangled telephones and phonographs, mails and telegraphs to communicate over distance to seek him out and destroy him. This paragraph is particularly beautiful and earns the Folklorist Stamp of Approval. The only thing I can really add is that the traditional vampire lore of Eastern and Southern Europe has a tremendous overlap with witch lore and traditions about other malevolent creatures. Legendary supernatural creatures don’t usually have rigid taxonomy. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-vampire-invitation-myth/515563/22 "2009-10-30T15:25:31Z")
Just a fun example of how vampire lore can be easily molded- Hammer’s 1958 HORROR OF DRACULA has Van Helsing pooh-poohing the idea of vampires changing into bats & wolves. In 1960’s BRIDES OF DRACULA, Baron Meinster changes into a bat. The greatest part of BRIDES is the remedy Van Helsing applies to himself when bitten by Meinster- searing his bite with a hot iron & dowsing it with Holy Water. I submit that Peter Cushing was Chuck Norris’s Granddad! ---
**Author:** ![HorseloverFat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8e8cbc/32.png) [@HorseloverFat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HorseloverFat)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-vampire-invitation-myth/515563/23 "2009-10-30T15:33:50Z")
Brahm Stoker was a Protestant and his book reflects his Christian upbringing. I think its impossible to talk about vampires without talking about this book. Like others have said, a lot of what we think is “ancient myth” was really a the imaginations of a late 19th century Irish writer. The book is very Christian. Lots of crosses, man vs devil, conservatism, roles of women, temptation, etc. The invite part I believe fits in with the idea that man has free will and must choose to do evil and invite the devil into his life, which is the biggest theme in Christianity as seen by the Garden of Eden myth. If youre really interested in Stoker’s book you can start with the themes part of the wiki page. > **[Dracula](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dracula#Themes)** > > Dracula is a novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897. An epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist, but opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taking a business trip to stay at the castle of a Transylvanian nobleman, Count Dracula. Harker escapes the castle after discovering that Dracula is a vampire, and the Count moves to England and plagues the seaside town of Whitby. A small group, led by Abraham Van Hels... ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-vampire-invitation-myth/515563/24 "2009-10-30T15:44:21Z")
> [@](#): > > This paragraph is particularly beautiful and earns the Folklorist Stamp of Approval. Thank you all too much. I blush. Coming from a folklorist (as I believe you are), this is high praise indeed. ---
**Author:** ![Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/46a35a/32.png) [@Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walker_in_Eternity)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-vampire-invitation-myth/515563/25 "2009-10-30T15:55:15Z")
I haven’t got anything enlightened to add to this, but just wanted to say how much I’m enjoying reading this. Hope it continues. I enjoy vampire folklore. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-vampire-invitation-myth/515563/26 "2009-10-30T21:03:12Z")
BTW– I can recommend a graphic novel adaptation- > **[Amazon.com: All-Action Classics: Dracula: 9781402731525: Mucci, Michael,...](https://www.amazon.com/All-Action-Classics-No-1-Dracula/dp/1402731523)** > > Amazon.com: All-Action Classics: Dracula: 9781402731525: Mucci, Michael, Caldwell, Ben: Books I am not affiliated with the author, nor with Amazon. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-vampire-invitation-myth/515563/27 "2009-10-31T02:02:14Z")
I found my copy of Wolf’s **The Essential Dracula** and flipped it open to see if he had any insights on inviting Vampires in since he did _The Annotated Dracula_. Whereas before he had no note at that point, he now has this: > [@](#): > > A member of the household must bid him enter. We have seen that Lucy, after becoming his victim on the “suicide seat” on the cliffs of Whitby, invited him in in the form of what appeared to be a “good-sized bird” – _The Essential Dracula_ ed. Leonard Wolf, 1993, p. 290 so, there, let that be a lesson to you. Good-Sized Birds might be vampires in disguise, and you invite them in at your peril. I hope vampires can’t assume the form of kitties. ---
**Author:** ![Schackalen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/da6949/32.png) [@Schackalen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schackalen)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2021, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-vampire-invitation-myth/515563/28 "2021-02-27T23:34:13Z")
I’m quite positive this idea that vampires must be invited comes from Faust by Johan Wolfgang van Goethe. In the play from 1808 (part II 1832) the demon Mephisto has to be invited into your home in order to enter. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2021, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-vampire-invitation-myth/515563/29 "2021-02-27T23:59:23Z")
Re Garlic I was surprised to read in this thread that its power to repel vampires was Stoker’s invention. Mom’s side of the family is Slavic. The traditional cuisine has lots of garlic. It is viewed as a health food much as we might view vitamin c today. I always assumed the ability to ward off the undead was an outgrowth of this. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2021, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-vampire-invitation-myth/515563/30 "2021-02-28T15:10:17Z")
I found a couple of interesting pages that may not have existed when this thread was started. Wikipedia’s [List of vampire traits in folklore and fiction](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_vampire_traits_in_folklore_and_fiction) suggests _Carmilla_ by Sheridan Le Fanu was the first literary work that incorporated the invitation rule. It was published in 1871-72, so predates _Dracula_ by about a quarter century. I have not read it, so can’t verify. TV Tropes has a page called [Must Be Invited](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MustBeInvited) that clarifies the situation. It is not completely clear whether the vampires in _Carmilla_ require an invitation, but that seems to be the implication. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2021, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-vampire-invitation-myth/515563/31 "2021-02-28T15:23:39Z")
I am sure I have seen references to the Devil, Satan, demons, etc. needing an invitation to enter someone’s home in various non-Vampire tales. I recall this even in a retelling of an old Jewish folk tale by Isaac Bashevis Singer, so not simply a Christian-centric or Vampire-centric concept. ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2021, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-vampire-invitation-myth/515563/32 "2021-02-28T16:11:31Z")
> [@randwill](#): > > The wonderful Swedish film, _“Let the Right One In”_ depicts what happens if the vampire violates the invitation rule. Does anyone know if this was ever described prior to this film? I saw and loved this film, but am having a terrible time remembering the scene you’re describing. Could you (or anyone really) post that in a spoiler please? ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2021, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-vampire-invitation-myth/515563/33 "2021-03-01T02:16:41Z")
> [@Pork\_Rind](#): > > Could you (or anyone really) post that in a spoiler please? TV Tropes, “Must Be Invited”, Live-Action Films: First entry. ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2021, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-vampire-invitation-myth/515563/34 "2021-03-01T03:33:59Z")
Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2021, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-vampire-invitation-myth/515563/35 "2021-03-06T18:47:21Z")
> [@Pork\_Rind](#): > > I saw and loved this film, but am having a terrible time remembering the scene you’re describing. Could you (or anyone really) post that in a spoiler please? [Let The Right One In (2008) – You Have To Invite Me In - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APxaGGdWOTg) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-vampire-invitation-myth/515563.md?page=1)