# Vampires and Islam **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** books-writing-myths\ **Created:** [October 7, 2021, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vampires-and-islam/952077 "2021-10-07T14:26:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2021, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vampires-and-islam/952077/1 "2021-10-07T14:26:36Z")
My question is how would a Muslim react to a (evil) vampire? The standard Christian response is to hold up a cross, of course, and I suppose the Star of David would work for a Jewish person. I may well be asking this in too simplistic a way-if someone has a better way to phrase it, please feel free or if you feel it belongs elsewhere. Perhaps more of a Cafe Society question: have there been any movies with Muslim vampires (apart from _A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night_)? ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2021, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vampires-and-islam/952077/2 "2021-10-07T14:36:45Z")
My first thought is that it’s the _vampire_ who believes in / fears the cross, regardless of the faith of the cross bearer. But perhaps your question is more along the lines of if Muslim vampire lore is different than Christian? In that case, good question! ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2021, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vampires-and-islam/952077/3 "2021-10-07T14:40:09Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](#): > > My first thought is that it’s the _vampire_ who believes in / fears the cross, regardless of the faith of the cross bearer. I’ve long thought that it is the faith, itself, that repels the vampire, not the specific symbol used. If you’re weak on faith, nothing can help you. ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2021, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vampires-and-islam/952077/4 "2021-10-07T14:42:04Z")
So an atheist with a crucifix is powerless against a vampire? ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2021, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vampires-and-islam/952077/5 "2021-10-07T14:44:06Z")
In the TV series **Castlevania** , they explained that a vampire’s super-keen senses were somehow dazzled by seeing right angles close-up in their field of vision. Religious symbology had nothing to do with it in that case. ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2021, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vampires-and-islam/952077/6 "2021-10-07T14:46:07Z")
> [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](#): > > So an atheist with a crucifix is powerless against a vampire? That’s one theory, yes. Another is (as was mentioned) that it’s the faith of the vampire that causes them to react to the cross. Yet another is that there’s some actual power in the holy symbol. Stephen King explored the first in Salem’s Lot. The second was explored in the film Dracula 2000. And the third is just an extension of the “one true god” idea. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2021, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vampires-and-islam/952077/7 "2021-10-07T14:47:00Z")
Have you not read 'Salems Lot? The cross didnt work for the priest who lost his faith. ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2021, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vampires-and-islam/952077/8 "2021-10-07T14:49:31Z")
Yeah, and seen the TV mini-series, but a long time ago. I guess this would be a good test to see whether Pastafarians really do believe in the Flying Spaghetti Monster. ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2021, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vampires-and-islam/952077/9 "2021-10-07T14:50:19Z")
> [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](#): > > I guess this would be a good test to see whether Pastafarians really do believe in the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Never work. The vampire would have to individually count each noodle. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2021, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vampires-and-islam/952077/10 "2021-10-07T14:51:17Z")
Vampires seem to be on the South Beach Diet. They would never go for pasta. ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2021, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vampires-and-islam/952077/11 "2021-10-07T14:52:32Z")
Right, I’ve read both versions of the reason why a “holy symbol” repels a vampire One is that it requires belief, a connection to the Divine, on the part of the _charm wielder_ to work. The one that sticks in my mind is a Marvel comic\* I read long ago where Kitty Pryde is attacked by a vampire (don’t ask…) and waves a crucifix at it to no effect, but is saved at the last minute from being bitten by the Star of David pendant worn around her neck. The other, which I believe is prominent in the vampiric lore in the influential Anne Rice novels, is that it’s the unconscious belief of the _vampire_ that matters - a reminder that they are an unnatural, “outside of God’s plan” creature, that at a core level, they know themselves to be and regret/hate themselves for being. And finally, mostly in a comedic context but obviously it could apply in a dramatic one as well, the interpretation that either rule can apply. In fact, I’ve also seen it depicted as a vampire being repelled by “any holy symbol” recognized as such by the vampire as a kind of “rules of the game” thing. \*_Uncanny X-Men_ #159! ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2021, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vampires-and-islam/952077/12 "2021-10-07T14:54:15Z")
> [@GreysonCarlisle](#): > > Never work. The vampire would have to individually count each noodle. Heyooooo!!! 🤣 ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2021, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vampires-and-islam/952077/13 "2021-10-07T14:56:16Z")
I’ve seen references that it’s the faith of the believer that repels the vampire from the symbol. So a Muslim would be protected by a Quran just as a Christian is protected by a cross. I read a comic book series _Vamps_, which used this idea. In one scene, a crazy guy living on the streets warded off a vampire by holding up a hubcap - because he sincerely believed that the hubcap was a holy shield that protected him. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2021, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vampires-and-islam/952077/14 "2021-10-07T15:04:23Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > Have you not read 'Salems Lot? The cross didnt work for the priest who lost his faith. It was also a minor plot point in Fright Night; that the cross that Peter Vincent held didn’t work to repel the vampire because he didn’t believe. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2021, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vampires-and-islam/952077/15 "2021-10-07T15:14:23Z")
You ignorant heathen! It’s the colander that does it! ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2021, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vampires-and-islam/952077/16 "2021-10-07T15:15:37Z")
Crosses work on vampires because the people who created vampire legends believed that Christianity was the true and _only_ true religion. Trying to retrofit other explainations and other religions into it is something that is going to be done on a writer-by-writer basis. > [@hogarth](#): > > In the TV series **Castlevania** , they explained that a vampire’s super-keen senses were somehow dazzled by seeing right angles close-up in their field of vision. That was also in _Blindsight_ by Peter Watts in 2006. Anyone know of uses before that? ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2021, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vampires-and-islam/952077/17 "2021-10-07T15:27:39Z")
> [@robardin](#): > > The one that sticks in my mind is a Marvel comic\* I read long ago where Kitty Pryde is attacked by a vampire Call her Kate. > **[Marauders #1: They Call Her Kate—Captain Kate - WWAC](https://womenwriteaboutcomics.com/2019/10/marauders-1-captain-kate-review/)** > > Disconcerting art, name, violence, and colours aside, there’s more than enough to chew on in Marauders #1 to keep me excited about what’s to come. (Don’t call her an alcoholic. She seems to be one now, but don’t call her that.) ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2021, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vampires-and-islam/952077/18 "2021-10-07T15:27:57Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > I suppose the Star of David would work for a Jewish person. Didn’t work in “Love at First Bite”. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2021, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vampires-and-islam/952077/19 "2021-10-07T15:28:34Z")
“True Faith” is the usual reasoning I hear. Which makes sense since, without the context of faith, a cross is just a lower case letter “t” (versus a crucifix with an icon of Christ on it). Once you’ve decided that true belief in (whatever flavor of) God is what makes a cross a cross, it’s easy enough to extend to other symbols of faith. ---
**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 7, 2021, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vampires-and-islam/952077/20 "2021-10-07T15:36:21Z")
Since there are no hard-and-fast rules for this kind of thing\*, each writer is free to speculate on his own. The usual reply I get is that vampires react negatively to any symbol of faith. More than one work of fiction has vampires backing away from a Star of David. In Richard Matheson’s _I Am Legend_ a Jewish vampire backs away from a Torah. If you go with that reasoning, a Muslim vampire might be deterred by a Koran, or even by a crescent moon symbol. Are Hindu vampires deterred by “Om” signs? Richard Burton doesn’t even address the issue in _Vikram and the Vampire_. But, of course, that was pre-_Dracula_, so the trope wasn’t even established yet. \*Bram Stoker actually made up a lot of the “vampire lore”, and codified the rest. Although the stake-through-the-heart is a lot older than Stoker, and so is garlic as a repellant (although not the way he used it), I don’t recall any prior vampire fiction (or non0-fiction, for that matter) using a crucifix to ward off vampires. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vampires-and-islam/952077.md?page=2)