# Which is the best detterant against Jewish vampires? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 3, 2006, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-the-best-detterant-against-jewish-vampires/363091 "2006-07-03T20:54:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2006, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-the-best-detterant-against-jewish-vampires/363091/21 "2006-07-04T00:39:37Z")
Is he an Orthodox or Reform vampire? ---
**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:** [July 4, 2006, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-the-best-detterant-against-jewish-vampires/363091/22 "2006-07-04T00:44:33Z")
Try Guilt. With the large “G”. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Clam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3bc359/32.png) [@Happy\_Clam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Clam)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2006, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-the-best-detterant-against-jewish-vampires/363091/23 "2006-07-04T00:47:44Z")
Well, it’s apparent from the huge variety of literature on the subject that there are multiple different varities of vampire; “traditional” vampires, whose aversion to the Cross is based on the “fact” that it is the symbol of the One True God, and that said vampires are in league with the devil; “modern” vampires, whose symbol-wariness tends to be based on personal belief before death; and even such oddities as vampirism as a medical condition (think Morbius from “Spider-Man”- I always found him a bit odd because, hey, aren’t there _real_ vampires in the Marvel universe?). Now, I don’t think a Star of David would work against any of these: for the first two, it’s not really a “religous symbol”, so unless we assume vamp. type 2, and a formerly devout jew who is also stupid enough to think of the star as being a symbol of his (ex?)faith, it won’t effect them, any more than it will medical vampires. I think you’d be much safer going for the tried-and-tested: holy water (should work for almost any type of vampire), garlic (this one tends to be constant in all vampire stories, as well) and maybe silver, cold iron, or wood (through the heart). ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2006, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-the-best-detterant-against-jewish-vampires/363091/24 "2006-07-04T00:53:24Z")
> [@Happy Clam](#): > > holy water (should work for almost any type of vampire), Meshugganah > [@Happy Clam](#): > > garlic (this one tends to be constant in all vampire stories, as well) You, Sir, never had my aunt’s cabbage rolls. ---
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2006, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-the-best-detterant-against-jewish-vampires/363091/25 "2006-07-04T00:53:41Z")
As the Chosen people, perhaps Jews have an intrinsic holiness. Sort of a…vampire forcefield, I guess. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2006, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-the-best-detterant-against-jewish-vampires/363091/26 "2006-07-04T01:02:22Z")
> [@Revenant Threshold](#): > > As the Chosen people, perhaps Jews have an intrinsic holiness. Nah, you’re thinking of the Unitarians. We were chosen to make G-d known to other people, and quit because they killed us for it. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Clam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3bc359/32.png) [@Happy\_Clam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Clam)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2006, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-the-best-detterant-against-jewish-vampires/363091/27 "2006-07-04T01:03:27Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Meshugganah > . Nah, I meant due to the idea that it is empowered with holiness by a servant of the “one true god”- if the Vampire in question is from a universe where the judeo-christiain-islamic deity is top dog, then any holy water blessed by a Christian, Jewish or Muslim priest ought to burn him equally- not because of the priest, but because of the holiness. Oh, and I meant that garlic is a common factor in nearly all garlic stories, so it ought to work equally for gentile and jewish vampires. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2006, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-the-best-detterant-against-jewish-vampires/363091/28 "2006-07-04T01:09:58Z")
> [@Happy Clam](#): > > holy water blessed by a Christian, Jewish or Muslim priest Jews don’t have priests anymore, since we no longer have a Temple. A Jewish vampire wouldn’t be afraid of Christian parapnalia unless his Mother was worried about his converting. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2006, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-the-best-detterant-against-jewish-vampires/363091/29 "2006-07-04T01:11:42Z")
> [@Happy Clam](#): > > N > Oh, and I meant that garlic is a common factor in nearly all garlic stories, so it ought to work equally for gentile and jewish vampires. Not if he became immune to my Aunt’s cooking while he was alive. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Clam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3bc359/32.png) [@Happy\_Clam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Clam)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2006, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-the-best-detterant-against-jewish-vampires/363091/30 "2006-07-04T01:22:40Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Jews don’t have priests anymore, since we no longer have a Temple. A Jewish vampire wouldn’t be afraid of Christian parapnalia unless his Mother was worried about his converting. 🙂 Yah, but it’s still the same god. The way I see it, if we assume a vampire who makes a deal with the devil to get his powers (as in Dracula, for instance), then anything sacred to Yahweh/Allah/Jehovah will hurt him- and that includes holy water blessed by any holy figure equipped to do so within one of those religions. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2006, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-the-best-detterant-against-jewish-vampires/363091/31 "2006-07-04T01:27:12Z")
> [@Happy Clam](#): > > holy water blessed by any holy figure equipped to do so within one of those religions. Think of _Die Hard_ where the New York policeman had no authority in Los Angeles. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Clam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3bc359/32.png) [@Happy\_Clam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Clam)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2006, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-the-best-detterant-against-jewish-vampires/363091/32 "2006-07-04T01:35:54Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Think of _Die Hard_ where the New York policeman had no authority in Los Angeles. \*\*Same.\*\ ***God.** _Assuming_ that the Judeo-Christian god is dominant, and that s/he is, as Bible, Torah and Koran all say, the same god, it is that entity who gets to decide who is equipped to imbue water with holiness, not the Jewish vampire getting the stuff splashed on him. I know that the concept of the devil doesn’t really exist in Jewish mythology, but if there are vampires running around, we have to assume that there is some evil entity that gave those creatures their powers- an entity which is opposed to the Judeo-Christian god, and whose servitors (vampire) are gonna get hurt by holy water, regardless of the faith they had before their death. I mean, if the priest/rabbi/mullah (I know these terms are not synonymous) is empowered by the Big G to imbue water, wafer, wine or whatever with His Holy Might, what’s the vampire gonna do about it? **Vampire:** “Oh, yeah, Holy Water. I’m Jewish, doesn’t count.” **Booming Voice** : **I AM THE LORD YOUR GOD, WHO DELIVERED YOUR PEOPLE OUT OF ISRAEL.** **Vampire:** What the fuc- OH SHIT IT BURNS! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2006, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-the-best-detterant-against-jewish-vampires/363091/33 "2006-07-04T01:37:11Z")
> [@Happy Clam](#): > > (think Morbius from “Spider-Man”- I always found him a bit odd because, hey, aren’t there _real_ vampires in the Marvel universe?). According to the Blade movies which take place in the Marvel universe, vampires can be killed by garlic, UV light (inlcuding the sun) and silver (which I always thought was for werewolves). Crosses and holy water, not so much. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2006, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-the-best-detterant-against-jewish-vampires/363091/34 "2006-07-04T01:40:54Z")
> [@Happy Clam](#): > > Same G-d. Yes, but the reports made by the Christians and Moslems leave something to be desired. For further discussion, please see your Rabbi. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Clam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3bc359/32.png) [@Happy\_Clam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Clam)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2006, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-the-best-detterant-against-jewish-vampires/363091/35 "2006-07-04T01:52:48Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Yes, but the reports made by the Christians and Moslems leave something to be desired. For further discussion, please see your Rabbi. 🙂 Fair enough. 🙂 My point was that holy stuff = hurty vampire, no matter what faith said vampire was (is being a bit of misnomer here, I feel). Mind you, if we’re going to discuss whether you can, in fact, make holy stuff at all (in Jewish mythology), then I think I’ll need to hand over the debate to someone more knowledgeable than I. My final suggestion? If all else fails, sick the golem of Prague on him. ;j ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2006, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-the-best-detterant-against-jewish-vampires/363091/36 "2006-07-04T01:53:36Z")
Back when Chris Claremont was writing X-Men in the 80s, it was established that, for Marvel Comics at least, the determining factor was the faith of the person wielding the symbol. Thus Nightcrawler, a Catholic, could use a cross; Kitty Pryde, a (presumably reform) Jew could use a Star of David but found the cross useless; and Wolverine, an atheist, might as well stick to his claws. It made me wonder if Peter Rasputin (still a communist back then) might have found a picture of Lenin useful; or whether Magneto, who pretty much worshipped mutancy, might have used a symbol of the X-Gene. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2006, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-the-best-detterant-against-jewish-vampires/363091/37 "2006-07-04T01:58:40Z")
> [@Happy Clam](#): > > My final suggestion? If all else fails, sick the golem of Prague on him. ;j Good point. He may be able to regenerate body parts, but he can’t chase you while having his limbs repeatedly ripped off. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2006, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-the-best-detterant-against-jewish-vampires/363091/38 "2006-07-04T02:58:07Z")
> [@Skald the Rhymer](#): > > Back when Chris Claremont was writing X-Men in the 80s, it was established that, for Marvel Comics at least, the determining factor was the faith of the person wielding the symbol. Thus Nightcrawler, a Catholic, could use a cross; Kitty Pryde, a (presumably reform) Jew could use a Star of David but found the cross useless; and Wolverine, an atheist, might as well stick to his claws. It made me wonder if Peter Rasputin (still a communist back then) might have found a picture of Lenin useful; or whether Magneto, who pretty much worshipped mutancy, might have used a symbol of the X-Gene. 😃 In that case, Dr Doom can use a self portrait. 😃 Or maybe vampires just cower when he walks into a room, and burst into flame when he touches them. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2006, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-the-best-detterant-against-jewish-vampires/363091/39 "2006-07-04T03:08:08Z")
> [@Der Trihs](#): > > In that case, Dr Doom can use a self portrait. 😃 Or maybe vampires just cower when he walks into a room, and burst into flame when he touches them. hmm…what if it’s a Doombot? After all, they think they’re Doom except when in the presence of each other or the boss. ---
**Author:** ![Flutterby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Flutterby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flutterby)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2006, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-the-best-detterant-against-jewish-vampires/363091/40 "2006-07-04T05:30:41Z")
> [@Der Trihs](#): > > I never played the game, but I’ve been told that old-time World of Darkness vamps are immune to nukes, because they aren’t magic. I also recall a vampire short story where aliens burned away all life on Earth with radiation, and were astonished to find survivers. They brought them on board to investigate, and the crew started getting weaker and sicker and weaker . . . > > Quoting from memory ( so I’m sure it’s wrong ), when the Captain questions one of them at the end : > > “The ancients knew how to deal with us, so well that by your arrival we were thought to be myths. Until you came, and your radiation burned away the stakes and melted the chains.” > > “Nothing human could have survived what you did to Earth. Nothing human did. Now, you will take us to your world, where your people shall meet their _new_ Masters.” Don’t know about the nukes, but in 3rd anyone who has True Faith can hurt vamps with it… whether it be true faith in Jesus, G-d, Satan, the Invisible Pink Unicorn or Flying Spaghetti Monster… as long as it is true faith, it works. If you could find that story again, I’d love to read it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-the-best-detterant-against-jewish-vampires/363091.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-the-best-detterant-against-jewish-vampires/363091.md?page=3)