# Why do vampires hate garlic? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 12, 2004, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-vampires-hate-garlic/224118 "2004-01-12T04:46:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2004, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-vampires-hate-garlic/224118/1 "2004-01-12T04:46:40Z")
So, um, after roasting some garlic on the grill tonight (for salsa a li’l later), I got to thinking . . . Just where in the heck do vampires get their hatred for garlic? I mean, I’ve got enough in me right now to keep me safe for the rest of the calendar year, but just where do they get their ‘reactions’/‘hatred’ of garlic from? Tripler Mmmmmm. Grill roasted garlic. Mmmmmmmm . . . ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2004, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-vampires-hate-garlic/224118/2 "2004-01-12T05:40:38Z")
Not a heck of a lot of help, but garlic is a traditional way to ward off evil, not only vampires. Where this connection comes from, though, I don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![SAustinTx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/57b2e6/32.png) [@SAustinTx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SAustinTx)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2004, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-vampires-hate-garlic/224118/3 "2004-01-12T05:45:06Z")
[From Shroudeater.com:](http://www.shroudeater.com/agarlic.htm) > [@](#): > > The use of Garlic (Allium Sativum) as a charm against the powers of evil seems to date back to ancient times. According to Lewis Spence, the ancient Egyptians believed in a vampire-like ghost that killed sleeping children by sucking up their breath. Believe it or not, the repellent that was used against the attacks of this murderous monster was a wreath of garlic. [More](http://www.shroudeater.com/agarlic.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2004, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-vampires-hate-garlic/224118/4 "2004-01-12T05:54:48Z")
Well, garlic has a pungent odor and taste. I’ve read that one does not wish for one’s milk cow to eat garlic or onions while she is producing milk, as the flavor will pass into the milk. And as **pulykamell** said, garlic is said to keep evil at bay. In my father’s family, at least (his parents were from Sicily) garlic was believed to be a very healthy food, good for curing all sorts of sicknesses. And today, sure enough, science is saying that garlic IS a healthy seasoning choice. Of course, I’d eat garlic whether it had health benefits or not. We often bake a head of garlic with our roasts. When looking at folklore, notice how cures and safeguards are mostly easily obtained by peasants. Iron is supposed to burn fairies, silver is deadly to werewolves and vampires, an apple a day keeps the doctor away (dried apples are easy to store), a horseshoe for good luck (when horses are widely used for transportation and labor, old horseshoes are easy to come by), etc. Even a bit of silver is enough to slay the Undead, though it’s expensive. ---
**Author:** ![ageless6](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de053/32.png) [@ageless6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ageless6)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2004, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-vampires-hate-garlic/224118/5 "2004-01-12T06:01:52Z")
People who are trying to ward off vampires by stringing whole cloves around their necks are making a big mistake. EATING eight or ten cloves,however,will pretty much ward off anyone with a working nose. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2004, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-vampires-hate-garlic/224118/6 "2004-01-12T06:06:23Z")
> [@](#): > > EATING eight or ten cloves,however,will pretty much ward off anyone with a working nose. That depends on how the garlic is cooked. If it’s roasted whole, it has an amazingly delicate nutty flavor. If it’s been chopped up and eaten raw, it has the strongest flavor. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Asbestos\_Mango](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@The\_Asbestos\_Mango](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Asbestos_Mango)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2004, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-vampires-hate-garlic/224118/7 "2004-01-12T08:43:44Z")
I think it’s part of the vampire’s curse. In addition to not being able to come near holy objects or enjoy the warming rays of the sun, a vampire finds himself suddenly allergic to the wonderfullest food making taste good seasoning type plant the Good Lord saw fit to put on this earth. Man, that really must suck. ---
**Author:** ![Futile\_Gesture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f05b48/32.png) [@Futile\_Gesture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futile_Gesture)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2004, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-vampires-hate-garlic/224118/8 "2004-01-12T10:46:40Z")
It’s a good plot device. Like Superman and kryptonite. ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2004, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-vampires-hate-garlic/224118/9 "2004-01-12T11:04:11Z")
It isn’t garlic. AFAIK, aside the current link between vampires and garlic stems entirely from ‘Dracula”. In that vel it is not the pungent scent of garlic that acts as a vampire repellant but the sweet scent of garlic blossoms. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2004, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-vampires-hate-garlic/224118/10 "2004-01-12T12:34:34Z")
Garlic has blood thinning properties. Vampires avoid garlic eaters like coffee hounds avoid decaf.