# Would a cross tattoo repel a vampire? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** books-writing-myths\ **Created:** [June 6, 2022, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-cross-tattoo-repel-a-vampire/965739 "2022-06-06T11:49:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2022, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-cross-tattoo-repel-a-vampire/965739/41 "2022-06-07T17:02:35Z")
There are so many rock joints that precision doesn’t matter, if it’s a 90° joint set, _some_ will be exact enough. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2022, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-cross-tattoo-repel-a-vampire/965739/42 "2022-06-07T17:10:23Z")
This talk of belief against vampires reminds me of Mightily Oats\*\* ( **Carpe Jugulum** , Terry Pratchett) who, after a crisis of faith, decided to believe in his double-headed battle axe. \*\* full name: The Quite Reverend Mightily-Praiseworthy-Are-Ye-Who-Exalteth-Om Oats ---
**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:** [June 7, 2022, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-cross-tattoo-repel-a-vampire/965739/43 "2022-06-07T17:17:51Z")
To be fair to the author, he implies if not directly states that vampires died out after that mutation became prevalent\*. In the present tense of the novel and sequel, vampires have been recreated through genetic engineering and are given anti-convulsants or something similar to mitigate the issue. \*that’s how I dimly remember it; it’s been years. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2022, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-cross-tattoo-repel-a-vampire/965739/44 "2022-06-07T17:18:41Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Do the angles have to be _exactly_ 90 degrees to repel a vampire? What’s the degree of tolerance? And is it an actual right angle, in three-dimensional space (which a creature with sight can only perceive as a result of significant spatial processing in the brain), or a right angle as projected onto the field of vision? ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2022, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-cross-tattoo-repel-a-vampire/965739/45 "2022-06-07T21:06:48Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > the vampire reflexively says “seven million, eight hundred twenty-three thousand, five hundred forty-two”, and just keeps advancing? While laughing menacingly > **** > > [https://youtube.com/watch?v=p3pKcRSmw2w](https://youtube.com/watch?v=p3pKcRSmw2w) ---
**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:** [June 7, 2022, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-cross-tattoo-repel-a-vampire/965739/46 "2022-06-07T21:30:15Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > I always found that the dumbest part of his whole vampire conception - nature is _lousy_ with right angles. Here’s one of the quotes I was looking for… > Because we humans were never meant to inherit the Earth. Vampires were. They must have been sentient to some degree, but that semi-aware dream state would have been a rudimentary thing next to our own self-obsession. They were weeding it out. It was just a phase. They were on their way. **The thing is, humans can look at crosses without going into convulsions. That’s evolution for you; one stupid linked mutation and the whole natural order falls apart,** intelligence and self-awareness stuck in counterproductive lock-step for half a million years. So like it or not, the fact that nature is “lousy with right angles” is exactly why the vampires failed from a reproductive standpoint. ---
**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:** [June 12, 2022, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-cross-tattoo-repel-a-vampire/965739/47 "2022-06-12T03:15:44Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > I have to ask - what movie is that from? And is that Tilda Swinton? Great movie, Only Lovers Left Alive, neither Hammer or Twilight. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2022, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-cross-tattoo-repel-a-vampire/965739/48 "2022-06-12T03:34:51Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > To settle the matter. > > “Oy, have you got the wrong vampire.” > > The Fearless Vampire Killers , 1966 I have a vague memory of someone using a Star of David to ward off a vampire in a movie or television show. I thought I saw it done in something produced within the last ~20 years … was that device used in this movie also? ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2022, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-cross-tattoo-repel-a-vampire/965739/49 "2022-06-12T12:41:33Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > I have a vague memory of someone using a Star of David to ward off a vampire in a movie or television show. _Love at First Bite_ with George Hamilton? A leeettle bit more than 20 years old, though. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/W7xnIzutKm8/maxresdefault.jpg "Christian Vampires") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7xnIzutKm8) It could be worse…much worse ![](https://c.tenor.com/Ux7fN5lUH4sAAAAd/jewish-vampire-jacinto.gif) (From [this movie](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0359123/), apparently) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2022, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-cross-tattoo-repel-a-vampire/965739/50 "2022-06-12T18:16:14Z")
IIRC, there was an X-Men comic where Nightcrawler (a devout Catholic) successfully uses a cross to ward off a vampire, but it doesn’t work for Kitty Pride (a Jew). But when she then switches to a Star of David, it does work. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2022, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-cross-tattoo-repel-a-vampire/965739/51 "2022-06-12T18:22:50Z")
_“An axe isn’t a holy symbol, you stupid man.”_ _“Oh. Then let’s make it one.”_ ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2022, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-cross-tattoo-repel-a-vampire/965739/52 "2022-06-12T18:48:14Z")
Cross tattoos only repel tattoos of vampires, causing them both to turn into tattoos of hearts with “Mom” on them. ---
**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:** [June 12, 2022, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-cross-tattoo-repel-a-vampire/965739/53 "2022-06-12T20:12:10Z")
And would a cross with barbed wire around it be extra protection? ---
**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:** [June 12, 2022, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-cross-tattoo-repel-a-vampire/965739/54 "2022-06-12T20:50:58Z")
Somehow it feels like it should. Don’t know why exactly. How about a cross tattoo with roses that have barbed wire thorns. Maybe any really cool tattoo will repel vampires. ---
**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:** [June 12, 2022, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-cross-tattoo-repel-a-vampire/965739/55 "2022-06-12T21:07:43Z")
Maybe it’s an inverse of how cool the vampires are themselves. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2022, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-cross-tattoo-repel-a-vampire/965739/56 "2022-06-12T21:14:13Z")
OK, what if…someone had a really cool tattoo of a cross and roses and barbed wire thorns over their heart, but they get blackout drunk and are bitten (and turned) while effectively roofied. Would it tat keep them from turning, or would it burn through their torso the microsecond they turned? ---
**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:** [June 12, 2022, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-cross-tattoo-repel-a-vampire/965739/57 "2022-06-12T21:31:19Z")
It could be like a poison tooth if you get captured by vamps. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2022, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-cross-tattoo-repel-a-vampire/965739/58 "2022-06-13T15:37:47Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > > [@bordelond](#): > > > > I have a vague memory of someone using a Star of David to ward off a vampire in a movie or television show. > > _Love at First Bite_ with George Hamilton? A leeettle bit more than 20 years old, though. Ah … I do recall that _Love at First Bite_ scene! Good find – hadn’t seen that in over 30 years. I did find what I was remembering that was inside of 20 years ago, though – it was this scene from the series _Being Human_ (link should be cued to 3:17): [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/ZLN0HSVjbfk/hqdefault.jpg "Being Human: George's Greatest Moments - BBC Three") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLN0HSVjbfk&t=198) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-cross-tattoo-repel-a-vampire/965739.md?page=2)