Vampires and water (Part 2): Holy water

The previous blog post addressed ancient superstitions regarding salt water and flowing water in relation to vampires. This entry will discuss blessed or holy water.

Water "is perhaps humanity's oldest symbol of life". To humans, it is sacred. If water can wash away dirt and grime, it can also be used for spiritual cleansing. "Ritual bathing, also known as ablution" exists in the oldest of religions (Altman). "It follows ...that water blessed by a priest--holy water--should have added potency as a weapon against evil" (Gregory 126). In the eyes of probable victims, blood-drinkers are evil. Vampires are amoral, and they are enemy of The Church. Therefore, they should be vulnerable to the holy symbols, incantations, and curses.

The idea behind holy water is that "thus anointed...water can...be thrown in the face of a vampire, where it will have the effect of burning like acid" (Gregory 127-8). Not only does the notion fuel the morale of would-be-victims, "the efficacy of...holy water against [vampires] proves the existence of God" (Paulson 172). Peasants turned to The Church for protection against their fears. "Russians would pour holy water on the upyr [definition: vampire/witch] when they found it in the coffin" (Konstantinos 31). By declaring blessed water a weapon against evil, The Church reinforced its grip on the congregation.

The Church declared war against the vampire and developed its own arsenal of holy weapons, including holy water and the crucifix. "Like the crucifix, holy water appears to have been introduced at sometime around the fourth century" (Gregory 126). Nearly all "Post-Stoker vampires" in fiction "are vulnerable to human products: rosaries and holy water" (Auerbach 36). Yet, "modern-day vampires scoff at some ancient superstitions, especially those concerning crosses, holy water and garlic" (Renoux 32). They say: "There is nothing to fear in the sign of the Cross, nor the Holy Water, nor the Sacrament itself" (Rice 225-6).

Why do modern vampires disregard holy water? Well, they believe that their blood is more ancient than the spiritual symbols, and therefore more potent. However, unlike the crucifix, "water, the universal solvent, is the oldest symbol of purification and cleansing" (Gregory 126). And, supposing that the creator deity listened to the pleas of the priest as he blessed the water to make it holy, then there is no reason to believe that the ancient purifying symbol would not retain the power of the god. Of course, if blessed water had the ability to scald a vampire, it would also abrade any human who is not a faithful devotee to that deity. I suppose that the potency of holy water depends on the faith of the one who speaks the benediction and the one who wields it as a weapon.

But, after examining the modern-day church, I see that vampires have no need to fear the faith of the clergy or the parishioners. Can you attest otherwise?

Do svidanja,
Ana

Sources:
Auerback, Nina. Our Vampires, Ourselves.
Gregory, Constantine. Craig Glenday. Vampire Watcher's Handbook.
Konstantinos. Vampires: The Occult Truth.
Paulson, Ronald. Sun and Evil.
Renoux, Victoria. For the Love of Garlic.
Rice, Anne. The Vampire Lestat.

Crosses & Crucifixes

Crosses and crucifixes are so entrenched in vampire legend, that we have a hard time imagining a story without them. In Bram Stoker's Dracula, the crucifix has the power to dissolve a vampire's anger:

When the Count saw my face, his eyes blazed with a sort of demoniac fury, and he suddenly made a grab at my throat. I drew away and his hand touched the string of beads which held the crucifix. It made an instant change in him, for the fury passed so quickly that I could hardly believe that it was ever there.

"And against the vampire there is no more potent a device than the crucifix -- representing the cross that bore the crucified body of Christ" according to Constantine Gregory & Craig Glenday in Vampire Watcher's Handbook. This "Handbook" goes on to declare:

Alone, the cross is invaluable as an anti-vampiric; not only is it the most ancient and universal of all symbols, but, unlike other religious imagery, it can be quickly improvised with anything from stakes and swords to sticks and fingers. It can even be drawn in the air or across the chest to provide the vampire hunter with instant divine protection.

The major fallacy with this argument is that the crucifix is not the most ancient of symbols. Truly, tales of vampires and blood drinkers resonate from times long before the invention of the crucifix or its association with the Christ. What of these archaic vampires? Are ancients felled by the crucifix--it's unlikely.

There are two disparate arguments regarding the crucifix. The first is that its power is determined by the faith of the bearer, and the other is that the power comes from God and has effect over any vampire whose former life was contained within the Christian society. The question that arises is: Will other symbols have similar effect? Will a Durga effigy in the hands of a Hindu smite a vampire? And what about vampires that were never of the Christian faith--will the crucifix affect them?

Is there any innate power of the crucifix or is it merely a lucky charm to ease the fears of the bearer?

Do svidanja,
Ana