Time for another Vampire Wednesday!
So I decided to talk a little about Garlic.
Garlic has long been believed to ward off vampires. It was also believed to ward of all sorts of evil beings and spirits.
Like witches!
I find that somewhat hard to believe. Garlic has been used for centuries as a medicine. It still has a reputations as a powerful healing agent. It’s widely used for heart and blood conditions. Some witches were healers, I find it hard to believe that he/she wouldn’t use garlic to heal.
Garlic was rumored to protect from the plague! Kind of strange if you ask me, Italy loves garlic and yet they have suffered the plague a couple of times throughout history.
So back to the vampires…
Vampires who were hiding in their villages and were not detected for who knows how long, would be spotted when they refused to eat dishes made with garlic. –Busted!–
I guess ancient vampires could eat human food. According to this idea of finding hidden vampires they could.
It wasn’t until Bram Stoker that the smell garlic was able to deter vampires. (Filling Lucy’s room with garlic flowers to keep Count Dracula away.)
A special note! Modern vampires aren’t effected by garlic. (Well, some aren’t.)
What do you think about Garlic and vampires?
I know some writers are keeping the myth, others are leaving it behind.
If you write vampire stories, do you keep the garlic myth?
Mari Wells 
I like Garlic! I vote to quit the fable that it is bad for vamps.
I love the smell of garlic too.
My vampires aren’t affected by garlic. Some even love the smell!
I wrote a vampire novel called Drasmyr dealing with a traditional evil vampire. I kept the garlic myth, because the vampire is more powerful than humans, and the humans must have some way of combatting them. With respect to witches, I know one, and as far as I know, although I do not agree with her theology, she is not affected adversely by garlic. Regardless, she is my friend and a nice person.
I personally, feel that what we know or believe regarding vampire weakness is myth. That doesn’t mean they don’t have weaknesses, just we don’t know them.
I also, know a few witches. They all love garlic and most believe in its use it as a healing agent.
I can live with that.
I think that is what makes vampire novels fun to read. If we always know the way they are to be killed why would we even bother reading anymore. Each authors’ imagination is personally why I read.
[…] done some amazing posts on vampire myths and legends around the globe (see below for linkage). Mari Wells writes a compelling column exploring common vampire traits every Wednesday on her blog. I am reading an anthology of vampire accounts and stories from the 18th through 20th centuries. […]