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OK, Is it a stake in the heart, silver tipped stake in the heart or be-heading a Vampire that ends their life?

You know I have heard all of those things or a combination of them. I think it all depends on what the author wants. As far as real vampires I haven't a clue.

honestly, it seems to be a Hollywood "bent" on how to end a Vampire's life. i've come to think that many of our perceptions of Vampires are from movies and books.

i thought it was suppose to be a wooden stake

sure, or the sun, or cutting off the vampire's head....all this is hollywood, and not factually based.

I would think that it would depend on the type of vampire that you were trying to kill.

It would seem that folklore varies from location to location and from time period to time period. They included things like garlic in the mouth of the corpse, burying face down, beheading and moving the head to the feet, etc. If we open this thread up to more possible answers, it's likely to receive more response on the varying ways to kill mythological vampires.

very true, i think the question could be posed as how many different ways are there to kill a vampire? or something of the sort. but thats just me

I've actually heard that vampires have to be dismemberd piece by piece, and then reburried or burned.

depending on the story or film do we know the right way a vampire would die, yet a myth, hate to be out in life and meet up with one to see what may work. so your desicion

All of them are a way of ending a vampires life, all depending on what folklore you believe.

There are many ways to kill a vampire depending upon the regional folklore. Perhaps in some places a stake did not do the job but throwing holy water on the vampire destroyed him. The folklore might indicate that there are different types of vampires the populated different areas of the world and that there is a corresponding method to killing a vampire based solely on where the vampire is from.

I to have read about all of those things in books or seen them in movies. I think the most efficient would probably be the beheading, but I have also heard that dead man's blood is like a poison to vampires, I guess it just depends on the book or movie.

fictional beheaded. or stake to the heart..

real life? anything can kill...even a spoon...

Silver tip I thought were used in Hollywood to distroy werewolves.

Silver has always been considered a pure or holy metal even outside the christian religion. Many pagans considered silver a cure all ward against evil. In some folklore the vampire and werewolf are very closely related and even intertwined.

I think it all depends on the author and what they believe it to be. As to real vampires, I haven't got the slightest idea. But a thought, I would say that it must be something pure like a wooden stake to the heart or cutting off their head.

Maybe I'm being a smartass here but... wouldn't driving a stake through the heart or decapitation kill just about anything?

Wood is the one used most often, but staking and cutting off head is what Stoker used. As for Blade, any kind of stake in the heart does the trick.

Believe there was supposed to be a certain type of wood in some legends, but cannot remember without hitting Google.

From I Am Legend the book version, there's a whole theory that Richard Matheson, comes up with... It's very interesting.

Burning seems to work just about every where from what I need but then again hot enough fire kills just about anything

Personally, just because I believe "Vampires" are humans living the vampire lifestyle...I think a "stake in the heart" would merit death just because someone plunged a weapon into your chest.

i have also heard of all of those ways,i would assume it is the way the story is written

oh forgot in some traditions the stake to the heart just keep the vampire from coming out of it grave and didn't actually kill it at all

it all depends where you live there are different types of vampires

True, I have read a story of those lines. A stake places the vamp into a "sleep" state to where they cannot move. Once the stake is removed, and some healing time has paced, watch out!!!

As for the silver tipped version, some stories discuss silver as a metal that vamps are "allergic" to, but in itself will not kill a vamp.

But for now, if anyone claims to be a vamp, I am pretty sure they would be taking the eternal dirt nap if I stake them or lop off their noggin.

I have heard of all of those from what I understand mostly it is just a stake in the heart but there are some authors and movies that portay both the stake and the beheading.

All of the above...in Hollywood at least. ;)

A wooden stake through their heart, cutting ofd their head and then a mouthful of garlic. That's what's meant to do it.

Although I would have thought that if a vampire was so horriby tortured by their 'curse of enternity' that they could just go into the sun and explode ;)

if your talking bout killing one all three would work

If you want to be really sure, woden stake, then decapitation, then burning and sprinkle the ashes in a body of running water

More Hollywood Glam...

ya i think that this is all hollywood but really i dont think that many people have gotten close enough to a real wampire after knowing mhat it was and not being kill

Anyone would die from that. Your just talking about a Hollywood vampire and those are not real.

From the Vampire tours of New Orleans, I can say this...While the stake does pin the vampire to the ground, it takes fire to burn the corpse to ashes, then for the final death, you must sever the head, and scatter the remaining ashes down either a river, or in a heavy wind swept storm.

I have to agree with the fact that hollywood has played a major part in advocating various myths as far as vampirism and things of that nature.

Well, in books and on tv I have seen both stake to the heart and beheading work for killing vampires. But, the silver tipped stake I have not heard of - interesting.

From www.zerotime.com:

Stakes: Staking a vampire in the heart with a wooden stake is the most popular way of destroying vampires. This method of killing a vampire has been around for literally hundreds of years. The stakes were typically made of ash or aspen. The stake must penetrate the vampire's heart to destroy it. In medieval times the stake was also used as prevention of vampires. Deceased individual who were thought to have a higher risk of becoming a vampire were staked in their coffins so that the stake would pin them to the ground.

If I remember, Bram Stoker's Van Helsing's remedy was wooden stake through the heart, stuff mouth with garlic and then cut off head.

from all the books that I have read the stake in the heart can kill them or it can paralyze them but in all of them to actually kill them it's the removal of the head.

just like any other human being (bloodthirst or no) a stake through the heart will do the trick, or even a dose of cyanide the list goes on.

Stake through the heart would generally kill any thing correct? Why should a vampire be any different...unless they heal that fast, which is doubtful.

Nothing like getting your head cut off with garlic breath!
Yuk!

knowing hollywood tales, its a new cause of death every year......

puncture the heart and you die, pretty direct and to the point

Hollywood myth. and if penetrate the heart with anykind of a pole will lead to death. It is so simple.

This doesn't appear to be going much further than it had earlier. I'm going to close this thread because the discussion seems to have reached it's conclusion.