That is the question.
Most often vampires, or suspected vampires, were staked through the heart, though in Russia and northern Germany, the mouth was targeted for staking. In northeastern Serbia, the stomach was the appropriate place to stake a vampire. It was believed that staking a vampire was a way to relieve the bloated body of the devil spirit.
Ever the preferred method of killing or immobilizing a vampire; stakes are possibly the most widely recognized way by which a vampire can be dealt with (unless you count sunlight-but you can't carry it around with you).
The stake driven through the heart is said to strike a killing blow to the undead; it is a technique by which a vampire may be put down while other, more permanent, means are used, such as: decapitation and burning. We recognize stakes today as the weapon of choice for any Vampire Slayer, and my personal favorite way to watch vampires meet their ends-in a pile of dust.
So, how did the method of staking come about? Like many other vampire myths, killing with a stake has its own historical significance.
Throughout central and eastern Europe, this method was taken very seriously. Not just any table leg or tree branch would do; the stake had to made of specific materials. In Russia, and through the Baltic, stakes had to be crafted from ash because of it's "magical qualities" (what's so magical about ash isn't said). In Silesia, the stakes were carved from oakwood, while Serbia had theirs crafted from hawthorn because of it's thorny shrub quality.
Vampirism was taken so seriously, in fact, that in Hungary and Romania bodie
s were staked after death to prevent the dead from coming back.
s were staked after death to prevent the dead from coming back. Most often vampires, or suspected vampires, were staked through the heart, though in Russia and northern Germany, the mouth was targeted for staking. In northeastern Serbia, the stomach was the appropriate place to stake a vampire. It was believed that staking a vampire was a way to relieve the bloated body of the devil spirit.
Staking is still, today, a widely used technique for doing away with vampires. Fictionalists utilize this technique over any and all others for the destruction of vampires. Vampire Diaries and Buffy the Vampire Slayer are just a few examples of that fact.
Forgive me for not posting last night. You may all stake me if you'd like.
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