Vampires and Crucifixes

We all know that vampires can apparently be repelled by brandishing a crucifix at them.

But why?

Something to do with religious Christian belief and the power of God.

Which, ok, yeah, in the context of when most popular vampire stories were written (looking at you here, Dracula), the European world was a staunchly Christian place. So obviously that’s the way they’d turn.

But in my world of pseudoscience and magic? Yeah, that doesn’t work, not on its own.

Don’t get me wrong, I have vampires who are deathly afraid of crucifixes. But it has nothing to do with religious belief and everything to do with past trauma.

You see, in my world, I like reasons for things.

My shifters are a product of evolution, hormones, and magic.

My silent spell casting can find its origins in the English witch hunts of the 1600s.

My vampires?

Mental health disorders.

At least the reasons behind most of the lore about them anyway. Their general being a vampire is a whole other thing, along with the burning in sunlight, but we’ll get to that in another post. For this post, we’re focusing on the ‘why’ of crucifixes.

As vampires differ vastly in their ages, origins, and beliefs I’ve a few reasons for their aversion to crucifixes.

Three of which are – PTSD, Scrupulosity (Religious Intrusive Thoughts), and Shared Psychotic Disorder.

Of these three, PTSD will be the focus of this post. The others will have their own so I don’t ramble too much and bore you, dear reader.

So, PTSD. What is it?

The definition given by the NHS is;

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder caused by very stressful, frightening or distressing events.

Do you know what would be a stressful, frightening, and distressing event?

Being crucified.

Nailed to a cross and left to the mercies of the burning sun.

The above image is one we’re all familiar with. I’d even go so far as to say we’re completely disconnected with the sheer brutality of it. It’s just Christ on the cross, no big deal right? Millions of people wear this image around their necks. They kiss it, they revere it.

Personally, I find crucifixes highly disturbing, I always have done. And this is coming from a woman who has multiple books on punishment, execution and torture, and who uses an actual ball and chain for a doorstop. (this is, admittedly, a less disturbing collection when you realise I’m actually a historian, by degree, with a fascination with crime and punishment).

But imagine if you were a vampire from ancient times.

Imagine having this used as a form of torture against you.

If you survive, which, come on, vampires, they’ve got more than a fighting chance, this would seriously f*ck you up mentally.

So, imagine someone who suffered through this.

Then imagine someone brandishing a crucifix at them.

I’d say that would be one Hell of a trigger.

That trigger could easily send a vampire into a flashback. They could feel or act as though the traumatic event is happening again, they could lose all awareness of what’s going on around them. There’s even the chance they’d feel the same pain as when they were originally crucified.

Nowadays we’re mainly shown soldiers reacting to fire works and other loud noises to show PTSD. But compare that reaction to how a vampire is portrayed when faced with a crucifix.

I don’t see a difference. Do you?

PTSD can also be used to explain why a crucifix, a blatantly Christian symbol, would work against non-Christian vampires since this form of punishment wasn’t limited to the Romans. It was used by Persians, Carthaginians, and Macedonians. It can be found in Japan, Burma, and even has mentions in the Qur’an.

And the widespread knowledge that such a thing works? Well, that’s easy. The only ones to survive a vampiric encounter were those able to induce a PTSD response. Those that met unaffected vampires? Generally speaking, the dead don’t talk. They couldn’t refute the claims being made by others.

Your highly sexualised, brooding vampire could also be caused by PTSD.

Isolation, irritability, guilt.

They’ve all made appearances.

Modern day psychology has broken PTSD down into three ‘Symptom Clusters’. All you have to do is cherry pick a few and you’ve got yourself a stereotypical vamp just begging to be saved. (Not that it’s that easy of course)

The medical field has come along in leaps and bounds over the last century. Amassing a greater understanding of PTSD, but in ancient times? No such luck.

Our poor vampires have been left to deal with their trauma any way they can. The spread of Christianity a never ending nightmare constantly nipping at their heels no matter how far they run.

And once you get to the modern day? How effective would therapy even be for a millennia old trauma? The symptoms of which have become deeply ingrained in the individual’s psyche.

So there you have it. Some of my vampires are a bit broken. They can have extreme reactions to crucifixes, not from fear of a religion, but from fear of its symbol and what it could cause.

Frankly, I find that a lot more interesting than mere ‘religious belief’.

-x-

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