AtoZ Day 19: S is for Stake, Shtriga, Sundown - The Vampire In Retreat

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Stake

So possibly the most famous method of disposing of a vampire is a stake through the heart.

Most people think this is how Dracula was killed in the book, but actually he was killed with a knife. It was Lucy who was staked, then decapitated and even then, just to make sure they put garlic in her mouth. Not a dignified way to end up really.

Ever since, however, all the best vampires end up with stakes through their heart: David from the Lost Boys (okay so it was an antler, but same idea), Kurt Barlow from Salem's Lot, Helen Kent from Dracula: Prince of Darkness, just about all of them from from Dusk Till Dawn.

What is the most dramatic death by stake you have read or seen?

Creature Feature:

Shtriga

Today we dip into Albanian folklore for our creature of the day. The Shtriga is a vampiric witch which, according to Wikipedia sucks the blood of infants at night and then turns into a flying insect.

Unnatural World also adds that part of her legend is that she sucks the living essence or spirtus vitae out of people at night.

By day she appears human, most often an old woman and The Demonical says that this is when she can be killed. She can be trapped in a building using a cross of pig bones after which she can be killed quite easily.

Movie Recommendation:

Title: Sundown - The Vampire In Retreat
Rating: 15
Summary: Vampires have taken over a small American town where they seek to live in peace under the watch of Count Mardulak. They have a plant which manufactures fake blood, only there is a problem with production so they bring in the inventor and his family to fix it. However, all is not peaceful among the vampire ranks and there are those who wish to go back to killing. Add in a Van Helsing and things are going to get ugly.
Why you should watch this: It's hilarious and has Bruce Campell and David Carradine, do I need to say anything else? Honestly, it's a great entertaining movie.

What's At Stake 

(#19 in The Diverse Life of Ianthe Jawara, Vampire)

by Natasha Duncan-Drake

Philips entered the hallway just as Ianthe was storming up the stairs.

"Is there something wrong, Madam?" the man asked.

"This," she all but hissed and threw the destroyed rose branch at the butler.

It wasn't fair to take it out on him and she did deliberately miss him, but she had to let the anger out somehow. Afraid of what she might do she turned and continued upwards to her rooms. She needed to think and to plan.

As she threw open the door to her section of the upstairs it only latterly registered that the door had not been completely closed. Fear tried to spark again, but she was far too furious. However, that didn't stop Lilith. The hellhound puppy shot past her as she froze just inside the doorway. She could actually feel Lilith feeding off her anger and as she watched the puppy became anything but.

Cute, if somewhat fantastical looking puppy became a huge, demonic dog, but Lilith didn't stop there; there was more to come. Shock almost curbed some of Ianthe's rage, but it was something of a feedback loop and Lilith's determination and protective instincts came back to her, bolstering her righteous anger. Lilith grew more until she was one hundred percent bigger yet again. Spines erupted from her back in a long sharp row and black scales flowed across her flanks and down her legs to form armour. When Ianthe stepped up beside her hell hound she could also see long, sabre like canines jutting out of Lilith's top jaw.

"Find it," was all she said, putting any questions about Lilith's abilities to the back of her mind.

There was no hesitation as Lilith immediately jumped forward, through the bedroom door.

Ianthe was not expecting a yelp to follow. It was the unmistakable sound of pain and she didn't even think about it, she used every ounce of speed she had and rushed into the next room. Lilith was standing her ground, glaring around the room, snarling, but Ianthe's eyes were immediately drawn to the large wooden stake sticking out of Lilith's left side.

Every fight response Ianthe had fired and her humanity dropped away completely. She was all vampire as she glared around the room. Anything remotely dangerous would have found itself shredded before it could attack, but there was nothing there. What she did see was a mechanism and it had clearly been attached to the door as a release. Lilith had fired a trap meant for Ianthe.

"What in hell's name is going on here?"

She span on the spot and almost launched at Alex. It was only the maker bond that curbed her actions and she had to take a deep breath to centre herself.

"Someone got in here," she all but accused even though she knew it wasn't Alex's fault.

Lilith growled in agreement. Alex's eyes grew in shock as he looked at the hellhound, but at that moment Ianthe didn't really care.

"The priest was here," she declared.

She knew if she let herself think too hard the fear would come back. She did not want that. This was no time for human sentiment; she needed to act. The priest had stepped over a line that no vampire would allow, no matter how forgiving, and he was going to pay. Before any worry could touch her, she turned, pulled the stake out of Lilith's side and threw it across the room. In the next second she ripped a hole in her left palm with talons on her right and thrust it against the wound.

Vampire power met demon power in a heady mix. It sent shots of ice up her arm, but she could feel the wound closing under her hand. It was the work of moments.

"Someone betrayed us," she said, wiping her hand on her dress without thought as she turned back to her maker; "I am going to find out who."

"Wait," Alex said, but Ianthe wasn't interested.

She swept past her maker and Philips who was in the outer room and headed straight for the stairs. This could not be allowed to stand.

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A few of us discovered that we all had supernatural themes for the AtoZ so we got together and did a mini list. If you also have a supernatural theme (ghosts, monsters, witches, spells etc), please feel free to add yourself to the list.

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