I Am Legend had the reverse, where it was entirely psychological on the vampire’s part. Neville tests crosses and crucifixes on some vamps and discovers they don’t repel his Jewish neighbor, but a Star of David does.
I remember before the Anita Blake series fell off the rails, the star of David not working on vampires because it was a racial symbol, not a religious one.
That makes sense to me, if you’re aiming for a “secular” explanation of vampirism. The true faith explanation still requires some source of supernatural power to affect the vampire from outside, while an amped-up placebo effect is sufficient to explain Matheson’s vamps. I always loved I am Legend for taking the idea so seriously!
I Am Legend had the reverse, where it was entirely psychological on the vampire’s part. Neville tests crosses and crucifixes on some vamps and discovers they don’t repel his Jewish neighbor, but a Star of David does.
I remember before the Anita Blake series fell off the rails, the star of David not working on vampires because it was a racial symbol, not a religious one.
That makes sense to me, if you’re aiming for a “secular” explanation of vampirism. The true faith explanation still requires some source of supernatural power to affect the vampire from outside, while an amped-up placebo effect is sufficient to explain Matheson’s vamps. I always loved I am Legend for taking the idea so seriously!