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That was never about not be able to enter a property but about not being able to enter someone home. If I rent a house I own, it is not my home. It is my house and if my renter make their home it is their’s.
Everyone ready for a shallow dive?
Shallow because I ain’t being paid to go look though books and dig up links, so it’s from memory and thus imperfect, so I won’t go crazy
So, vampire invites.
It all depends in where the vampires are from. Meaning that the real world myths of vampires are highly regional. That being said, Dracula is the real source of that weakness. It wasn’t super widespread until the book.
Which means we kinda have to guess. See, the legends don’t really say, and Dracula doesn’t either.
The real origin of it in writing is Greek, and somewhere in the 1600s. Some weird shit someone wrote down that vampires couldn’t enter without permission. Never gave an explanation afai could ever find.
So we’re left with a couple of possibilities.
The first, and one that’s commonly used in modern fiction, is that vampires are undead, and thus the living sort of imprint their abodes, leaving a kind of magic barrier that serves as passive protection against bad things.
Second, and it’s not one I’ve seen a lot of in fiction, is that it comes down to building the house. That, intentionally or not, the act of laying foundations and placing doors/windows creates the same kind of magic barrier. Since old school masonry was sorta kinda mystical here and there, that may be the actual origin of the idea. Since some people did believe in magic to begin with, it makes a kind of sense.
Third, that it’s associated with some of the “rules” of being a vampire, the changes it makes. Like spilling salt or rice and they have to stop and count the grains. Something about them as vampires makes them incapable of being so rude as to break in. Sort of a mental block, though in terms of believing in vampires, that could also be magical.
Fourth, it might be more about the tradition of blessings. New homes get blessed, or when someone takes over a home, it gets done. The holy finger waving and chanting is a form of magic, and thus the vamps are stopped by the spell/deity.
Now, it’s obvious I don’t think vampires are a real thing. I’m not even convinced that the myths have a basis in anything real that got expanded over time. But they’re fun to work with.
Boring geek dump next.
My vampires in my ttrpg setting don’t have this weakness because I thought it dumb. However, my fictional universe includes other types of vampire than my ttrpg setting does. My in-universe reason for some types of vampire not being able to enter is the intentionality of a residence. By being built, even without magic spells involved, the minds of the people doing the work shape the magic field and bind a degree of protection into the building itself. But, since people that live there are assumed to have the right to decide who comes and goes, it doesn’t “turn on” until someone resides there. And it’ll turn off once nobody does for a long enough time.
I always liked the version where they have an alternative reason
AFAIK, vampires are supposed to be centuries old; so they’re a lot smarter than we think. My alternative theory is that theyve spread this as a false rumor, to make people gain a false sense of security when they’re home. When in reality, it just makes them extra easy to find
Additionally, garlic being used to ward off vampires? Alternatively - vampires love garlic because it’s so potent. Just makes people extra tasty
I’ve always held that the occupant of a building must be the one to invite, not the owner.
Reasoning: vampyric stories have been around since monarchies and nobility were the standard for landowners. The people in houses all over the kingdom didn’t own the houses or land, that belonged to some lord somewhere.
So since the people still had to be wary of inviting in strangers. The vampire could enter if they, the occupant (but not owner) invited them in.
Your best bet is to just stab everyone who asks to enter with a silver crucifix-stake dipped in garlic and holy water.
So it’s use-based ownership. Dark magic is marxist
Your best bet is to just stab everyone who asks to enter with a silver crucifix-stake dipped in garlic and holy water.
Thank you! Finally some good and clear leagle advice on the internet!
I think your third paragraph here is the most important.
The lesson of Vampire stories is to be wary of who you invite into your home. Technicalities over ownership are, I think, perversions of the point - anyone who could reasonably have the authority to invite a stranger into a place can invite a vampire.
This is a bit of a non-sequitor, but I wonder how vampires would interact with those wires Jewish communities hang around their neighborhoods to mark them as religiously private spaces, since the idea is that they symbolize the threshold of an open door.
Isn’t silver for werewolves, not vampires?
Best to be safe, in case of a hybrid werewolf-vampire.
A werepire? Vampwolf (works better if you do an accent like vampvulf)?
Mirrors were made out of silver and that’s the reason vampires are said to have no reflection. Silver was considered pure and holy.
Depends on the myth. Silver “worked” because it was considered mystically pure.
You know, despite tarnishing when you look at it funny.
tarnishing when you look at it funny.
Didn’t use to before mass coal burning etc. released shittons of hydrogen sulfide into the atmosphere, so appropriate to the era.
Counterpoint: people who had their folktales recorded weren’t mud-hut peasants, and probably owned their own homes.
Your best bet is to strip nekkid, and double dog dare visitors to come in “against your will” while you have a potato cannon filled with wooden stakes handy.
They come in? BAM, bye, trespasser!
They run in fear? BAM, bye, bloodsucker!
I believe the weapon you are searching for is called a blunderbuss.
When the landlord rents the property out they give up some of their rights to that property. They can’t just let anyone in whenever they want. Therefore, you, the occupant can allow a vampire in, while your landlord cannot. At least, not without giving you prior notification and possibly hiring the vampire to do some sort of work.
My ex landlord found this out the hard way. Put up cameras and they ended up paying for 6ish months of my rent and my court and legal costs which weren’t much because I did it pro se.
That’s why so many vampires are contractors these days.
These two replies are great.
Made my day, thank you!
In Dracula, Renfield allows Dracula into the asylum even though he’s just a patient and not the owner.
It depends. Read the fine print in your Rental Agreement. Usually if utilities are included, so are vampires. Otherwise there’s a fee for inviting them in.
You think they’d cover this in the Dungeonmonster Manual
You think your landlord waits for an invite?
Living on the cards against humanity sanctuary renders you immune to vampires.
Most vampires are perfectly capable of breaking and entering. It’s a pretty rare weakness for a vampire to require permission to enter a house, and in any case, it’s psychosomatic, as in, nothing bad happens to the vampire if they break the rule, and anybody who the vampire 🧛♀️ believes to be able to grant permission can do so.
However, breaking and entering in order to suck blood does endanger the Masquerade somewhat. So the local prince might chose to ban the practice, or at least require the use of tools that don’t leave visible traces. No kicking down the door, use a lockpick instead.
Ever see “Let the Right One In”? Best example I e seen of what happens to a vamp that comes in uninvited.
