Wooden Stake

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    "..Dis is my lucky stake. I have killed many vampires with it. I call it Mr Pointy."

    —Kendra, Buffy the Vampire Slayer

    The favorite (and generally speaking, only) weapon of the vampire slayer. Because weirdly enough, only wood can kill a vampire, whereas sword impalement short of beheading cannot. This may be because the wooden stake was a once living plant, much like the vampire was a once living human, unlike the sword which was never alive. Yes, this frequently means that someone can be killed via pencil to the heart.

    In early vampire fiction -- and before that, in vampire legends and folklore -- stakes were simply used to pin a "vampire" into its coffin while it slept, keeping it from waking back up and causing trouble. (Actually killing one was a far more complicated process, usually involving Communion wafers, decapitation and burial at a crossroads.) When it became a bizarre all-purpose vampire-killing weapon is unclear.

    Examples of Wooden Stake include:

    Anime and Manga

    • In Interviews with Monster Girls the vampire student Hikari notes that some myths about vampires aren't true or are exaggerated, but does think a stake through her heart may be deadly.

    Film

    • Surprisingly, the original film version of Buffy the Vampire Slayer didn't have the insta-kill stake -- as evidenced by the need to burn vampires, and Pee Wee Herman Amilyn's extended death-by-wooden-ruler throughout the closing credits.

    Live-Action TV

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