Is there a foolproof way to fend off a vampire?
The classic repellents are crucifixes, rosaries, and holy water. Wreaths of garlic festooned on doors, hung around the neck, or rubbed around windows and entrances will also do the trick. In 1998, Dr. Juan Gomez-Alonso, a neurologist in Vigo, Spain, hypothesized that rabies could help explain the supposed aversion of vampires to garlic. Vampires, he said, were really victims of a type of rabies called furious rabies, a disease usually transferred to humans by an animal bite. The symptoms: retracted lips, clenched teeth, frothing at the mouth, hyper-sexuality, and vomiting of bloody fluids.
Dr. Gomez-Alonso found that almost a quarter of men suffering from rabies tended to bite other people. “That almost guarantees transmission, as the virus is carried in…
