MovieChat Forums > Vamps (2012) Discussion > Thing about the dirt. . .?

Thing about the dirt. . .?

posted 11 years ago by LadyABC
3 replies | jump to latest

I know this movie seems to be getting some poor reviews on this message board but I actually enjoyed it. I mean, I went into it not expecting it to be much more than campy fluff and that is exactly what I got. . .but ENTERTAINING fluff nonetheless. The only part I just didn't get was the thing with the "hometown" dirt. Why did they have to have dirt in their coffins? That part was never explained. I don't watch a lot of vampire movies so perhaps that is part of vampire lore of which I'm not knowledgeable? Anyone have any ideas?

[–] GrabbyHands 11 years ago

Some tales maintain that vampires must return to a coffin or to their "native soil" before sunrise to take their rest safely. Others place native soil in their coffins, especially if they have relocated.

[–] Shinsei-NEN 11 years ago

Yes, that's part of vampire lore and some vampire stories,
that's what Vamps did there, they used some traditional lore.

For example, in Vampire: The Masquerade (1991),
vampires from the Clan Tzimisce have a weakness,
which is they need native soil, if they don't do that,
they gradually lose power and here's an explanation from the book:

The Tzimisce are inextricably tied to their domains of origin
and must rest in the proximity of at least
two handfuls of “native soil” — earth from a place important
to her as a mortal, such as the soil from her birthplace
or the graveyard where she underwent her Embrace.

There are different Clans and Bloodlines in this lore,
unlike other stories, you can find, in Vampire: The Masquerade,
a nice variety of vampires, although they share some traits.

[–] ciprianl 10 years ago

And as another example, in Bram Stoker's novel, Dracula ships to London crates containing the soil of his native country, the only one in which he could rest.