What affects a vampire?
Coffins
Early mythological vampires did not always sleep in coffins. Up until the 19th century, only the very rich could afford coffins, and so much of the history of vampires did not include a 'secured' burial - indeed, it was the very precarious nature of medieval burial that fostered the fear that vampires could very easily rise from their final resting place in the earth.
Even up to the time of Dracula, fictional vampires did not always require coffins to slumber. All that was required was that the vampire rested in its native soil. When Dracula came to England, he brought crate upon crate of his native soil with him, and it was that soil in which he rested and regained his strength.
In more recent times, the best explanation for the commonality of the coffin to all vampire stories rests in the fact that vampires are dead; today, we bury our dead in coffins. The coffin also provides protection from sunlight (which is known in modern times to damage or kill the vampire). However, the coffin has provided a perfect target for the vampire hunter - a vitally important aspect of the modern vampire story.
Still, in these more secular times, the most modern of vampire writers are again challenging the myths of old. In Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles as well as other novels in this decade, vampires require nothing but protection from sunlight. Crypts, sealed rooms, and even the earth itself is sufficient for their needs.
Crucifix
The crucifix is a major symbol of the Christian faith. Many times shown on a chain or rosary beads, the crucifix has the body of Christ attached to the cross.
Although Christianity had liked vampires to Satanism as early as the 16th century, it was not until Bram Stoker's Dracula that the crucifix was considered to have power against the vampire. Stoker imbued the crucifix with an almost supernatural power. He used the cross as symbolic representation of Christ and all that is holy. Because historical Christian thinking encouraged associating vampires with Satan, a symbol like the crucifix with its Christian power, would ward off the beast. In Dracula, the crucifix drained the vampire's strength. It could also burn vampire flesh, and leave a mark on the skin of anyone who had been bitten by a vampire.
Stoker's ideas were carried on into modern literature and film, although often the crucifix was substituted by the empty cross, without the corpus. More recent twentieth century authors, such as Anne Rice, began to break with tradition by creating vampires who were immune to the effects of the cross and other religious symbols. These were true secular vampires who were not associated with Satan and therefore were not affected by artifacts imbued with Christian power.
Fire
Fire has long been considered an effective way to kill vampires. Fire has been used since pagan times as a ritual, a cleansing, warmth, and defense. Many vampires have met their doom by this method.
Wooden Stakes
Staking a vampire has been one of the major methods of killing vampires for thousands of years. Originally, it was used as a way of affixing the corpse within the ground. Before coffins, the only way people could be sure the revenant would not escape from its burial site was to fix it through the ground. Traditionally, this was done by staking the corpse through the stomach or back.
After coffins were in widespread use, the importance of the stake changed somewhat. It became instead a method of actually killing the vampire. By destroying the heart, which pumped the blood that gave the vampire life.
Sunlight
Traditionally, sunlight was not thought to kill vampires. In medieval times, vampires were thought to be able to walk around just as easily as humans during daylight. As literary vampirism increased, so did the vampire's aversion to sunlight.
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