Can they rush in after the first two words, before you say “not”? Can they enter if they stuff their ears before they hear the final word?
Yes. This happened to my cousin Ronny. He’s undead now.
It seems to me that the wording itself is unimportant, but rather the intention. So I would imagine no
Hear me out, so what if the vampire gaslights you into thinking that you already invited them in and they’re so good at it that you really believe it? Does that establish intent?
Only if they can gaslight into giving them permission. If they convince you theyre a friend you havent seen since high school that would be the way to go.
This inspired me to keep a handheld mirror near my front door, for when someone inevitably asks if they can come in, I can grab it and do a very obvious vampire check
I hope your can find a mirror made with silver, most modern ones aren’t, and that’s why vampires didn’t show up in them
You’re mixing stuff up. Mirrors reflect souls, and since vampires don’t have souls, they don’t have no reflections.
By that logic, no inanimate objects should show up either. I’d look in a mirror and would see behind me through the back wall and all the way to my neighbors inside their now invisible soulless house, and all neighbors beyond. It’d just be a bunch of people at various distances in my mirror line of sight in an infinite void behind me as far as the eye can see. And we’d all appear naked.
That’s hot.
Most people aren’t hot naked
That’s correct, and the “vampires have no reflection” thing is stupid. Most modern interpretations ditch it.
Dude. Thank you. I would’ve let so many vampires in.
As much as I appreciate it though, we’re poor as fuck, vampires still welcome.
You can use an old silver spoon or knife as a mirror
Or stab a stake in their heart! If they are a vampire, they will either instantly turn to dust or at least be paralysed, so you can easily dispose of them.
Otherwise it’s going to be just ordinary murder.
Splash them with holy water
Will be appreciated by non vampire guests on hot days
Dammit, time to hit the antique store.
No, vampires usually leave that sort of “exact words” trickery to faeries and genies.
And in their case I think they’d let you finish speaking because they relish the challenge more than they want to simply squish you.
Similar question, what if you retract the invite after they’ve already entered the home?
They’re fast, faster than you can imagine, don’t look away and don’t blink. Blink and you’re dead.
No. It is magic so they would not be able to enter partway through an answer as doing so would make it clear that the vampire knew it was really a no.
They don’t know until the third word, they only hypothesize it’s a no.
If they are magically forbidden to enter without permission, but also don’t know every language or phrasing of ‘come on in’, then there is a magical way to know intent without needing to hear all the words.
Otherwise they wouldn’t be able to work with nods and hand motions from people who cannot speak, shrugs and grunts from drunk college students, etc.
Hmm, this was debated already and in this comment they provided a peer reviewed journal article about intent vs language and understanding. It sums things up better than I could. They clearly cared a lot more than me about this.
The thing with sources is that sometimes it is hard to know how reliable they are, and sometimes they do let you down.
sometimes they do let you down.
Some readers might assume a lie, and dissert you.
What’s the longest duration between may and not that would be valid in keeping them out?
How long until you start questioning if it will work and invite doubt? Or will you assume defeat if the vampire fills the gap with, “why, thank you my good sir”?
My understanding of the idea with many interpretations of magic is they are all just ways of focusing your will on the world.
Ergo, the words aren’t themselves the source of power, your expectation that the words will result in a certain outcome is.
Therefore, if your intention is to deny entry is strong, there could be a fairly good gap.
But on the other hand, playing around to try and see could create doubt and uncertainty, weakening the effect.
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I imagine it’s the intent, so it doesn’t matter how long.
If the vampire knows it is intended to be a no then it doesn’t matter. The person could never finish it as long as the vampire knows the real answer is no despite the words being stated not matching up.
At least 20 seconds if you yell “psych” afterwards.
I admire your confidence
It is a necessity when the vampires keep trying to get in!
If you live alone and vampire shows up at your door with a gun and shoots you dead, could it then enter the house
No, because you didn’t grant it consent to enter prior to death.
That only applies if you stick around haunting the house. If your soul moves on the house is no longer yours.
OK, but what if you’re still haunting the house, but a new person legally buys it and then invites the Vampire in? Who’s preference takes precedent?
That is yet to be decided in the courtroom of sitcom based on that exact premise.
Yes but then it has to water my plants weekly forever.
A vampire mesmerizing a victim into allowing entry always felt like cheating to me
Isn’t that the entire reason behind the rule, so that they could write a way for the vampires to circumvent it. They established a fake rule that never used to exist and then proceeded to prop it up over and over until the reader believed it to be law, and then when they least expected it, it was dashed to pieces in an instant.
Of course it’s cheating, but cheating at what exactly? Cheating at a rule that never even used to exist, was written specifically to later be broken in that very same book. It’s like any puzzle design in writing, like murder mystery, they usually create the puzzle backwards by thinking of fun solutions to problems they could then create to lead there.
Yes, that would be cheating.
the preferred nomenclature is “come back with a warrant”.
Don’t give them ideas!
Hey, that’s an idea! A buddy cop movie, where they’re also vampires and execute warrants to get invited into the houses of the victims.
So a documentary about America then
Vampires are way cooler than police imo.
Actually, that could be a fun plot point. Vampires get in with warrants, find out people hate cops, investigate why, instigate positive change in the system…
Would be a major improvement to normal cops since they would only enter your house with a warrant.
They don’t need to they just evict you instead.
A lot of people here are telling you that the answer is ‘no’ because the vampires must respect your true intent or rely on trickery to get you to willfully invite them in.
But the real reason is ‘no’ because vampires aren’t real.
Sure Mr Suspiciously Pale Human, whatever you say, you still can’t come in even if vampires don’t exist.
The only correct answer.
But there’s one asking to enter so it turns out you’re wrong about that.
If someone pulls a gun on me I can’t declare “bullets aren’t real” and expect to endure being shot without taking harm.
I guess we could ask OP to try saying “you may not” and see whether he survives to post confirmation that it worked?
Okay can I come in then?
That’s what a vampire trying to enter my house would say.
Answering the question necessitates engaging with the premise. Refusing to do so and acting smug just makes you look like a dick.
Thats why you summon Abraham Lincoln, the Vampire Hunter
Don’t forget that a door mat that says “welcome” counts as consent.
What We Do In The Shadows reference?
Currently watching this with my wife! Season 2. We really enjoy it.
“Creeepee paypah!”
And now my household will occasionally go “Fu-hkeeng gguuuuy” 😆
At least I remember it from Renfield
The requirement isn’t that vampires need to hear you say “You can come in,” it’s that you need to extend them a formal invitation and lower the barrier that protects your home. Theoretically, you could lie to the vampire, but they’d probably notice your barrier and wouldn’t get fooled.
…you do have a barrier right? You properly consecrated the ground before moving, drew the sigils, and cleansed all existing evil spirits? 'Cuz otherwise, any old spooky creature will probably skip the pleasantries and just get you.
I etched the protection runes on the studs while my home was being built. Saves so much time!
Pretty sure the realtor was supposed to handle all of that.
any old spooky creature will probably skip the pleasantries and just get you.
If they ain’t paying rent I can surely make them uncomfortable enough to leave by just being myself.
I can surely make them uncomfortable enough to leave by just being myself.
BE AFRAID, CREATURES OF THE NIGHT
