Garlic was a Greek practice, if I remember correctly. It was believed to frighten away evil spirits. It's no coincidence that it's used in food, either, as (Again, if I remember correctly) they believed that by ingesting the garlic, no evil spirits could enter their bodies through possession.

Holy Water and Crosses are merely tools from just one religion, and considering that the traditional popular vampire comes from a world that had such strong faith in this religion, they also put faith in it's various symbols and tools of prayer. Every religion is like this.

How do I know this? Well, let's just say I have an old friend who knows things.

You must also consider the fact that Hollywood throws everything they have into grabbing the attention of the audience. Maybe not everybody enjoys seeing the same things over and over again i.e. the cross, garlic, what have you. They need to keep the audience into the movie by coming up with different things every time.

But i definatly agree with you one hundred percent I AM, religions did play a major factor in coming up with all of the myths of fighting vampyres off throughout history.

Ehh.. interesting. Thanks for sharing.
So is the whole 'staking through the heart' thing also invented by the media?

No, the media actually didn't come up with the idea of driving a stake though the heart. It wa actually an ancient myth.

Bodies sometimes will die and have blood built up inside of them during decomposition. And it was said that you were to drain a dead body dry to ensure their passage to the afterlife. Vampyres back in ancient times were said to be people that weren't completely dead, so they would chase them out and drive a stake through their centermost part (their heart) and they would then be allowed passage to the afterlife.

Ohh, I see. That's pretty cool.
Do you know if there are certain things that trigger someone to awaken? Just curious. :]