As I mentioned in my first post in this series, vampirism is diametrically opposed to everything God calls good in his Word. But in light of this distinct separation, how would a vampire who got saved navigate the vast chasm between his old existence and his newfound faith? Read on to find out my thoughts on the matter and to get a glimpse at some of the questions I considered when writing my debut novel, Blood for Blood.

You might be a vampire if…

 …you can’t cross flowing bodies of water?

Calandra turned back and smiled at him, even as the waters pummeled him and ignored her. By the time he made it to Luco, Calandra, and Garrett in the middle of the river, the current had increased into waves that splashed up as high as Raven’s chin. Despite Raven’s evident struggling, neither Luco, Calandra, nor Garrett reacted to the increasing waters, as if they were oblivious to what was happening.

Garrett stood there, glaring at him, while Luco and Calandra smiled. None of them showed the slightest hint of concern for his well-being, even though the river fought to yank him away. Now he knew why vampires couldn’t cross flowing bodies of water—God’s Creation itself opposed them.

Was this baptism worth risking his existence?

Upriver, something changed, but not for the better. A massive swell tumbled downriver as if a nearby dam had broken and spewed the wrath of a thousand converging rivers right at them.

Raven turned back to Luco, who showed no concern that all four of them were about to be crushed by Nature’s fury. How was it even possible? Couldn’t he at least see the sheer terror on Raven’s face?

As the tidal wave approached, Luco held Raven’s arm. “Raven, are you ready to make a public confession of your faith?”

He stole a glance at the surf plowing toward them, now only about a hundred feet away and closing fast. He swallowed, and though he didn’t know why, he replied, “Yes.”

Luco moved him into position.

The tumult closed to fifty feet.

What was he thinking? He should be charging back to the water’s edge to get out of there before the river pulverized him.

Garrett didn’t move at all, so Calandra stepped forward and put her hand on his back. “It’s okay, Raven.”

Over her shoulder, the waves thundered within twenty five feet of them. They were all going to die.

“I baptize you in the name of the Father—”

Fifteen feet.

“—the Son—”

Less than ten feet. Raven’s eyes widened.

“—and the Holy Spirit,” Luco said.

The swell crashed down on them as Luco and Calandra submerged him underwater.

– Excerpted from Chapter 10 of Blood for Blood, by Ben Wolf

Some lore suggests that vampires can’t cross flowing bodies of water. The lore doesn’t specify why, exactly, but based on what we know of the Scriptures and combined with the notion that vampirisim stands directly opposed to biblical principles, we can extrapolate a few reasonable (albeit creative) ideas as to why this is the case.

Let’s start with a look at Jesus walking on the water (Matthew 14:22-33, ESV):

Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them.

And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear.

Jesus had command over the elements (water, wind, night) to the extent that he could walk on water. There’s also Jesus’ baptism to consider (Matthew 3:16, ESV):

And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him…

That’s pretty cool, huh? Jesus got baptized, and then God’s spirit showed up. Okay, one more, another one you may be familiar with (Mark 4:35-41, NIV):

That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him.

A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

Now we circle back to vampires and how this could relate. In the above excerpt from Blood for Blood, the river opposes Raven (the vampire) to the point of attempting to drown him while he moves toward its center to be baptized.

Given Christ’s control and dominance over the wind, waves, and water in the above passages, we can assume something like this might serve as a reason why, according to some lore, vampires couldn’t cross flowing bodies of water. But could a vampire who got saved cross a flowing body of water? Could a vampire be baptized in a river, like what Raven is trying to accomplish?

I think one other point is of note, here: baptism is considered a symbol of a Christian’s transformation in that it mimics the Christian’s death (submerging beneath the water, as if descending into a grave) and resurrection to new life (rising again from those waters). Perhaps this symbolic act also plays a role in why vampires can’t cross flowing bodies of water, as vampires have already died and risen once again in a new, twisted form of “life.”

What do you think? Please drop me a note in the comments below. If you want my answer, check out the rest of Blood for Blood. Click the cover to purchase your copy today.