History Main / HolyBurnsEvil

In video games with ElementalRockPaperScissors, if Holy and Darkness are elements, Holy is by far more likely to be effective against Darkness than either being neutral to it or even weak. In many {{Roguelikes}}, HolyWater hurts demons and the undead, and blessed or holy weapons do extra damage against them.

%%
%%
%% This list of examples has been alphabetized. Please add your example in the proper place. Thanks!
%%
%%
%%
%%
%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=a0f3bnn63qxd74voa5apau1l
%% Please do not change or remove without starting a new thread.
%%

* In the ''WebAnimation/{{Hellaverse}}'', angelic weapons can kill both [[DraggedOffToHell sinners]] (who otherwise [[MadeOfIron can survive pretty much anything]], [[AndIMustScream which is not as nice as it sounds]]) and [[DemonLordsAndArchDevils demon royalty]] (to the point that blessed rope can [[PowerNullifier nullify their powers]] and [[KryptoniteFactor make them vulnerable]]). Once a year, exorcist angels rampage through the Pride Ring and kill every sinner they can find [[ThePurge to curb Hell's overpopulation]]; angelic weapons may occasionally be left behind, which then find their way to Hell's black market.

* ''WebVideo/AfterlifeSMP'': {{Subverted|Trope}}. Angel/Elytrian Sausage assumes that vampires are harmed by holy symbols, so when Scott threatens him, Sausage throws a bottle of [[HolyWater Angel Sausage Water]] on him in an attempt to scare him off. This only serves to make him angry (just because it doesn't hurt him, doesn't mean he enjoys being drenched in someone's ''bathwater''), and he retaliates by [[spoiler:[[DisproportionateRetribution murdering Sausage in cold blood]].]]
** Sausage also assumes that, because Scott is an undead, demonic creature, he's unable to enter [[HolyGround the church]], and he decides to hide there until Scott has calmed down. Scott promptly proves that he ''can'' enter the church, leaving Sausage trapped in a building with no exits other than the one blocked by a bloodthirsty vampire.
* ''WebVideo/EmpiresSMP'': When [[spoiler:Sausage's evil LiteralSplitPersonality from Season 1]] tries to enter the Cathedral [[spoiler:of Saint Pearl]] in Sanctuary, the door delivers an electric shock to him, forbidding his entry. He bars up the Cathedral after his takeover just because he can't enter it. When he visits Stratos soon after, the Temple of Peril gives him the same electric shock when he tries to enter.

* In ''Literature/EmpireOfTheVampire'', vampires cannot stand anything associated with true faith, be it iconography depicting saints and angels, consecrated ground, holy water or even the sound of earnest prayer. This is taken to its logical extreme by the Silversaints, who cover their bodies in [[PowerTatto sacred tattoos]] and thus become literally blinding to their foes, who are unable to so much as look at them.

* Subverted and inverted in the comedic Mexican vampire film ''Film/{{Curado de Espantos}}''. The hero pulls a cross on the vampire. The vampire is undisturbed, pointing out that his ancestors were Jewish. The hero drops the cross, [[CrossesTheLineTwice pulling out a swastika while shouting "HEIL HITLER," causing the vampire to flinch away.]]

* ''Literature/ThatTimeIGotReincarnatedAsASlime'': Played with by [[HolyHandGrenade Holy Magic]], which at first glance fits this trope due to being far more effective on monsters than it is on humans and thus gains the reputation as a "purifying" force that destroys "evil" monsters. In reality, Holy Magic works by using "[[ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve faith]]" to power magic that manipulates holy energy, purifies [[{{Mana}} magicules]], and at high levels manipulates "spiritrons", the very building blocks of magical energy. As most humans have little to no magicules at all while often times most monsters don't just rely on magicules to survive but [[MadeOfMagic they're partially made from them]], this makes all but the most powerful Holy Magic spells devastating to monsters while mostly harmless to humans. This is why many beings tend to react in shock if they see a monster casting Holy Magic, as even if they know it's ''technically'' possible, without fine-tune control and/or a Skill that provides resistance against Holy Magic's effects it's basically the equivalent of throwing around radioactive material and praying they don't kill themselves in the process.

** This is where the Master Sword draws its true power. It started out as a divine sword in the first place and then got further purified by several holy fires. Evil cannot survive its touch; there's a reason it's also called "The Blade of Evil's Bane".

** The Black Court (undead vampires) have all the traditional vampire weaknesses like sunlight, garlic and symbols of Faith.[[note]]It's stated later that ''Dracula'' was commissioned by the White Court (an opposing set of vampires who don't have any particular weakness to holy items)[[/note]] However some religious items' power against vampires is based on the user's faith; while ThePaladin can burn a vampire to dust with a cross, they're useless to non-religious individuals like Dresden. He is able to use his Pentacle amulet as a symbol of his faith in Magic instead, however. And while Harry cannot make Holy Water himself, he can ask an ordained priest to consecrate water and store it for later use, like filling water balloons with it.
** The Red Court vampires (whose real form is some bat-demon beast) are slightly less vulnerable than the Black court, but still share the weakness.
** During the Red Court ball in ''Literature/GravePeril'', Harry has brought Michael, one of the three [[ThePaladin Knights of the Cross]], to the party, and a particularly foolish vampire grabs Michael's shoulder and spontaneously ''combusts''.
--->'''Michael:''' Sorry, that happens sometimes.
** One good person who was half-turned found her arm numb from just grabbing the hilt of a Sword of the Cross[[note]]These Swords have a Nail from the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ in the hilt. They are very powerful Holy Weapons[[/note]] as it fell.
** That said, when that half-turned vampire needs help from Harry to save her child [[spoiler:because she is acting with maternal love and swears to abide by the laws governing the Swords, the half-vampire is able to wield ''Amoracchius'', the Sword of Love, throughout the mission and it never once burns her. It does serious harm to the monsters who took her daughter, but not her]].
** The White Court vampires feed on "bad" emotions like lust or fear and are weak to the corresponding Theological Virtues. For example the Raith branch inspires lust in their victims and feed off of it, but a person touched by genuine Love for another (or an appropriate symbolic object) will burn them. One vampire has a ring-shaped burn on her hand when she grabbed the wrong wedding ring, and even a persons hair brushing up against them can burn them. Similarly those who feed on fear will be burned by those who are being brave and so on.
** {{Downplayed|Trope}} with Fallen Angels. They can freely enter a church without any issue so long as they aren't there to fight. It's theorized that God doesn't want them destroyed, but for them to see the error of their ways and come back to Him. They still tend to avoid churches, though, since it reminds them of what they lost. That being said, Faith does seem to have some ability to counteract the Fallen. When Harry was covered by demonic insects summoned by a Fallen Angel, Michael's prayer and touch burned away the unholy creatures but left Harry unharmed.
** The Swords of the Cross also don't always permit the Fallen to be actually harmed when they are in a human host. Primarily the sword negates all the strength, speed, defensive, and power enhancements the Fallen gives the human host, leaving it a battle between two mortals if they choose to fight. One mortal might be in the physical form of an 800-lbs gorilla, but still quite mortal none the less and vulnerable to a steel sword to the chest.

* ''Manga/{{Hellsing}}'': Alucard has holy silver crosses melted down to make his vampire-destroying bullets. And then there's that one time where he can't be bothered to wait for the melted silver to be cast into bullets... Alucard himself is affected by stuff of this nature (most notably Anderson's blessed blades), but is so ridiculously powerful that he can generally shrug it off.

** Marvel also has it only work if it is a symbol of a god worshiped in the time the vampire was alive. The [[FirstOfHisKind first vampire]], Varnae, can't be hurt by crosses, for example, because the crucifixion didn't happen until [[TimeAbyss he was over 16,000 years old]].

* ''ComicBook/VictorianUndead 2'' featured this when the hunters find Dracula's dwelling and confront the vampirized Lucy and his brides. While the brides are repelled by the trinkets, it barely affects Lucy since she comments that it takes faith from both sides for it to work. Dracula's brides come from an older time where faith was more prominent and thus are more affected. While Lucy, a woman from modern times, can least stay composed since she's more "enlightened," as she says. It still prevents her from attacking the hunters and ultimately she has to retreat when the brides are killed and she finds herself cornered.

* In ''ComicBook/{{Hellblazer}}'', John Constantine makes brilliant use of this by sharing a drink with the Devil -- and then disrupting a spell that keeps the liquid from reverting to holy water. He then glasses the Devil in the face with a broken bottle and kicks him into a ''well'' full of the stuff.

** Marvel also has it only work if it is a symbol of a god worshiped in the time the vampire was alive. The first vampire, Varnae, can't be hurt by crosses, for example, because the crucifixion didn't happen until he was over 16,000 years old.

* ''Film/BramStokersDracula'' does this naturally, though crosses seem partially effective. One of Dracula's vampire brides recoils when she see a necklace cross on Harker but quickly recovers and uses her powers to melt it and Dracula himself is only kept back a bit before he burns it in Helsing's hand. However, Lucy seems to be the only one forced back by it though likely because she wasn't a vampire for very long and not as powerful. Also, when Mina is partially turned by Drac, Helsing is forced to use a wafer imprint when she almost succumbs to vampirism to bring her back to her senses, leaving a mark on her forehead.

* Subverted and Inverted in the comedic Mexican vampire film ''Film/{{Curado de Espantos}}''. The hero pulls a cross on the vampire. The vampire is undisturbed, pointing out that his ancestors were Jewish. The hero drops the cross, [[CrossesTheLineTwice pulling out a swastika while shouting "HEIL HITLER," causing the vampire to flinch away.]]

* Subverted in ''ComicBook/CastleWaiting'' -- the AffablyEvil demon Leeds explains that demons have no fear of holy objects, but formerly-human "evil" beings like vampires are harmed by them because they [[ClapHandsIfYouBelieve think they will be]].