The magic of hawthorn plants in the world of The Eversfield Academy Vampire Hunters

One of my favorite things to do in the world is to take a walk in the woods.

So, naturally, a bunch of my vampire-versus-vampire-hunter action scenes take place in the woods.

(And a few take place in cities too.)

But that's not what I'm here to talk about today.

Today, I want to discuss the magic of hawthorn in the world of The Eversfield Academy Vampire Hunters.

Early on, I decided that some plants would magically repel the Indestructible (what my Nightstalkers, otherwise known as vampire hunters, call vampires in The Eversfield Academy Vampire Hunters book series).

And I found some research to support this!

The plant I've used the most so far (as of writing the first four books in The Eversfield Academy Vampire Hunters and the three prequels in Eversfield Academy: Vampire Origins) is a hawthorn.

I have a couple others (wild rose and aloe) in my back pocket too, and I may use them later, but I've not used them as extensively as I've used hawthorn so far.

In my books, hawthorn hedges repel vampires and can even injure them. I haven't used this a ton yet, but I have planted the seeds for it and plan to use it more in later books in the series.

So, first up,  how have I introduced hawthorns in The Eversfield Academy Vampire Hunters book series?

Well, here are a couple of excerpts from School of Shadows (The Eversfield Academy Vampire Hunters: Book One) by Betsy Flak.

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From School of Shadows (The Eversfield Academy Vampire Hunters: Book One) by Betsy Flak

Chapter Two: a hunter's frozen heart

Steps away from his sister's turned back, Gabe hunched behind a wild hawthorn bush, one of many that dotted this forest. Their thorns could hurt a member of the Indestructible almost as much as a wooden stake.

Of course, those thorns couldn't pierce the hearts of the Indestructible, so the shrubs couldn't kill the monsters.

But the thorns were nice little jolts of natural Earth magic, and he and the other Warriors used them in a pinch.

And the hawthorn bushes with their thorns protected the woods when he and the rest of the Eversfield Cell couldn't.

My comments: This one's pretty self explanatory. Hawthorns (and their thorns) have natural Earth magic that can hurt vampires.

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From School of Shadows (The Eversfield Academy Vampire Hunters: Book One) by Betsy Flak

Chapter Thirteen: a pale blue-white flame

Setup: Lila is looking out the window of the Eversfield Academy cafeteria, feeling lonely.

There [outside the window], the ancient oak welcomed her. Its younger branches swayed in the friendly breeze. Sparrows hopped along the kelly-green grass beneath those sprawling boughs. Squirrels chased each other up and down the trunk.

Friends. All those animals had friends. The grass had friends. The tree had friends. Even the hawthorn bushes with their inches-long thorns had friends.

Unlike her.

My comments: The purpose of this reference is to establish that hawthorn bushes are planted throughout Eversfield Academy (including outside Lila's dorm, Elizabeth Blackwell, and the cafeteria, as shown here). And of course, this is also hinting at Lila's potential magic, along with her feelings of loneliness at that moment.

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There are other mentions of hawthorns throughout the books and shorts of The Eversfield Academy Vampire Hunters and Eversfield Academy: Vampire Origins, but these are the ones I could share without giving away any spoilers.

Secondly, what is this magic based on?

Well, in my research for this series (done sometime in 2014 and 2015!), I noted the following items. Unfortunately, I cannot find the sources for these notes since I did it so long ago.

To be honest, these sources might not have been the most reputable, at least according to what I'm used to, based on my past as a scientist and biomedical engineer.

But it's not like one needs a peer-reviewed journal article to come up with some magic for their fantasy series, lol.

So, here's what I found regarding the mythology of hawthorns with respect to vampires and magic in our world, in no particular order.

• The wood of the hawthorn tree was thought to have anti-vampire powers and was used to make stakes to destroy vampires.
• Hawthorns were used to symbolize the end of winter and the beginning of spring (my comment: which can then be extended to symbolize life over death).
• Hawthorns were used as a charm against witchcraft and sorcery. (My comment: This doesn't exactly fit with The Eversfield Academy Vampire Hunters book series, as my magic-wielding Diviners can handle hawthorn and use it in spells as needed. So, hawthorn is more like a charm against vampires in the books and shorts of The Eversfield Academy Vampire Hunters.)
• At funerals, people used to put hawthorn twigs in clothes and drop twigs along the way after the funeral, the idea being that any vampires would stop and pick up the twigs and become too distracted to follow the living home. (My comment: This is my favorite random trivia regarding hawthorns and vampires! I haven't used it directly yet, but I might.)
• Thorns of hawthorns were placed in the deceased's clothing or coffin and were thought to keep vampires at bay.
• In general, hawthorn was thought to harm vampires.

So, there you go. How and why hawthorn is a magical plant that repels and injures vampires in the world of The Eversfield Academy Vampire Hunters.

Happy reading as always,
Betsy

P.S. Okay, I went back and found some sources for at least some of the items above. Again, how reputable the source is varies, lol.

Where to go read more about vampires and hawthorn:

• Wikipedia article for Hawthorn
• "Hawthorn Power in Fairy Tales, the Cult of the Virgin, and the Cult of the Undead" by Bill Vaughn, July 20, 2015, Yale University Press
• "The Hawthorn: Mystic Powers or Sensible Shrub" by CLC Tree Services, July 17, 2013, on their blog
• "Destruction: Hawthorn" by Moonlight from vampires.com, seems like circa Dec 2009