In Romanian folklore about vampires, garlic is traditionally used to protect against them.
Garlic’s association with protection appears in Romanian and wider Balkan vampire traditions. It may be placed in homes, carried, eaten, or used in protective rituals. The plant’s strong smell, medicinal reputation, and long history in European folk medicine helped make it a natural symbol of defense against dangerous supernatural beings.
Modern vampire fiction greatly popularized the idea that vampires recoil from garlic, but the belief did not originate solely in novels or films. Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula helped spread the motif to an international audience, although related folk practices were already present in southeastern European traditions.
Not every Romanian community shares exactly the same vampire beliefs, and folklore varies by region. Garlic is therefore best understood as a traditional protective symbol, not as evidence that vampires were treated as scientifically real.