How do you think the industry started?
Not to take this too literally but… According to pagan and wiccan practices, the welcome mat gives permission to all potentially negative spirits to enter
If it’s down to the literal words and not the sentiment, there’s nothing to stop the vampire from inventing their own language and teaching it to local villagers, where the sound or symbols,“no” mean, “please come in”.
My door mat says, “Dogs welcome, humans tolerated”. I think I’m good.
Mine says GO AWAY.
It’s a door mat, not a welcome mat.
Sounds too assertive to be a door mat
Even if she’d said yes, it wouldn’t have been permission. She was merely assenting that he was seemingly capable of the act, if nothing else.
The homeowner’s assertion of vampire’s abilities gives an implicit permission. If the homeowner says yes he can, who would override that? Belief is a powerful thing
This is the quality of Showerthoughts we should strive for.
We need the community to get back to these.
Welcome is present day “well met” or something more like “I’m happy you’re here” not “please come in my house”.
So no, I think you can keep your mat; most vampires are probably old enough to take the original meaning anyway.
This is an interesting interpretation, but even assuming that most vampire s actually are that old, which isn’t a given, id think theyd still abide by the modern definition. Language changes, and that’s not what it means anymore, especially not in the context of a welcome mat.
Just to be safe, throw out the welcome mat, and replace it with a “Do you have a warrant?” mat.
What is your quest?
What is your favorite color?
I want one of these now…
If vampires gets warrants, do they still need to ask permission?
Gotta be so careful with what your mat says…
It asks if they have a warrant - it doesn’t say whether that is one or the only requirement for entry. It’s just a question, right?
It’s fine. The mat was made by Flock. /s
Depends how they can interact with local laws.
It’s reasonable to conclude a temporary owner could invite someone in, just like a real one. If a warrant involved temporary possession, then the government that issued it would be able to invite someone in, and then if the vampire were charged with a search, that charge would be an invitation.
Based on wording on example warrants in the US, however, they do not word it as a seizure of the building, even temporary. Makes sense, but at least a US-based vampire with a warrant would need to still be invited in.
“Yes! But Nawt for Dis adDress! Your mat did nawt specify de vahlidity of de warrant, bla!”
Sounds like a bit from What We Do in the Shadows. They could tell the camera how they enjoy how they are able to freely walk into half of modern residences nowadays whenever they want because idiot humans usually have a welcome mat that technically counts as an invitation.
Wasn’t there a serial killer that said an unlocked door meant he was invited to go inside? That’s why I’ve never used a doormat that has “Welcome” on it. Hopefully that applies to vampires too.
Yup, Richard Chase
A welcome door mat means the person is welcome to announce themselves by knocking or ringing a bell, it does not mean they are welcome to enter.
If the mat said ‘Come on in’ then it would give anyone, including a vampire, permission to enter.
The trick is, it depends. All vampires are bound by obsessive compulsive behaviours, but the particular form that obsessive behaviour takes depends on a number of factors. The most prominent are age and culture of origin.
More recently embraced American vampires tend to become absorbed in the minutiae of the contractual, legalistic formulation of things, so if they have an aversion to entering without permission, it is more based upon an obsession with the sanctity of individualized private property. This leads to the trait of rarely making a direct entry into a home for predatory purposes but rather a focus on convincing the victim it is in their best interest to give willingly their vital fluids and life force. Many victims of such vampires are not even fully aware of what they have had taken.
Older vampires from a more European context take a more hierarchical approach to property. If your home is in their territory, you are their subject and, as such, no permission is needed to enter what is effectively their house, perhaps literally if they are your landlord.
Other contexts, such as that of the Middle East of antiquity, produce vampires who hold sacred the unwritten yet iron clad laws of hospitality. They would never dream of entering unannounced, or taking more than a token sip from one who invites them willingly into their home, but equally would feel no compunction over slaughtering one who turned them away. To these, a welcome mat is an amusement, not an invitation, and only the most desperate leach would stoop to taking a whimsical decoration as written law.
But then again, vampires are an imaginary metaphorical construct for describing the greedy people of a society, so really the answer is no.
So a neck tattoo that says, “My body is a temple. Vampires not welcome in the sanctity of this temple” would do the trick?
According to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the answer is yes.
This is/was “hotly debated”. IMO public schools are like any other public thing and accessible to vamps generally, and Angel was just being sassy when Jenny asked him how he got in.
But along those lines, my initial response was “Depends on who’s writing” with the Angel/Jenny school scene in mind. “Enter all who seek knowledge” or whatever.
Overall they were not very consistent when it came to the invitation thing.
That sounds like something a vampire hunter would say
A no soliciting sign doesn’t stop solicitors, so I don’t see why a welcome mat should have any more power.
Depending on the jurisdiction, soliciting often requires a permit and conditions of the permit include obeying no soliciting signs. Failure to obey typically means the permit can be revoked, or it could be a criminal offense. Could be worth looking into that for your area.
The apartment complex where I live is posted no soliciting. Management heavily encourages people to call the police if solicitors ignore the sign. Even more shocking, the police will actually come and throw solicitors off the property if they’re contacted. (This is also the same police department that tracked down and got an arrest warrant for the random stranger who broke into my car the day after it happened)
Thank you friend for that tip, I am going to look in to this.
