Nachzehrer
| |
| Nachzehrer | |
|---|---|
| Powers and Abilities | Incredibly hard to kill |
| Vulnerabilities | Silver, decapitation, copper pennies |
| Appearance | Human |
| Episode(s) | 11.04 Baby |
Characteristics
Nachzehrer are a type of ghoul-vampire creature. Certain breeds prefer to feed off the flesh of the dead, while others prefer to feed on the blood and hearts of the living. Like vampires, nachzehrer live in small packs and keep extremely low profiles. Nachzehrer are extremely hard to kill, but silver will temporarily slow them down. They have the ability to reattach severed limbs, including their heads. The only way to truly kill one is to place an obol, or copper coin in their mouth and chop off their head. If the pack's Alpha is killed, everyone it turned will revert back to humans.
Powers and abilities
- Enhanced durability – A nachzehrer is incredibly hard to kill, and can survive decapitations.
- Infectious bite – Unlike typical vampires or ghouls, a nachzehrer is capable of turning normal humans into one of their kind with a simple bite.
- Regeneration – A nachzehrer is capable of healing itself of all wounds, including decapitation so long as their heads are reattached to their bodies.
- Super strength – Nachzehrers are stronger than typical humans.
Weaknesses
- Copper Coins – Once a copper coin is placed in the mouth of a nachzehrer, decapitation will kill them.
- Decapitation – Cutting off a nachzehrer's head will stop it, but won't kill it.
- Silver – Slows them down.
Episodes
11.04 Baby
When the local Sheriff in Quaker Valley, Oregon is killed, Sam and Dean hit the road to investigate. Once in Quaker Valley, Sam meets with Deputy Donnelly, who had become the recently-deceased sheriff's replacement. Believing that something was off with the crime scene photos, Dean goes to where the body was found and realizes the whole thing was staged. As he is speaking with Castiel about the type of monster he might be dealing with, Deputy Donnelly arrives on the scene. Dean decides to show him what he had discovered when Donnelly suddenly attacks. A fight ensues between the two, ending when Dean shoots him repeatedly with silver bullets. However, the silver doesn't kill Donnelly, and it forces Dean to chop his head off, which also does not kill him. Not knowing what else to do, Dean takes the still-living decapitated head and places it in his green cooler, where he takes a photo of Donnelly's fangs in the hopes that Cas can figure out what they are dealing with.
When Sam and Dean hook back up with an unconscious Lily Markham, they learn from Cas that they are dealing with a nachzehrer, and will need to place a copper coin in Donnelly's mouth in order to kill him, which will also change anyone he had turned back into humans. At a gas station, Lily Markham comes to and finds Donnelly's head in the cooler. Dean attempts to calm her while Sam tries to find a copper penny in the gas station. Lily suddenly attacks Dean from the backseat, demanding to know what he did with the maker's body, eventually knocking Dean out and driving off in the Impala to the crime scene where she reattaches Deputy Donnelly's head to his body.
As Donnelly and Lily are driving the Impala with a seemingly-unconscious Dean in the backseat, he lets Dean know that he knows he's awake and a hunter. He explains to Dean that he knows about the Darkness being released, and is only buying time for himself by building an army of strong men and women. Unbeknownst to Donnelly, Dean had picked the lock on his handcuffs and quickly lunges on top of him, forcing him to crash the Impala into water barrels. The crash knocks Lily out, and sends Donnelly flying through the windshield. When Dean finds a Hello Kitty purse in the backseat, he begins looking for pennies, but is interrupted by Donnelly who begins attacking him. In the ensuing fight, Dean is able to shove a handful of coins into Donnelly's mouth and decapitates him with the door of the Impala, finally killing him and reverting everyone he had turned back to human.
Nachzehrer in Lore
Nachzhrer are vampire-like creatures of Germanic origin. Its name translates to "after (nach) living off (zehre)." In German folklore, a nachzhrer is created by either suicide or accidental death, and its transformation is not communicable through bites or scratches like typical vampires. It is believed that the only method of killing a nachzhrer requires placing a coin in its mouth, and decapitating it.
