History Main / CannotCrossRunningWater

* In ''[[Fanfic/ToUberwaldAndHopefullyBackAgain to Überwald and (hopefully) back again]]'' vampire Otto von Chriek and his cousin Elizabetha cannot cross a river when they’re visiting the woods near Chriek Castle. It’s mentioned back in Ankh-Morpork, Otto does not have this problem, because the river Ankh is canonically is so polluted and slow it [[RunningGag barely qualifies as running water.]]

* In ''Manga/BlackBloodBrothers'', this is a weakness some vampires suffer. Jiro can cross water without a problem, but Kotaro is severely weakened and can die if he is submerged.

* Hazuki has this weakness in ''Manga/TsukuyomiMoonPhase'', though the only time it really becomes a problem is when she almost drowns in a hotel swimming pool with a whirlpool feature.

* In ''Film/{{Night of the Demons|1988}}'', the demonic spirits residing in the Hull House are unable to leave the premises because it is surrounded by underground streams.

* In the ''Literature/FightingFantasy'' gamebook ''Literature/TheKeepOfTheLichLord'', running water is impassable to ''all'' undead. To get round this, the title BigBad has dammed the river past his fortress. The final battle of the book can be avoided by destroying the dam while he's on it, causing him to be destroyed by the water.

* This applies to the vampires of ''Literature/{{Bakemonogatari}}'', but it's worded as them not being able to swim.
* This is used as a plot-point in more than one of Creator/JohnBellairs' young-adult gothic-horror novels.
* Creator/MercedesLackey's ''Literature/ChildrenOfTheNight'' uses the "rivers are natural boundaries between hunting territories" explanation, with the vampire dryly adding that one might as well say vampires can't cross major highways.

** In particular, ''Literature/ReaperMan'' shows that a zombie can cross the river Ankh because it's so muddy and polluted it no longer counts as water (and so sluggish it barely counts as running). Although admittedly ''anyone'' can [[WalkOnWater cross the Ankh]], since it [[GrimyWater practically counts as a solid]]. [[HeatWave In summer]], it's been known to catch fire.

* ''Literature/{{Dracula}}'': Dracula, TropeCodifier for so many vampire traits, explicitly could not cross running water except "at the slack or flood of the tide". He could also only sleep upon the soil of his homeland of Transylvania, but [[LoopholeAbuse he got around that]]; apparently the soil in question doesn't have to be attached to the ''rest'' of Transylvania...
* In Creator/MelanieRawn's ''Literature/DragonPrince'' series, Sunrunners (faradhi) cannot cross running water without becoming violently ill. [[spoiler:Though some can, and it's revealed later in the series that they are come from another race of light weavers called "diarmadhi".]]
* In ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'', water is one of the most powerful magical anti-agents, and running water can cancel out spells easily. In one book, a villain is able to completely disable Harry from spellcasting by suspending him under a sprinkler, with one of the in-series justifications/handwaves being the weaker, or less skilled, you are, the more water affects you. [[note]]Iron is a similar weakness for The Fae; there have been a few that have ''[[CrossMeltingAura rusted iron]] in their presence'' -- Harry not only didn't attack them, but [[SarcasmFailure was respectful as all get out]].[[/note]] Carlos Ramirez is notable in using 'water magic' as the basis for his offensive spells.
* The Voitusotar in ''Literature/TheFarsideTrilogy'' can't cross the ocean without becoming violently ill and dying. This changes when the Nazis trade them sea sickness pills for training in magic.

* In ''Literature/IAmLegend'', protagonist Robert Neville is testing various ways to repel and destroy the victims of the vampire plague that he has survived. Reading up on vampire literature, he tries to test the "can't cross running water" thing by setting up a makeshift stream in front of his yard with a garden hose. When night comes, a particularly-intelligent vampire named Ben Cortman notices this, then proceeds to mock him by hopping back and forth across the trough. [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome Neville shoots him in the shoulder.]]
* ''Literature/InterviewWithTheVampire'' addresses this matter by saying that vampires don't cross running water because they're territorial and streams often serve as natural boundaries for hunting territory.
* In the original ''[[Literature/TheLegendOfSleepyHollow Legend of Sleepy Hollow]]'', the Headless Horseman always vanishes while crossing a certain bridge. When Ichabod is chased by the spirit, he makes for the bridge in the hope that it cannot follow. [[spoiler: It does; it's implied this is because it was actually his rival Brom in disguise]]. Other variations have the Horseman not pursuing Ichabod over the bridge but instead throws his pumpkin head at him.
* At one point in ''Literature/TheMalloreon'', the main characters are chased by a horde of flesh-eating creatures called [[OurGhoulsAreCreepier raveners]], which only flee when they reach the seaside, not daring to approach the open sea.

* ''Atlantis: The Lost World'' generic RPG setting. Ghosts couldn't cross running water, but [[OurVampiresAreDifferent oddly enough vampires could]].

* While Dracula ''can'' cross the ocean in ''TabletopGame/FuryOfDracula'', doing so does gradual damage to him the longer he stays out of port (and gives his hunters clues to what route he's taking, as the sea cards are a different colour and there are fewer routes he could be taking).

* In ''TabletopGame/{{Rifts}}'', not only can Vampires not cross running water, but water in motion is deadly to them in general. Indeed, it is the only other weakness aside from sunlight that can kill a vampire outright. While this has led to many jokes about killing them with squirt guns, this is AfterTheEnd, where toy stores and plumbing are both exceedingly rare.

* In ''VideoGame/SixteenWaysToKillAVampireAtMcdonalds'', one of the endings requires Lucy to figure out how to flood the UsefulNotes/McDonalds, which will send the vampire scrambling for the exit.

* ''VideoGame/BattleForWesnoth'': Ghost units and their upgrades are incorporeal and able to fly, so they can move through any terrain with ease... except for water, which slows them down.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Dominions}} 4'', vampires get this is an explicit weakness. They cannot directly cross rivers, even frozen ones that ordinary soldiers can, decreasing their mobility. They can cross bridges, however; only directly walking/flying over uncovered rivers is forbidden.
* In ''VideoGame/DungeonKeeper 2'', vampire units have a unique vulnerability to water tiles. They won't enter them voluntarily, except to fly over them in [[{{Animorphism}} bat form]], and take DamageOverTime if forced into water.
* Vampires in ''VideoGame/LegacyOfKain'' have no trouble crossing bridges or leaping across running water, but the touch of water is like acid to them. The exceptions to this are the Rahabim, (who evolved to live in water at the cost of severe vunerability to sunlight) and Raziel after he consumes Rahab's soul.

* Endermen from ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'' take damage if they step in water or get rained on.

* In ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersiaWarriorWithin'', the [[ClockRoaches Dahaka]] cannot cross water.
* In ''VideoGame/RuneScape'', Saradomin blessed the River Salve to keep the Vampyres from entering Misthalin. It also works the other way, as Count Draynor is unable to make it back across. The vampyres and werewolves cannot just go around the river Salve. The entire country of Morytania is surrounded by an invisible barrier that keeps them from leaving. The River Salve is the just the source of the barrier. [[spoiler:And the river actually wasn't blessed by Saradomin. The Seven Priestly Warriors used some form of evil blood magic to enchant the river. It is not revealed what exactly they did, but it probably involved HumanSacrifice.]]
* In ''VideoGame/TheSims2'', ghosts cannot cross water, so an easy way to make sure that ghosts don't enter your home is to surround their grave with water.
* In ''VideoGame/TombRaiderChronicles'', you found a demon who told you to turn off a water mill or something because the water was trapping him.
* Remilia and Flandre Scarlet from ''Franchise/TouhouProject'' have this among their weaknesses. This was used as the trigger for the Extra Stage in ''VideoGame/TouhouKoumakyouTheEmbodimentOfScarletDevil'', when Patchouli conjured a localized rainstorm to stop Flandre from leaving the mansion, which unfortunately also prevented Remilia from getting back home.
* Used as a handwave in ''VideoGame/AVampyreStory'' to explain why Mona [[WhyDontYouJustShootHim doesn't just turn into a bat and fly away from Baron Shrowdy's castle]]: the castle is on the middle of a lake, meaning the only way to from is by boat.

* Vampires in ''VisualNovel/{{Tsukihime}}'' have great trouble with crossing water, even Arcueid, who is more of an elemental embodiment than a vampire. She can do it, but it's a moment of vulnerability and it's noted that she frequently simply teleports across large bodies of water despite this method of travel being quite a bit slower and harder than you would think. Other vampires can cross water as well, but it's something that seems to make them sick or weak. There's one vampire who actually ''lives'' underwater, but it's a bit of a tradeoff since Sumire's ability to tolerate water has made her weaker on land.

** Godbrand, a Viking vampire general who leads an army of fellow Vampires, of course would be the most knowledgeable about the unlikelihood of the water weakness. He quickly points out that the weakness was easily countered by having vampires ''move further inland''. We also see a flashback dream of him jumping into a boat from a cliff. And then there's the question of how he and the Japanese general Cho even got to Wallachia -- clearly vampires have no actual problems crossing running water, and at most the issue is SuperDrowningSkills exaggerated by superstition.

* The ''VideoGame/BaldursGateIII'' character Astarion, being a [[ServantRace vampire spawn]], takes acid damage if he crosses running water and his AI will refuse to cross it as it is identified as a hazard (other characters react the same way to fire or poison clouds).

* In the ''Literature/FightingFantasy'' gamebook ''Literature/TheKeepOfTheLichLord'', running water is impassable to ''all'' undead. To get round this, the titular BigBad has dammed the river past his fortress. The final battle of the book can be avoided by destroying the dam while he's on it, causing him to be destroyed by the water.

--->'''Count Magpyr''': I should point out that your ancestors, although quite capable of undertaking journeys of hundreds of miles, nevertheless firmly believed that they couldn't cross a stream. Do I need to point out the contradiction?

* In Creator/MelanieRawn's ''Literature/DragonPrince'' series, Sunrunners (faradhi) cannot cross running water without becoming violently ill. [[spoiler: Though some can, and it's revealed later in the series that they are come from another race of light weavers called 'diarmadhi'.]]

* In ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', when Frodo escapes a pursuing Nazgûl by ferry early on, it won't enter the river to chase him. Later, when all the Ringwraiths attempt to pursue Frodo across the river Bruinen toward Rivendell, the waters rise up and overcome them, drowning their horses and slowing them down significantly. This is because they are under the command of Elrond, who wishes to bar the entrance to Rivendell. In the film adaptation, Arwen achieves the same effect by invoking Ulmo, the [[PhysicalGod Vala]] who rules over water.
** Moreover, in ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'', it is noted that the creatures of [[{{Satan}} Morgoth]] fear water, because of the presence of Ulmo, the one Vala who remains in Middle-earth.

** The module ''TabletopGame/CurseOfStrahd'' references this with its titular vampire lord. [[spoiler:Strahd can ''cross'' running water, but if he is standing in it at the start of his turn it negates his HealingFactor, meaning the [=DM=] will likely try to avoid it if at all possible.]]

* ''Webcomic/TalesOfTheQuestor'' features this, when Quentyn is being pursued by the Unselighe Fey, who he remembers are unable to cross running water. [[spoiler: He learns quickly how little that means when the Fey have the power to instantly dam up the stream.]]

* [[EldritchAbomination The Residue]] in ''Podcast/PretendingToBePeople'' appears to be repelled by water. Animals and humans alike quickly learn this weakness, with the former sheltering in the river and the latter using plumbing and pools to avoid it.

* ''Manga/MyMonsterSecret'' exaggerates this trope while still [[PlayedForLaughs playing it for laughs]]. Vampires in this setting are bothered by ''any'' fair-sized body of water, running or not. As with all vampire weaknesses, [[{{Dhampyr}} half-vampire]] Youko Shiragami's reaction is lessened: she can cross the ocean or swim in a pool, but doing so freaks her out.[[note]]The RunningGag being that she makes cute nervous noises ("Uwow, uwow...") while doing so.[[/note]] Her full-blooded father Genjirou, however, can't even manage that; in one story he tried to cross the ocean to [[BoyfriendBlockingDad keep Youko from messing around with boys]], but ended up crashing down after a few meters...while saying "Uwow, uwow..."

* ''VideoGame/DungeonKeeper2'': Vampire units have a unique vulnerability to water tiles. They won't enter them voluntarily, except to fly over them in [[{{Animorphism}} bat form]], and take DamageOverTime if forced into water.