History Main / SaltSolution

* As per ''WesternAnimation/{{Castlevania}}'', salt works as an effective deterrent to evil magic, and Alucard sinks Dracula's castle into the ocean because the large amount of salt there would prevent the evil magic from killing any nearby life.

* As per ''WesternAnimation/{{Castlevania}}'', salt works as an effective deterrent evil magic, and Alucard sinks Dracula's castle into the ocean because the large amount of salt there would prevent the evil magic from killing any nearby life.

-->-- '''Trevor Belmont''', ''WesternAnimation/Castlevania2017''

* ''WesternAnimation/Castlevania2017'': The people of Gresit are under assault by Dracula's army of [[OurDemonsAreDifferent night-creatures]], and powerless to fight them off. Trevor directs them in defensive tactics and instructs them to wipe their otherwise-useless weapons with salt. When the turn of battle results in several demons hoisted up by pikemen they were steered into jumping upon, the swordsmen's attacks in the follow-up cut the demons to ribbons far more efficiently that regular townsfolk with personal defense swords could have done without the salt.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/DarkwingDuck'' episode, "[[Recap/DarkwingDuckS1E8ComicBookCapers Comic Book Capers]]", Gosalyn tries to improve Darkwing's story by adding a [[AttackOfThe50FootWhatever Giant Slug Monster]] from Mars. Darkwing defeats the monster by loading his gun with salt.
* The ''[[WesternAnimation/DragonsRidersOfBerk Dragons: Race to the Edge]]'' episode "A Grim Retreat" introduces the grimora, a dragon parasite that drives the host insane. The parasite's weakness is salt, so the riders are able to cure their dragons by luring them into the sea. This might explain why so many dragons live on small islands and even lay their eggs in saltwater.

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Sodium Chloride. A combination of a reactive soft metal and a deadly green gas that turns into stable grains of salt. Whether it comes from the earth or the sea, it is already the solution to many of life's problems. It is a necessary nutrient to prevent electrolyte deficiency and dehydration, especially in hot climates. Its ability to absorb water makes it lethal or repellent to many pests. It can preserve or pickle food, protecting it from time and decay. And, of course, it enhances flavor to turn bland meals delicious. Because it is so useful, it can be valuable: while the common misconception that it was worth its way in gold is a gross exaggerration, before industrial revolution buying a kilogram of salt would still cost you a significant chunk of your daily pay. Many cultures came to revere salt as a [[AppliedPhlebotinum wonderful substance]] with purifying properties. Alongside mercury and sulfur, sodium chloride was one of the three essential substances in alchemy.

Sodium Chloride. A combination of a reactive soft metal and a deadly green gas that turns into stable grains of salt. Whether it comes from the earth or the sea, it is already the solution to many of life's problems. It is a necessary nutrient to prevent electrolyte deficiency and dehydration, especially in hot climates. Its ability to absorb water makes it lethal or repellent to many pests. It can preserve or pickle food, protecting it from time and decay. And, of course, it enhances flavor to turn bland meals delicious. Because it is so useful, it can be valuable: while the common misconception that it was worth its way in gold is a gross overexaggerration, before industrial revolution buying a kilogram of salt would still cost you a significant chunk of your daily pay. Many cultures came to revere salt as a [[AppliedPhlebotinum wonderful substance]] with purifying properties. Alongside mercury and sulfur, sodium chloride was one of the three essential substances in alchemy.

Sodium Chloride. A combination of a reactive soft metal and a deadly green gas that turns into stable grains of salt. Whether it comes from the earth or the sea, it is already the solution to many of life's problems. It is necessary nutrient to prevent electrolyte deficiency and dehydration, especially in hot climate. Its ability to absorb water makes it lethal or repellent to many pests. It can preserve or pickle food, protecting it from time and decay. And, of course, it enhances flavor to turn bland meals delicious. Because it is so useful, it can be valuable: while the common misconception that it was worth its way in gold is a gross overexaggerration, before industrial revolution buying a kilogram of salt would still cost you a significant chunk of your daily pay. Many cultures came to revere salt as a [[AppliedPhlebotinum wonderful substance]] with purifying properties. Alongside mercury and sulfur, sodium chloride was one of the three essential substances in alchemy.

Sodium Chloride. A combination of a reactive soft metal and a deadly green gas that turns into stable grains of salt. Whether it comes from the earth or the sea, it is already the solution to many of life's problems. It is necessary nutrient to prevent electrolyte deficiency and dehydration, especially in hot climate. Its ability to absorb water makes it lethal or repellent to many pests. It can preserve or pickle food, protecting it from time and decay. And, of course, it enhances flavor to turn bland meals delicious. Because it is so useful, it can be valuable: before the industrial age, salt could be worth its weight in gold. Many cultures came to revere salt as a [[AppliedPhlebotinum wonderful substance]] with purifying properties. Alongside mercury and sulfur, sodium chloride was one of the three essential substances in alchemy.

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* In ''Franchise/OnePiece'', the zombies of Thriller Park can be purified by feeding them salt. This is because [[OurZombiesAreDifferent the zombies are powered by shadows]] that [[CastingAShadow Gecko Moria]] has stolen from other people with his Devil Fruit power. Salt contains a portion of the ocean's power, the weakness of all Devil Fruits, which breaks Moria's control of the shadow and releases it.

* Parodied in ''Manga/DeliciousInDungeon''. Team Touden is fighting ghosts, and Senshi mentions that salt is used to repel them. He doesn't have any, so he uses sugar instead. It's not as good at purifying as salt, so he uses some more of it. Then he adds some water, fruit juice, and a dash of alcohol. Not only does this somehow work, but it uses the unearthly chill of the ghosts to turn the "holy water" into sorbet.
* In ''Manga/{{Basilisk}}'', Amayo Jingoro's ninjutsu ability allows him to transform himself into a semi-liquid form by covering his body in salt, allowing him to sneak through tight spaces and even suffocate his enemies. The downside to this technique is that it leaves him dehydrated and can cause him to shrivel up and die unless he immerses himself in water to regain his humanoid form. He is also deathly afraid of travelling over the sea, since saltwater can cause him to dissolve completely and die. [[spoiler:He is ultimately killed when he is tossed into a bay.]]
* Used to great effect in the "Bakeneko" segment of ''Anime/AyakashiSamuraiHorrorTales''. With the help of Kayo and the samurai Odajima, the mysterious Medicine Seller spreads curing salt through the halls surrounding the survivors, creating a barrier the mononoke initially can't cross. The demon eventually breaks through, leaving the Medicine Seller struggling to subdue it — until Kayo resorts to chucking the ''entire'' pot of remaining salt into its amorphous form, sending it yowling away in pain.

* Italian ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse stories feature rock salt as the shotgun and blunderbuss ammunition of choice for Grandma Duck, Scrooge and Donald. In particular, Scrooge is such an avid user he sometimes loads ''carronades'' with salt to fend off the Beagle Boys, with an entire story being centered on him looking for a kind of rock salt that is supposedly so powerful that even the [[{{Determinator}} Beagle Boys]] would leave him alone after one ministration, and in the Reginella Saga Donald once took on ''an entire Medieval-level army'' with nothing but a double-barreled shotgun loaded with salt rounds and a boombox with a horrible song [[OneManArmy and won]].

* In ''Fanfic/OSMUFanfictionFriction'', O'Grady and Oz are ordered to use their Salt-inator gadgets to spread salt all over the abandoned house that Basil Valentine, his two henchwomen, and Todd are located in. It creates a barrier that stops Basil's PsychicPowers and eventually causes the house to burn to the ground with him and his two henchwomen inside (Todd was rescued by Oprah moments before the fire).

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* A minor example in ''Film/KillBill'': Budd needs to incapacitate the Bride without killing her. She's a better fighter than him, and regular firearms are out because it would likely kill her. So what does he do? He waits for her to open his door before unloading on her with a shotgun full of rock salt.

* ''Film/TheDayOfTheTriffids'' (1962): Seawater is found to destroy the titular {{Man Eating Plant}}s, which leads to some FridgeLogic as most of the chemical salts within are found (albeit in much lower concentrations) in the people they've been feeding on. Assuming ''sea''water is the key and not just [[KillItWithWater water in general]], which was ambiguous enough to generate a great deal of {{natter}} on the main page at one point, but that would make even ''less'' sense.

* In the children's book ''I Spent My Summer Vacation Kidnapped Into Space'', the main duo are pitted against a pair of giant slugs in a fight. Because humans are rare in this part of the galaxy, they manage to convince their captors that they require copious amounts of salt just to live. Of course, they stockpile the salt and use it as a weapon [[LogicalWeakness against the slugs]].
* In ''Exile's Quest'' by Richard Meade, salt was used to scare away arm-sized leeches.
* In one of the ''[[Series/CaptainScarletAndTheMysterons Captain Scarlet]]'' paperback novel stories, the Mysterons (Martians) as part of their "war of nerves" against the Earth try to destroy all food crops using a fast-moving slime-like substance (a product of Earth technology) which was intended for clearing land. Eventually, one of the "Angels" (women fighter pilots) accidentally discovers that highly concentrated salt will stop the slime.
* Several times in ''Literature/UnnaturalIssue'', characters use salt against Richard's necromantic servants.

* In Creator/CJCherryh's ''Literature/{{Rusalka}}'' trilogy, salt is one of the ingredients of a ward against a vodyanoi.
* In the ''Literature/{{Temps}}'' story "Someone to Watch Over Me", a circle of salt is used to trap a poltergeist that's been causing havoc on the London Underground. GentlemanWizard Loric congratulates the protagonists for their knowledge of occult practices, only for them to admit they just [[TaughtByTelevision watch a lot of horror movies]].
* In the novel ''Literature/TheyThirst'' by Robert [=McCammon=], salt water is revealed to be anathema to vampires, burning them like acid.
* In ''Literature/{{Fragment}}'', seawater is fatally toxic to the indigenous animal life of Henders Island, as its salt content is high enough to painfully poison them. This is implied to be the ''only'' reason why Henders life hasn't spread and wiped out all other multicellular life on Earth.
* In ''Literature/{{Icerigger}}'', by Creator/AlanDeanFoster, Skua September repels a marauding ice planet beast by throwing salt in its face.
* In ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'', salt is one of the substances useful for creating [[GeometricMagic magic circles]].
* In ''Literature/ShamanBlues'', salt has AntiMagic properties -- a border of salt can block {{Ley Line}}s and stop ghosts, and when Witkacy downs a vial of saltwater, the effects of confounding magic working on him are dispelled.

* ''Literature/UnderThePendulumSun'': Humans in the LandOfFaerie need to season all their food with salt "from human lands, poured by human hands" to dispel its FoodChains effect. Some dishes visibly give up their {{Glamour}} as soon as the salt touches them.

* Creator/CharlesStross
** In ''Literature/AColderWar'', the Soviets have K-Thulu [[SealedEvilInACan sealed up in a bunker]] surrounded by moats filled with water saturated with calcium salts.
** In ''Literature/TheLaundryFiles'' novel ''The Nightmare Stacks'', the [[OurElvesAreDifferent alfar]] use salt traps to contain and control vampires. However Laundry [[FunWithAcronyms PHANG]] agent Alex, being a mathematical genius, has already worked out an algorithm that helps him count the grains much faster than they expect.

* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'':
** Salt has been the first line of defense for the Winchester boys from the beginning (that, along with ColdIron and KillItWithFire were pretty much their only defense early on). Since demons can't cross it, they still use it to fortify positions when they expect an attack. Part of the reason ShotgunsAreJustBetter is because they can be loaded with rock salt, making them one of the few human weapons effective against ghosts and demons.
** Sam once foils a fairy by spilling salt on the floor, which [[WeaksauceWeakness forces the fairy to count every grain]] and gives Sam enough time to finish an incantation to banish the fairies to whence they came.

* The Christmas Special of ''Series/{{Extras}}'' has Ricky Gervais's character appear in an episode of ''Series/DoctorWho'' playing a giant insect, who is defeated after the Doctor pours salt on him.
* ''Film/TheSlimePeople'', as featured on ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'', had the protagonists thwart the invasion of the slime people with ordinary salt.

** ''Podcast/TheFallenGods'': Fighting with slugs and a flail snail calls for this, though it requires a strength check because the party's been shrunken and the shaker is almost as big as they are.

* ''TabletopGame/CallOfCthulhu'' supplement ''Mansions of Madness'', adventure "Crack'd and Crook'd Manse". The Alien Slime Creature takes damage from having salt poured onto it, from 1d4 HitPoints for a shaker's worth of salt to death within minutes from a truckload of salt.
* ''Bureau 13: Stalking the Night Fantastic''. Supernatural creatures have Banes - things that can impair, harm or even kill them. One of those banes is salt. Some of the monsters with salt as a bane are goblins and night zombies.

* ''Dangerous Journeys/Mythus''. Some supernatural creatures have Susceptibilities, which cause them to take damage from contact with or proximity to a specific substance. One possible Susceptibility is to salt, which does 1-3 HitPoints of damage per ounce. If the creature is touched by a large amount at one time it can be killed outright.

* Inverted with the Grey Legion in ''VideoGame/LegendsOfRuneterra'', who adds iodine salt into the bloodstream of their fallen allies. The purpose of the salt is to drive the risen warrior completely mad with pain as they are brought back through hemomancy, making them efficient killing machines.
* One of the things added by ''[[VideoGame/{{Witchery}} Bewitchment]]'', a GameMod for ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'', is salt. It can be placed on the ground like redstone to form a barrier that keeps demons, undead, werewolves, and endermen from crossing it, and it is a necessary reagent in several rituals and crafting recipes that [[SupernaturalRepellant repel or harm supernatural entities]].
* In ''Monster Girl Quest!'', the Slug Girl is resistant to physical attacks but can be harmed by salt, similar to real life slugs. Luka even gets the unique Throw Salt skill for the battle against her. However, he has to use up all of his salt in order to drive her off.

* ''Webcomic/TheGreenhouse'': A bag of salt spills onto Mica's head in the grocery store. This is ''agonizing'' for the demon possessing her, and gives her a splitting headache, but fails to banish the demon, revealing that getting rid of 'Red' is going to be a lot trickier than Liv had hoped.

* In a PreviouslyOn for ''Captain Bucky and his Space Marshals in Outer Space!'', the spaceship of our heroes is being attacked by a giant gelatnous [[SpaceX space]]slug! Which is instantly resolved by our hero pulling the lever to dump the spaceship's salt supply.

* Saline solution IV's are used throughout hospital medicine for various purposes.

* Subverted in ''ComicBook/{{Crossed}}''. One character escaped from a Crossed when he tripped into a large amount of salt, and so thinks they're allergic to it. The other characters are dubious, thinking it was getting large amounts of powder exploding in its face that confused it. They are later proven right when the character tries to protect his family by spilling a bag of salt in a circle around them, and they all end up raped to death as his wife calls him an idiot.

* [[CelticMythology Irish mythology and folklore]] has the alp luachra (alp loo-ahk) or "joint-eater", a salamander or newt-like creature that crawls into people's stomachs through their mouth and consumes any food they eat like a magical tapeworm. The host of the alp luachra gains no nourishment no matter how much food and drink they consume until they eventually starve to death unless the creature is expunged. The only way to accomplish this is for the host to eat large amounts of salty food with nothing to drink and wait by a body of water. The excessive amount of salty food will dehydrate the alp luachra and it will run out of the person's mouth and into the water, desperate for a drink.

** In the episode "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS15E3ImageOfTheFendahl Image of the Fendahl]]" salt is deadly to the soul-sucking Gallifreyan EldritchAbomination in question, and that effectiveness is -- in-universe -- the origin of the superstition that throwing salt over your shoulder wards off evil.

* In ''Literature/TheLaundryFiles'' novel ''The Nightmare Stacks'', the [[OurElvesAreDifferent alfar]] use salt traps to contain and control vampires. However Laundry [[FunWithAcronyms PHANG]] agent Alex, being a mathematical genius, has already worked out an algorithm that helps him count the grains much faster than they expect.

Sodium Chloride. Whether it comes from the earth or the sea, it is already the solution to many of life's problems. It is necessary nutrient to prevent electrolyte deficiency and dehydration, especially in hot climate. Its ability to absorb water makes it lethal or repellent to many pests. It can preserve or pickle food, protecting it from time and decay. And, of course, it enhances flavor to turn bland meals delicious. Because it is so useful, it can be valuable: before the industrial age, salt could be worth its weight in gold. Many cultures came to revere salt as a [[AppliedPhlebotinum wonderful substance]] with purifying properties.