History Main / SilverBullet

* ''VideoGame/DwarfFortress'' allows weapons and ammo to be crafted out of silver. It is the worst material available for any type of edged weapons. Since it treats all weapons as a completely rigid item, it does make for very effective [[DropTheHammer war hammers]] and maces.

* ''Film/Underworld2003'' Vampires are currently using traditional silver bullets against [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent Lycans]], but as the war escalates they upgrade to bullets that release liquid silver nitrate into the bloodstream, killing them faster. In the prequel, they used swords and arrows either made or coated in silver. By the time of ''Awakening'', silver grenades and aerosol have been invented.

* To defeat the creature only referred to as [[Literature/{{IT}} IT]], the Losers Club decide to trap It in Its werewolf form and slay It with a silver bullet. As none of them know how to use a gun, they do the next best thing and make silver balls and use a slingshot. While they don't kill It, they definitely leave It badly wounded.
** However, the book reveals later that it was not the silver slug, but rather the children's [[ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve belief in its killing power]], that made it work.

* In ''Film/TheHowling'', Chris gets his hands on a [[NoodleIncident pre-made order]] of silver bullets and uses them to wipe out the local werewolf colony. [[spoiler:Well, most of them.]] The sequel ''Film/HowlingIIStirbaWerewolfBitch'' [[SubvertedTrope subverts the trope]] and reveals that while silver bullets work just fine against (relatively) young werewolves like the group in the first movie, with ancients like Stirba, they merely incapacitate the target for a while. The real metal of choice is titanium.

* ''[[WesternAnimation/TheCurseOfTheWereRabbit Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit]]'': The wererabbit supposedly is vulnerable to gold bullets (24 "[[IncrediblyLamePun carrot]]" gold) instead of silver bullets. It is unclear if this is correct or not because none of the gold bullets fired at it manage to hit.

** The sword Silverlight, or its upgraded form Darklight, are required to kill the demons Delrith and Agrith Naar and tormented demons. Silverlight and Darklight are also extra effective against other demons.

* Ivan Isaacs of ''Manhwa/{{Priest}}'' uses silver bullets against zombies. Priest zombies are immune to the traditional headshot unless the head is completely destroyed, but silver bullets will kill them regardless of where they hit.

* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZelda'' and ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'', Ganon can only be properly slain with a silver arrow. They are replaced by the more explicitly magic Light Arrows from the next games on.

* ''Film/{{Underworld}}'' Vampires are currently using traditional silver bullets against [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent Lycans]], but as the war escalates they upgrade to bullets that release liquid silver nitrate into the bloodstream, killing them faster. In the prequel, they used swords and arrows either made or coated in silver. By the time of ''Awakening'', silver grenades and aerosol have been invented.

[[quoteright:213:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/silver_bullet_5637.png]]
[[caption-width-right:213:Even werewolves, vampires and undead [[HorrifyingTheHorror quiver in fright]] when faced with these things.[[note]]Why the ''[[CartridgesInFlight cartridge casings]]'' also need to be made out of silver, no one knows.[[/note]]]]

* Silvered weapons feature in ''Literature/AnnoDracula'' as one of the few guaranteed ways to harm a vampire. These include silver bullets; in one of the books' many {{Shout Out}}s they're called "[[Radio/TheLoneRanger the Reid design]]".

* ''LightNovel/FateZero'': Kiritsugu Emiya's Origin Bullets can be compared to silver bullets, as they are specifically designed to kill mages. Those who survive being shot by an Origin Bullet will be left crippled and are unable to use magic ever again thanks to their destroyed magic circuit. The Origin Bullet becomes more effective the more potent the target is in magic. The number of Origin Bullets however is relatively sparse, as they are made out of Kiritsugu's own rib, thus he cannot simply reproduce new Origin Bullets whenever he wants.

* In ''ComicBook/ScareTactics'', the werewolf clan the Ketchums load their shotguns with silver buckshot when they ambush their runaway member Fang.

* In ''Manhua/{{Bloodline}}'', the Shengdi use silver bullets as their main rounds. There are also different kinds of silver bullets and one specific kind is capable of killing the main character.

* The title character of Creator/PatriciaBriggs's ''Literature/MercedesThompson'' novels uses homemade silver .444 Marlin bullets to kill werewolves. After gun aficionados wrote her to explain that [[GunsDoNotWorkThatWay making silver bullets isn't as easy as it sounds]], Briggs actually went to the effort of casting real silver bullets with the help of a metallurgist for verisimilitude and [[https://www.patriciabriggs.com/articles/silver/silverbullets.shtml blogged about the process.]] It required casting the bullets slightly larger than needed because silver has a greater thermal expansion coefficient than lead, as well as lightly coating the inside of the mold with soot to prevent it from sticking.

** In later versions they then decreed that the silver that worked against supernatural beings wasn't ''actually'' silver but "alchemical silver" ... much as "cold iron" was a metal that looked a bit like iron but wasn't. Basically, it's a steel weapon that is silver plated. The softness was also codified as a slight damage penalty to slashing and piercing weapons. So if you want a silvered weapon, a mace or hammer is usually a better choice than a sword.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'' keeps the "alchemical silver" thing from ''D&D'', but it's only really used at the lowest levels. Once you can afford it, Mythril weapons bypass DR/Silver just as well, without the damage penalty. And weapons with a +3 or better enhancement bypass DR as though they were both silver and cold iron, regardless of actual material.

* The title character of Creator/PatriciaBriggs's ''Literature/MercedesThomson'' novels uses homemade silver .444 Marlin bullets to kill werewolves. After gun aficionados wrote her to explain that [[GunsDoNotWorkThatWay making silver bullets isn't as easy as it sounds]], Briggs actually went to the effort of casting real silver bullets with the help of a metallurgist for verisimilitude and [[https://www.patriciabriggs.com/articles/silver/silverbullets.shtml blogged about the process.]] It required casting the bullets slightly larger than needed because silver has a greater thermal expansion coefficient than lead, as well as lightly coating the inside of the mold with soot to prevent it from sticking.

* Subverted in ''VideoGame/{{Terraria}}''; you can buy or craft Silver Bullets, but they don't do any extra damage against Werewolves or undead enemies.
* ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}''[='s=] resident NinjaMaid Sakuya wields silver knives; rather than fighting vampires, however, she works for them. This fact helps fuel the EpilepticTree that she was a VampireHunter who came to Scarlet Devil Mansion to slay Remilia but ended up getting hired by her instead.

* Like the book series it's based on, silver is especially effective against monsters in ''Franchise/TheWitcher'' games. Geralt carries a silver sword for dealing with them alongside a steel one for humans, though as he puts it, "[[HumansAreTheRealMonsters both are for monsters.]]"
** In terms of a more literal example of an actual bullet, the crossbow bolts he fires are silver-tipped.

* ''Wiki/SCPFoundation'': This is the only way to kill the shadow creatures in [[http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-1983 SCP-1983]]. And you have to be praying as you fire the bullet.

Throughout mythology and subsequent fiction, silver has been a common ward against evil. Silver, especially if blessed, has been thought to ward off or harm certain supernatural beings (including vampires) since the Middle Ages. The use of silver bullets to kill werewolves has become popular [[NewerThanTheyThink only since]] it was invented by Curt Siodmak, the writer of the 1941 film ''The Wolf Man'' (though in the 1933 novel ''The Werewolf of Paris'' by Guy Endore, someone did use a silver bullet on Bertrand Caillet, though it did not slay him, only landing in the leg).

For the details on the practicality of making and using silver ammunition, see the [[Analysis/SilverBullet analysis subpage]].

* Downplayed in ''Manga/SazanEyes'': Taoist Steve Long has a pistol with bullets inscribed with spells to harm demons and, at one point, uses silver bullets against the werewolf-like demon Quan Lang. However, since the latter dodged them, it's unknown if they were effective or not.

* Averted, and mocked, in ''Film/AnAmericanWerewolfInLondon'': David, the eponymous werewolf, is advised by his undead victims to kill himself. When he asks, "Don't I need a silver bullet?", his dead best friend Jack replies, "Oh, be serious!"

* ''Film/{{Blade}}'' employs silver stakes as part of his vast vampire-killing arsenal. [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]] slightly with his guns in that Blade himself mentions the bullets aren't silver. He uses hollow point rounds filled with a mixture of silver nitrate and essence of garlic.
* ''Film/TheBreed2001'', a sci-fi vampire film taking place TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture, claims that vampires are sensitive to both silver and sunlight. So not only do cops expecting to deal with vampires carry silver bullets, but also silver handcuffs and silver hand grenades.

* In the ''[[Film/FrightNight2011 Fright Night]]'' remake, Amy tries using silver bullets against [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Jerry]], who seems more amused than injured as he pulls the bullets out of his shoulder, chiding her: "Werewolves." [[spoiler: She then throws a cupful of holy water in his face, responding in kind: "Vampires."]]
* Silver shavings are among the ingredients listed by Film/{{Hellboy|2004}} for the all-purpose paranormal monster-killing bullets he uses for the Samaritan revolver in his self-titled movie.
* ''Film/TheHowling'' plays this straight, with the protagonist getting his hands on a [[NoodleIncident pre-made order]] of silver bullets and using them to wipe out the local werewolf colony. [[spoiler: Well, most of them..]] The sequel ''Film/HowlingIIStirbaWerewolfBitch'' subverts the trope and reveals that while silver bullets work just fine against (relatively) young werewolves like the group in the first movie, with ancients like Stirba they merely incapacitate the target for a while. The real metal of choice is titanium.

* In the 1981 movie ''Film/TheLegendOfTheLoneRanger'', the eponymous solitary range-rider uses silver bullets because ''they improve his aim.''
* In ''Film/TheLoneRanger2013'' Tonto made one for the Lone Ranger to shoot the Wendigo. (Of course, Tonto was insane, but he honestly believed this would work.)

** The same punchline is used in ''Film/MyBestFriendIsAVampire''.
* ''Film/TheManWithTheGoldenGun'' film has the eponymous villain equipped with a golden gun (assembled from [[IKEAWeaponry ordinary-looking parts]]) which was then loaded with custom-caliber, gold bullets engraved with the name of their targets. Averted because the bullets had no supernatural powers - Scaramanga was really ''that good''.

-->'''Persephone:''' My husband saved them because they are notoriously difficult to terminate. How many people keep silver bullets in their gun? ''(BANG)''
* In ''Film/TheMonsterSquad'', one of the protagonists crafts silver bullets but neglects to bring a gun. Rudy, the oldest of the Squad, eventually has to use a gun from a fallen cop to deliver the fatal bullet to the Wolf Man.
** He most likely seated them into .38 cartridges with the intention of grabbing a dropped service revolver, as there were going to be plenty of those to go around [[PoliceAreUseless once the cops showed up]]. He belonged to a club [[CrazyPrepared formed around dealing with monsters]], remember?
* In ''Film/ProjectMetalbeast'', Silver Bullets can kill werewolves but this particular one happens to be cybernetically enhanced, so it requires a silver-tipped bazooka shell to kill it.

[[folder:Theater]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]
* ''WebComic/AndShineHeavenNow'', much like the [[Manga/{{Hellsing}} manga]] it's primarily based on, makes use of silver bullets when vampire hunting. [[spoiler: And in a pinch, the silver filling of a tooth taken from a Holocaust victim will do.]]