History Main / SupernaturalRepellent

** Most editions have a variety of spells that offer protection from supernatural beings like fiends and undead. In 5th Edition, these include Protection From Good and Evil, Magic Circle, and Hallow. Protection From Good And Evil protects a single target, while the others protect an area. In all cases, creatures like fey, fiends, celestials, abberations, and the undead cannot voluntarily enter the area or possess or charm anyone inside it, and any attacks they try to make against someone inside the area are at a substantial penalty.

* [[CompleteImmortality Yaobikuni]] from ''VideoGame/{{Onmyoji}}'' is ''walking'' Supernatural Repellent to Hōōka. Being the embodiment of the phoenix fire, the latter is repelled by the former's still living despite her soul's having gone cold because her flames of life have been extinguished long, long ago.

* ''Manga/AyakashiTriangle'': One of the various incenses Reo's clan makes repels ayakashi with its smell. It sends [[{{Tengu}} Ponosuke]] flying off as he [[WaterfallPuke spray vomits]], but [[NoSell simply causes a]] {{nurikabe}} to sneeze.

** Dragons may be one of the most powerful creatures on the face of the star, but incense created from the silver dew plant causes their eyes to water for hours and fills their mouths and noses with a rancid flavor. The Gnath and Vath make extensive usage of this incense to avoid becoming meals for dragons swooping down from Sohm Al.

** In the 2021 All Saint's Wake event, [[Playercharacter the Warrior of Light]] is given a special lantern to chase away the voidsent haunting the catacombs near Gridania along with holy water to help return kidnapped souls to their rightful owners.

* [[CompleteImmortality Yaobikuni]] from ''VideoGame/{{Onmyoji}}'' is ''walking'' Supernatural Repellent to Hōōka. Being the embodiment of the phoenix fire, the latter is repelled by the former's still living despite her soul's having gone cold because her flames of life have been extinguished long, long ago.
* ''VideoGame/{{Pokemon}}'':
** The aptly named "Repel" items (Repel, Super Repel, Max Repel, in ascending order of duration) in the series blocks RandomEncounters with any wild VideoGame/{{Pokemon}} of lower level than the first one in the PlayerParty. It's drawn as a spray-can like bug repellent.
** The Cleanse Tag is a held item introduced in [[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Generation II]]. Equipped to the first VideoGame/{{Pokemon}} in the party, it reduces the rate of random encounters with lower-level wild VideoGame/{{Pokemon}}.
** {{Inverted}} with the Generation II move Sweet Scent, which causes an instant random encounter if used outside of battle in a tile where wild VideoGame/{{Pokemon}} can appear (even overriding use of a Repel or Cleanse Tag).

* Vivi and Arthur keep a stash of various things to protect them from the supernatural in their van in ''WebAnimation/MysterySkullsAnimated'' including [[VampiresHateGarlic garlic cloves]], dream catchers, [[PaperTalisman ofuda]] and bottles of [[HolyBurnsEvil holy water]].

* A two-part episode of ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' focused on the boys (and Craig) becoming a Peruvian pan-flute band, only for them to be rounded up with the other bands by the Department of Homeland Security. Then [[{{Slurpasaur}} giant guinea pigs and other similar creatures]] start rampaging across the world. Turns out the pan-flute music kept the guinea creatures contained, and the Director of Homeland Security [[spoiler:was actually [[MoleInCharge a guinea creature in disguise]] (a guinea ''pirate'', no less) who used his position to eliminate the pan-flute bands and unleash the guinea creatures upon the world once again. Fortunately, the Incans planned for this, and Craig, [[RefusalOfTheCall no matter how much he doesn't want to]], [[YouCantFightFate ends up being the one to defeat the guinea pirate.]]

* A two-part episode of ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' focused on the boys (and Craig) becoming a Peruvian pan-flute band, only for them to be rounded up with the other bands by the Department of Homeland Security. Then {{Slurpasaur}} giant guinea pigs and other similar creatures]] start rampaging across the world. Turns out the pan-flute music kept the guinea creatures contained, and the Director of Homeland Security [[spoiler:was actually [[MoleInCharge a guinea creature in disguise]] (a guinea ''pirate'', no less) who used his position to eliminate the pan-flute bands and unleash the guinea creatures upon the world once again. Fortunately, the Incans planned for this, and Craig, [[RefusalOfTheCall no matter how much he doesn't want to]], [[YouCantFightFate ends up being the one to defeat the guinea pirate.]]

Enter the supernatural repellent. In fiction, there are a number of ways to [[AddedAlliterativeAppeal send supernatural spirits sprinting]] away, from common household items, like salt, to actual houses or other places where evil cannot follow you. There are many examples, varying a good deal according to local folklore, but in modern media the most common (in no particular order) are sunlight, iron, salt, holy ground, running water, silver, and garlic. Some of these have their own specific trope - see below.

** In "Something in the Walls", Sharon Miles determines that the [[WallMaster creatures that live in the walls and in anything with a pattern]] can be prevented from coming through if she surrounds herself with items that are plain and entirely one color. As such, she paints her room at the Crest Ridge Sanitarium white and covers each crack that appears. She also refuses to place a checkered blanket on her bed. In spite of all her precautions, however, the creatures manage to come through a crack in her wall and [[EquivalentExchange replace her with one of their own]].

This is a SubTrope of AchillesHeel.

Compare BanishingRitual, KryptoniteFactor (weaknesses for people with superpowers), ProtectiveCharm, and EncounterRepellent. Contrast SummoningArtifact, MagicIsAMonsterMagnet, WeirdnessMagnet and EncounterBait. If you want to kill the supernatural creatures rather than simply repel them, that falls under WeaponOfXSlaying instead.

Compare BanishingRitual, KryptoniteFactor (weaknesses for people with superpowers), ProtectiveCharm, and EncounterRepellent. Contrast SummoningArtifact, MagicIsAMonsterMagnet, WeirdnessMagnet and EncounterBait.

* In Literature/TheBible, iron was good for keeping fairies from stealing your baby and replacing it with a changeling. Coincidentally enough, it also says [[HolyBurnsEvil the Bible itself repels fairies]] just as well as iron.

* Parodied in the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' novels, especially in ''Discworld/CarpeJugulum'', where much mirth is raised by recounting, in a Discworld context, all the things which Earth legends say are fatal to vampires. This ranges from the normal -- garlic, and whatnot -- to the more unorthodox -- lemons, poppyseed, and carrots.

Enter the supernatural repellent. In fiction, there are a number of ways to [[AddedAlliterativeAppeal send supernatural spirits sprinting]] away, from common household items, like salt, to actual houses or other places where evil can not follow you. There are many examples, varying a good deal according to local folklore, but in modern media the most common (in no particular order) are sunlight, iron, salt, holy ground, running water, silver, and garlic. Some of these have their own specific trope - see below.

* ''Film/HocusPocus'' has this in both the object and the place variety. Apparently, witches can not cross a ring of salt, nor can they set foot on a graveyard. They can fly over the graveyard, though.

** Demons can not cross a line of salt. They can also be trapped inside a pentagram, which can be used the other way around too: after Bobby covered the panic room in anti-demonic sigils, Ruby was unable to enter it.

This trope often overlaps with SilverHasMysticPowers and SaltSolution for the type of repellent used. If the weakness is particularly mundane, it can overlap with WeaksauceWeakness.

* SilverBullet

[[folder:Theater]]