Silver Bullet: Difference between revisions
Rescuing 1 sources and tagging 0 as dead.) #IABot (v2.0.8.5
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** However, the book reveals later that it was not the silver slug, but rather the children's [[Clap Your Hands If You Believe|belief in its killing power]], that made it work.
** Silver bullets are used to kill the title creature in King's ''Cycle of the Werewolf''.
* In [[G. K. Chesterton]]'s [[Father Brown]] story "[https://web.archive.org/web/20131010042845/http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/c/chesterton/gk/c52fb/chapter30.html The Dagger with Wings]," a man speaks of using white magic against his enemy, and shows he had a blunderbuss specifically so he can charge it with silver bullets. He cites the legend of Dundee, who had [[Deal with the Devil|sold his soul to the Devil]] and so could be shot only with a silver bullet. {{spoiler|Father Brown debunks, throughly, and concludes he is the murderer, posing as the victim.}}
** Note that this was a genuine legend; while Dundee was not shot with a silver bullet (or button) that story really was told.
* In the Silver John vignette "You Know the Tale of Hoph" by [[Manly Wade Wellman]], John uses a silver bullet to slay the Hoph. Silver, not necessarily in bullet form, is generally effective against evil creatures elsewhere in the stories.
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* Silver is confirmed to be dangerous to werewolves on the [[Discworld]]. Along with fire, it is one of the few weaknesses they have.
* Silvered weapons, mostly blades, feature in ''[[Anno Dracula]]'' as one of the few guaranteed ways to harm a vampire. ([[Jack the Ripper]] is originally known as Silver Knife.) Silver bullets also make an appearance; in one of the books' many [[Shout-Out|Shout Outs]] they're called "[[The Lone Ranger|the Reid design]]"
* ''[[Monster Hunter International]]'' notes silver is too soft to engage rifling correctly and has established several different kinds of silver bullet as work arounds.
** Silver shot is the simplest and (relatively) inexpensive as it is (relatively) easy to make. As shotgun ammo rifling isn't important. Only 12 gauge is mentioned, but it could exist in other sizes.
** US (and possibly other) government forces use frangible bullets with silver powder instead of lead. The company that makes these refuses to sell them to private organizations.
** Older hunters or those forced to make their own ammo would use saboted silver. Not especially accurate, but better than shot for longer ranges.
** Modern hunters use Pow'R Ball ammo with silver in place of the polymer. This is only offered in a limited number of calibers, primarily 45 auto and various 30 caliber cartridges.
** {{spoiler|Some Finnish hunters took things further and used fey blessed silver. This is potent enough an untransformed werewolf is seriously hurt just by touching it and one shot with it explodes}}.
== Live Action TV ==
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** The Disney film was intended to feature werewolves as the antagonists though, if early reports are to believe.
** Another motivation: making the bullets valuable was a reminder that firing a lethal weapon (even when done [[Blasting It Out of Their Hands|without lethal intent]]) was not a thing to be done lightly. See the entry under "Radio".
* ''[[
** [[Fan Dumb|It would not be surprising if they received complaints from fans for that exact reason.]]
* In ''[[Supernatural]]'', the Winchester Boys often use silver bullets, most commonly against shapeshifters.
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** ''High-Tech'' is ''wrong''. Silver is ''harder'' than lead, but also less dense. It has also been discovered that a silver bullet will shrink while cooling, and thus a silver bullet cast in a regular bullet mold comes out smaller than the intended size. Also, silver does not "mushroom" in the barrel as much as lead does. Thus, the bullet does not form a proper seal against the grooves of the barrel, allowing much of the gas to escape around the bullet, and the bullet does not get as much spin imparted to it. As a result, a silver bullet has a shorter range and less stopping power (except against werewolves, of course) when compared to a lead bullet.
* A rule of thumb in ''[[Rifts]]'' is: "If Mini-missiles won't work, try silver." Silver is useful not only against werebeasts, but also vampires (damages, and a silver stake works just as good as a wooden one) and most other Undead, demons, and some gods. One country in South America actually issues silver-plated swords to it's [[Humongous Mecha]] because they're at war with a kingdom of vampires.
* ''[[Dungeons
** To prevent silver weapons being a [[Game Breaker]] in ''[[Dungeons
{{quote|'''Guide''': "Oh dear, you stabbed that orc's plate armor with your silver sword and the blade bent!"
'''Guide''': "You know, you've been using that silver spear for so long that the point is dull. It's like hitting that ogre with a clumsy club, only it doesn't work that well!" }}
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[[Category:Bullet Index]]
[[Category:Horror Tropes]]
[[Category:Silver Bullet]]▼
[[Category:Tropes Examined by the Mythbusters]]
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