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Impalement

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Impalement
Classification: Injury
Genres: Action; Crime drama; Horror
Franchises: A Nightmare on Elm Street
Friday the 13th
Halloween
Hellraiser
Associated films: Count Yorga, Vampire
Freddy vs. Jason
Little Mermaid, The
Species: The Awakening
Character examples: Gibb Smith; Kelly Meeker; Miranda Hollander; Sandra Dier
Related articles: Vampires; Wooden stake

Impalement is the process by which a person is stabbed with a long, cylindrical or sharpened item, which penetrates the other side of the body. In most cases, such a thing tends to be fatal. Impalement is also the most effective means of destroying and/or incapacitating a vampire. Classically, this is done by hammering a wooden stake into their heart.

Historically, it could be argued that impalement first came into fashion in the mid-15th century, when Wallachian voivode Vlad III made a habit of impaling his Turkish enemies on long, metal pikes, which were then planted around the perimeter of his estate. This earned the wily Prince Vlad the nickname, Vlad the Impaler. Vlad later became the inspiration for Bram Stoker's infamous vampire character, Dracula.

In film[]

  • Baby Driver: Three criminals exited a post office after stealing blank money orders and instructed their getaway driver, Baby, to hit the gas. Wanting to stop the criminals from possibly murdering someone, he drove the car into the back of a construction vehicle. A large piece of metal flew out, impaling "Bats" through the chest.
  • Belko Experiment, The: Lonny Crane nervously attacks Dany Wilkins. Dany pushes him back, and a length of metal sticking out of the wall impales him in the head.
  • Count Yorga, Vampire: When Michael Thompson tried to stab Count Yorga with a wooden stake, the vampire pushed one of his own brides, the mother of Donna, into the weapon's path. Michael caught up with him however, and was able to plunge the stake into his heart.
  • Dracula (1992): Dracula, aka Vlad the Impaler. He was forever taking his enemies and impaling their bodies on spikes that decorated the land surrounding his castle.
  • Freddy vs. Jason: Jason Voorhees impales a camp counselor named Heather with his machete, pinning her to a tree in a dream sequence. Jason double-impales partiers Gibb Smith and Frisell with a metal pole. He later pushes Charlie Linderman away from him, impaling him on a metal wall bracket. He impales Freddy Krueger through the back with Freddy's own severed claw arm.
  • Friday the 13th Part 2: Jason Voorhees uses a spear to double impale Jeff and Sandra in their bed after they had just finished having sex. The scene is not explicitly show, but the viewer does see the bloody tip of the spear coming out of the bottom of the bed.
  • From Dusk Till Dawn: Numerous vampires get impaled. Santanico Pandemonium is impaled by a falling chandelier. Razor Charlie is impaled by a pool cue. Frost impales four female vampires onto the upended legs of a table.
  • Satanic Rites of Dracula, The: Scotland Yard inspectors Murray and Torrence pried their colleague, Jessica Van Helsing, away from a newly-turned vampire named Jane. Murray then found a wooden stake and stabbed her through the heart. Later, Murray used a different stake (these things are just lying around everywhere) to dispatch another female vampire named Chin Yang. Jessica's grandfather, Lorrimer Van Helsing, broke off a piece from a picket fence and used it to destroy Dracula.
  • Species: The Awakening: Azura impales fellow alien/human hybrid Miranda Hollander during their final battle, delivering a kill-shot.
  • Tucker & Dale vs. Evil: Mitch accidentally impales himself by running into a sharp tree branch. Todd accidentally impales himself when he trips while running with a hand-carved spear.

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