Methods of destroying suspected vampires varied,
with staking the most commonly cited method, particularly in southern Slavic cultures.
[39] Ash was the preferred wood in Russia and the Baltic states,[40] or hawthorn in Serbia,[41] with a record of oak in Silesia.[42] Potential vampires were most often staked through the heart, though the mouth was targeted in Russia and northern Germany[43][44] and the stomach in north-eastern Serbia.