Salt has long been used by man for purification, protection, and preservation; in fact, the earliest record of salt being used dates back to 2255 B.C. Among the many beliefs and truths that have been attributed to it are that salted food cannot be hexed, that making a circle of salt will protect whatever or whomever is placed inside, and that it attracts luck and money while driving away demons and witches. It is also used in some vampiric lore: it is applied to the shed skin of an ASWANG MANNANANGGAL; one can trap a CATACANO behind a line of salt; an ESTRIE will eat bread and salt to heal itself of any wounds it may have taken in a fight; and salt placed under one’s pillow at night will deter a GAUKEMARES from attacking, to name but a few.

Source: Barber, Vampire, Burial and Death, 68; Dundes, Vampire Casebook, 50; Gadsby, Sucking Salt, 67; Phillips, Forests of the Vampire, 62-64; Summers, Vampire: His Kith and Kin, 234