White Oak Stake (2024)

The White Oak Stake is the only weapon on Earth with the capability to permanently killsuper powerful creatures aspowerful as anOriginal, other than possibly a witch powerful enough to channel an extreme amount of power. It comes from an ancient White Oak Tree during the time of the genesis of the vampire race. What happens to vampires when struck with normal pieces of wood is what white oak stakes do to originals. It severely weakens them if they are stabbed with it, for example,Damon stabbed Klaus with the stake and was able to overpower him and pull the stake out of Klaus' grip.If it is driven through the heart of an Original Vampire, the stake as well as the original would burst into violent flames and all that will be left is charred remains of their body.

History[]

Because the wood of the White Oak Tree was extremely harmful to the Originals, they burnt it down. Before they did so, however,Mikael carved a stake out of this wood so that he could someday kill Klaus with it. He had hidden it, to avoid being staked himself. He then showed it to Damon.

Season Three[]

In Homecoming, Mikael toldDamon of a weapon that can kill Klaus and showed himthe White Oak Stake. Mikael passed the weapon onto Damon, because as wasn't invited in the Lockwood Mansion. Damon attempted killing Klaus while Mikael distracted him. However, due to Stefan's intervention, Klaus used the weapon on Mikael. The stake burnt down along with Mikael.

All hope was lost as they though that there was no way to kill Klaus, but in Break On Through, Damon found out through Sage and Rebekah that a sapling of the originalWhite Oak Treewas planted back in the same place andwas cut down and used to make the Wickery Bridge. Rebekahburnt down the wood withSage- Sage didn't want Finn to die as she learnt all the originals would die if one of them were to die. It turned out that some of the wood from the bridge was also made into a Wickery Bridge sign;Damon toldStefanthat they have weapons that can be used to kill Klaus.

In The Murder of One, Damon, Stefan, Caroline, Elena, and Matt all took wooden stakes carved by Alaric, Stefan and Damon, and tried to use them to kill Klaus. Klaus eventually got almost all of them, save for three, and burnt them. Stefan tried to use one, but fails. Klaus then burns the other. The final stake was then hidden by Alaric.

In Heart of Darkness, the stake's location was only known to Alaric's dark side, which frustrated the Salvatores and the Originals.It was only under a death-thread that,Alaric,taken over by his darker persona,gave the stake to Esther.

In Do Not Go Gentle, Esther magically bonded the Gilbert Ringwith the last white oak stake, to make it the ultimate weapon. The stake won't burn when it kills an Original. She wanted Alaric to use it to kill the rest of her children and wipe all vampires off of the face of the planet. She turned Alaric into a new enhanced original vampire but before he completed the transition, he impaled Esther with it when she tried to kill Jeremy and Matt, killing the witch. Once he completed the transition to a vampire, he was fully taken over by his dark-side. He held the white oak stake and began his crusade against vampires.

In Before Sunset, Alaric attacked Rebekah at the high school where with the combined efforts of her and Caroline they succeeded in stabbing Alaric with the stake but unlike the Originals, Alaric didn't share their weakness and survived the stabbing. He used the stake when he was attacked by Klaus and nearly killed him with it before Elena interfered.

In The Departed, Alaric showed the stake to Jeremy, trying to convince him that he could use the stake to kill the Originals and cause the extinction of vampires. When plotting against Alaric, Elijah said that the stake is a real threat and that if Alaric could be disarmed, they stand a chance against him. Alaric used the stake when he was hunting down Klaus' dessicated body and stabbed him, setting him ablaze and seemingly killing him. Alaric closed the coffin before the fire fully destroyed Klaus, unknowingly putting the fire out. Alaric wielded the weapon in his fight with Damon before his death, giving Damon possession of the stake once Alaric was gone.

Season Four[]

In Growing Pains, Damon tried to kill Rebekah with the white oak stake because she killed Elena. However Rebekah easily overpowers Damon, but gets shot by the council. Damon then fled with the stake.

In The Rager, Elena attempted to use the white oak stake on Rebekah but was convinced not to by Stefan, knowing that the stake would kill countless vampires along with Rebekah.

In After School Special, Caroline carried the stake while looking for Rebekah after she had been undaggered by April. However, Rebekah disarmed Caroline and took the stake for herself, taking Stefan and Elena hostage as well. However, shortly after, Kol stealthily took the stake from Rebekah, showing her that her defenses were down and she was not ready for the threat the possibly immortal witch, Silas, would pose. He then left with the stake in his grasp.

InCatch Me If You Can, during an argument where Rebekah drew one of the white oak ash daggers on Kol, he countered by pulling out the white oak stake and threatened to kill her if she got in his way of stopping Silas. Klaus interfered in the spat and Kol fled with the stake.

In A View To A Kill, Kol still had possession of the white oak stake, keeping it close in a pocket on the inside of his jacket. He tried to cut off Jeremy's arms and kill Elena and during the fight. Kol was taken by surprise and Elena managed to grab the stake from his jacket. She tossed it to Jeremy who then stabbed Kol, setting him ablaze, and killing the original. Jeremy then took the stake from Kol's charred body and took ownership of the indestructible weapon.

In Into the Wild, Elena tries to kill Rebekah with the white oak stake before Rebekah pushes her back. Later, Elena gives it back to Rebekah as a peace offering.

In Because the Night, Silas reveals to Klaus that he has the stake, having gleaned its location from Rebekah's mind. After Klaus refuses Silas' attempt at a deal, Silas jabs it into Klaus' back, though not his heart, and breaks off the tip, leaving Klaus screaming in agony.

In American Gothic, Klaus deduces that Silas never broke off the tip of the stake in him, butthat Silas made Klaus think he did through an illusion. He never had the stake.

In Pictures of You Rebekah gave the stake to Elijah, who gave it to Klaus.

Victims[]

Mikael[]

Mikael was stabbed by Niklaus,with the help of Stefan. The stake was used on Mikaelinstead of the intended target, Klaus. The stake burnt up along with Mikael. (Episode: Homecoming)

• There have not been any mention of vampires turned by and descended from Mikael.
• It is possible he never turned anyone; despite the fact that it was Mikael's idea to turn himself and his family into vampires, seemed to regret being a vampire, and his self-loathing grew over time. It is assumed that this hatred of being a vampire and feeding on the innocent caused him to decide to be a vampire hunter, as well as caused him to change his diet to vampire blood instead of human or animal blood.

Finn[]

Finn was stabbed by Matt with the help of Stefan and Elena. Initially, Stefan trickedSage into thinking he wanted to kill Finn, but Elena and Matt appeared, who manage to distract and destroy Finn. Finn died on the steps outside the Grill, engulfed by the flames while Sage watched and cried. (Episode: The Murder of One)

• Every vampire turned by Finn Mikaelson's blood and all vampires descended from that line were affected.
• The only known vampires who died with Finn are Sage and Troy. They died within an hour of Finn's death. It can be assumed that there were many more who died as a result of Finn's death, as Sage suggested that she had turned many people during the 900 years she had been a vampire.

Kol[]

Kol was stabbed by Jeremy Gilbert with help fromElena. Elena wanted Jeremy to kill Kol, so that he and his bloodlineof vampires would die, which would not only complete Jeremy'sHunter's Mark, but it would also break Kol's compulsion of Damon to kill Jeremy. After a chase in their house, during which Kol attempted to chop off Jeremy's arms to keep them from finding the cure, Elena subdued Kol with water from the faucet that had been laced with vervain, and managed to steal the white oak stake from him, allowing Jeremy to stab him. Kol burst into flames as his brother Klaus watched helplessly from the door. (Episode: A View To A Kill)

• All vampires from Kol's bloodline eventually died out due to Kol's death which allowed Jeremy's hunter's mark to complete a short while after he killed Kol. It is unknown how many vampires died, but from stories told about Kol, it is believed that he turned hundreds of vampires in the 1,000 years he had been a vampire.

Klaus[]

In The Departed,Alaric used the stake on Klaus's desiccated body. Silas stole the last remaining white oak stake from Rebekah, and jabbed the tip of the stake into Klaus' back, though not through his heart; Silas told him that he didn't want to kill him yet, as he wants Klaus to get him the cure. He made Klaus think that he broke the end of the stake off, leaving just the tip embedded in the back of his ribcage. Klaus later discovered that that the tip was not in his back and that Silas had just used illusions to make him believe that.

Owners in chronological order[]

1. Mikael - Saved the last White Oak Stake from the original White Oak Tree. It remained in his possession until it was used to kill him in Homecoming.
2. Stefan and Damon - Carved 12 white oak stakes from the lumber of the second White Oak Tree in The Murder of One. They were distributed among the Mystic Falls gang.
3. Matt Donovan - Usedone of thestakes to kill Finn during the events of The Murder of One.
4. Alaric Saltzman - Kept the last remaining White Oak Stake after Klaus and Rebekah burned the other 10. It was made indestructible by Esther and remained in his possession until his death in The Departed.
5. Damon Salvatore - Took the indestructible stake from Alaric after his death. It remained in his possession until After School Specialwhen it was taken by Stefan and Caroline and then stolen by Rebekah.
6. Elena Gilbert - Was temporarily loaned the indestructible stake by Damon in The Rager, but decided not to use it. She later returned it to Stefan and Damon.
7. Caroline Forbes - Was temporarily loaned the indestructible stake by Stefan, but was stolen from her by Rebekah in After School Special.
8. Rebekah Mikaelson - Stole the indestructible stake from Caroline in After School Special. It remained in her possession until the end of After School Special when it was taken by her brother Kol.
9. Kol Mikaelson - Took the stake from Rebekah inAfter School Special, it remained in his possession untilElena took itaway from him and Jeremyused itkill himin A View To A Kill.
10. Jeremy and Elena Gilbert - After killing Kol with it, they took possession of the stake.
11. Elena Gilbert - She had the stake for most parts of Into the Wild. She gave it to Rebekah as a peace offering.
12. Rebekah Mikaelson - Rebekah acquired the stake. Silas fooled Klaus into thinking that he has the stake, but it was in Rebekah's possession.
13. Elijah Mikaelson - Rebekah gave the stake to Elijah because if she ever becomes human, she won't need it.
14. Niklaus Mikaelson - Elijah gave the stake to Klaus so Klaus would feel safe from Silas.

Known stakes[]

• Original stake aka Mikael's stake: Mikael made this stake before burning the white oak tree. He had it for at least a 1000 years. When he teamed up with the Salvatores, he gave the stake to Damon so that he could use it on Klaus. Damon was close to killing Klaus but Stefan saved Klaus and Klaus used the stake on Mikael. It killed him and was destroyed when it burned in Mikael's body.
• Twelve stakes: These were made by Stefan, Damon and Alaric by using the old Wickery bridge sign, which was made of the white oak tree sapling.
  • One was used to kill Finn.
  • Stefan found out that Klaus didn't die as all originals were unlinked. When he realised that killing an original causes all vampires in the bloodline to die he gave Klaus eight of the stakes so he would free Damon.
  • Klaus compelled Damon to tell him how many of the stakes existed; he replied "11". Stefan gave Klaus one stake he had. Later he gave him the last stake in his possession. Klaus most probably destroyed them.
  • The Indestructible stake: It was one of the 12 stakes made from the white oak sign. Alaric's alter ego took the stake and hid it in the cave. Esther later made the stake indestructible using Alaric's ring. It is currently the last remaining White Oak Stake.

Trivia[]

• Mikael was the first person to be seen holding a White Oak Stake.
• Mikael was the first Original to be killed in the series.
• When the stake is used to kill an Original, it ignites, destroying both the vampire and the stake. This necessitated thatEsther magically make the last stake indestructible so thatAlaric Saltzman could use it on all of the remaining originals, instead of just one.
• It has not been established why the Originals burn with white oak stake. However, it is likely because the white oak tree was burnt by the originals and they suffer from the same fate when impaled with one.
  • Another possible explanation is that since they were made by magic and not vampire blood, the spell keeping them alive is destroyed which is extrapolated in a fire - when they die all vampires in their bloodline die, but killing a normal vampire doesn't kill all his vampire descendants.
• In Mikael and Kol's cases, having possession ofa white oak stake is what lead to their demises.
• Despite Esther making the stake unbreakable and indestructible, Silas somehow managed to break off the tip of it in Klaus' chest
  • This was later shown to be an illusion that Silas made Klaus think was broke off in him.
• Damon Salvatore is the only person who attempted to use the White Oak Stake and failed.
• Even though the White Oak Stake is said to be the only way to kill Originals, it is not sure-fire in that Klaus was able to survive after getting staked by Vampire Alaric due to the ensuing flames being extinguished before they had the chance to devour his dessicated body completely.
• Kol was the only Original killed with the stake to burn up before dessication.