The Vampire Diaries: 10 Most Iconic Props In The Series

Throughout its eight-season run, The Vampire Diaries left a lasting impression on fans. With heartbreaking relationships, dangerously charming characters and insane rollercoaster plot twists, there was a lot to love. But Elena, the Salvatores, Bonnie, Caroline, and crew didn’t make it through on pure heart or wits alone.

As each plot thread unwound, there was always a prop that played a significant role, whether to help or to hinder the team. From magical objects to ordinary tokens, each tool, piece of jewelry, or journal had its role to play. Here are the 10 most iconic props in The Vampire Diaries universe.

10 The Moonstone

The Moonstone was a milky quartz gem that frankly looked like a bar of soap, so much so that Damon tried hiding it in plain sight in the bathroom. Everyone wanted to get their hands on it because of its legendary power to break the Sun and Moon Curse, the spell that forced werewolves to transform.

But it turned out its true role in the supernatural world was binding Klaus Mikaelson’s hybrid nature. Esther used the moonstone to ensure her son never triggered his werewolf curse and to hide her indiscretions.

9 Vervain

This magical herb caused a great deal of mischief throughout the series. Its pretty purple flowers looked innocuous enough and did no harm to humans, but for vampires it spelled pain. When humans used it in jewelry or consumed it, they were safe from vampire compulsion.

If vampires touched vervain, their skin burned. If vampires ingested it, their throats would burn and it weakened their strength. But many vamps in the TVD world eventually conditioned themselves to the herb’s properties so that they wouldn’t be so easily weakened by it.

8 Diaries

There’s a reason the show was called The Vampire Diaries. Though their use became less frequent as the series went on, their use in the narrative was always important. Stefan’s diaries revealed centuries of pain, torment and a lifetime of violence.

Elena’s diaries detailed her teen angst and grief as she went from being a normal kid to a parentless older sibling and eventually a vampire herself. Later, as Elena lay comatose until Bonnie’s death, a diary was used to record her friends’ lives so she’d be all caught up when she awoke.

7 The Gilbert Compass

The Gilbert compass played a major role in the first couple of seasons of the series. A seemingly ordinary pocket watch that was passed down the Gilbert line of men as a family heirloom, it actually contained magical properties that turned it into a compass that pointed toward vampires.

Elena last saw it pointing toward Noah, a vampire that caused her car crash right before her high school’s 50s Decade Dance. It never reappeared in the series again, at least not in the present day. It was last seen in a flashback.

6 Daylight Rings

The vampires of Mystic Falls owe their ability to be in sunlight to the witches that gave them daylight rings. Without these spelled stones that must stay on their person at all times, Damon, Stefan, Elena, and Caroline would burst into flames in the sun.

The Salvatore rings are not just statement pieces but a necessity to the brothers’ survival. Daylight rings act as a symbol of the alliance between witch and vampire, whether they like it or not. Vampires must tread carefully, as the witch that enchants the ring can take it away.

5 The Cure

Like all magic, vampirism can be undone. The cure was created by Qetsiyah after Silas betrayed her and gave their immortality elixir to Amara instead. When the Salvatores found out about it, Stefan wanted to find it to turn Elena back to human, which Damon was reluctant about.

In a showdown with Katherine, Elena shoved the cure in the vindictive vampire’s mouth to weaken her, losing her chance at humanity. But Bonnie retrieved another version of it in her prison world and brought it back into play, giving Elena a second chance.

4 White Oak Stake

The only way to kill an Original vampire for good was with the white oak stake. This tool was forged from the tree that gave life to the vampire species. It’s a poetic symbol for what can be given can be taken away. In true Mikaelson fashion, when the Originals learned the truth, they burned down the remaining white oak trees.

But Esther ensured her children’s destruction by saving enough for one last stake, magicked to be indestructible. The tables turned when Klaus used it to kill his father.

3 Elena’s Locket

At the beginning of Stefan and Elena’s relationship, he gifted her a vintage silver locket with a red jewel that he filled with vervain. He intended to keep her safe from Damon’s compulsion. But the locket originated from Esther as a talisman she acquired from her mentor.

Esther handed it down to Rebekah who lost it in her escape from Mikael in the 1920s. Stefan found the locket but didn’t remember Rebekah because of Klaus’s compulsion. Elena lost the necklace but Damon found it and returned it on her birthday.

2 The Ascendant

The Gemini Coven had a habit of locking witches away in other-dimension prison worlds when they disobeyed the coven’s laws. The first ascendant appeared when Bonnie and Damon were sent to the 90s prison world where Kai Parker resided.

Here she learned the ascendant was a magical device used to harness the power of a celestial event to create magic powerful enough to open portals to other worlds. Another ascendant had been used before though, to trap Lily Salvatore and her Heretics in the 1900s.

1 The Phoenix Sword and Stone

The Phoenix stone was a spelled gem that trapped the souls of vampires when used with the Phoenix Sword. Lily searched desperately for it to revive her long lost love, Julian. But Julian was a cruel man the Salvatores wanted to prevent from coming back at all costs.

Unfortunately, both brothers were stabbed by the sword in the process and their souls sucked into the stone. Bonnie rescued them, but they suffered from PTSD from the ordeal. Later it was learned the sword and stone’s origins lay with Rayna Cruz, an ancient vampire hunter.

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