Buffy The Vampire Slayer

The Phobia: Priests

The Cause: Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season Seven

Let’s face it, the clergy have had a tricky time in the press of late, beset by various scandals and controversies. Then there’s the rising prominence of existentialism and the teachings of evolutionary biologists like Richard Dawkins. However, the dog collar-wearing uber-villain Caleb on the seventh season of Buffy did little help for the PR of priests.

Although no longer a practising priest, having been ’defrocked’, Caleb stomped around in the familiar black outfit during his murderous spree in Sunnydale and massacred Buffy’s little army of potential slayers. Working alongside shapeshifting The First Evil, Caleb used his priestly wiles to lure unsuspecting victims into his clutches.

He twisted numerous Biblical passages to fit his own sinister agenda. For example, would you expect to hear the following at church on a Sunday morning:

"Drink of this, for it is my blood." You know, I always loved the story of the Last Supper. The body and blood of Christ becoming rich, red wine. I recall, as a boy, though, I couldn’t help but think: what would happen if you were at the Last Supper, and you ordered the white? A nice oaky Chardonnay or White Zin. I mean, would he make that out of his lymph or some-all? Never did bring it up. Suppose there was a reason why I never spent too long in one parish. Just looking for answers. Just looking for the Lord in the wrong damn places..."

To make matters worse, he poked out one of Xander’s eyes - taking the ’eye for an eye’ thing a bit too literally. It took the combined forces of Angel and Buffy to eventually dispatch Caleb, but the damage had been done. One glimpse of a dog-collar will send your average Buffy fan running for cover...