Here's what I got. My MC is just out of highschool. He lives at home with his mom & stepfather. Isn't going to college. Needs a job. Sees an ad for a demon hunter, which he assumes is a joke, but his best friend sees add for a really disgusting job, (Still trying to decide that) and they apply. My MC can see the real ad cause his dad was a demon hunter. End of story, he, his best friend and a 3rd wheel all team up to hunt demons. They are really bad at it, but muddle through. It's suppossed to be funt to read. I need to come up with ways to kill demons. Stuff the 3 can carry around that won't look like a weapon. I would love it if the demons turn into much or something smelly. The demons will look human, but depending on what kind of demon they are, do whacky things, like maybe breath bugs or be able to give you a case of the giggles that can kill. So I could use some ideas on that too. Feel free to toss in anything that sounds helpful.
It would probably be a good idea for you to research superstitions and demons throughout the world. Many countries have monsters with simple weaknesses. Crusifixes and other holy symbols are a commonly used weapon against demons, as is holy water. Reading certain mantras or prayers is supposed to repell or banish demons. Weapons crafted of pure silver is another popular item.
What sort of demons? Are the demons actual physical creatures? In many mythologies demons are dangerous because they possess people. The "hunting" part is driving them out without killing the host. If you mean they are more along the lines of generic monsters (trolls under bridges for example, vamipres, House Republicans...) or manifest in a real form that can be killed, then decide if you want one demon or a whole slew of different types. And how specific are the rules. Originally vampires did not fear crosses (two sticks together; the cross in in every culture!), they feared the crucifix (a cross with the image of CRUCIFIED Jesus on it). So decide if any sort of wards work because of the power of the deity behind them, or the faith of the believer. As for specific ways to fight demons: Water Water is a purifying element in many cultures. Thus unclean spirits could not cross it or would sink into it and be trapped. Maybe demons simply have more muscle mass than puny humans and sink like stones. Or water burns them like the aliens from Signs. Geometric symbols Often in video games and movies you see wizards drawing a pentagram or circle to keep a demon ensnared once summoned. This need not be due to the power of god(s) or even wild magic. In many mythologies demons could not cross a threshhold to a home if the building was built in a certain way. Stupas and other temples in India often incoporated the swatiska design (four entrances at right angles to the actuall hallways leading into the main building). This was because malicious spirits traveled in straight lines and thus couldn't turn at the right angle to get inside. Salt lines Demons/ghosts/whatever were often seen as the cause of decay. Salt is a preservative, so it was believed to keep them at bay. Silver Gold and silver were often used in religious icons for the same reason the nobility and royalty used them. To show off their wealth and power. I personally never use this one. Saves the demon hunters lots of cash. Of course silver and gold are good conductors and maybe magic is like electricty. Maybe it's easier to bless silver than say wood. Decapitation It's easier to list the things this one DOES NOT kill. Immolation Maybe demon bodies burn up easier than ours do (less water percentage). And of course don't forget the power of friendship and/or love...meh
Also, many classic demon slaying tools could easily be converted to modern items. You need a vampire slaying style stake? Use a pen. Need silver? Necklace or ring, pocket knife even. Holy water in a sports bottle, kids chalk for geometric symbols, resturant mini salt packets, can of spray deodorant and a lighter (take some creative liberties there. I think that would normally just explode). Lots of ways to kill things, just pull them into everyday life. Replace holy shields with trashcan lids and swords with pocket knives, guns, and baseball bats and your all good.
Have you seen the movie Dogma? It's a Jay and Silent Bob film, but they end up fighting lots of demons and winning. The really weird thing is, once you think about how they did it, it makes perfect sense. For example, they defeated a demon with a golf club. The golf club belonged to a priest who blessed his clubs so he would have a better game.
All great ideas and thank you everyone. I was thinking some unconventional stuff. Maybe a liquid that contains holy water and salt. Or some sort of vacuum type of thing.
A fun thing is to have a system. You need virgin tears, pepper corn, and cloves mixed together in shotgun shells, or something like that. The fun part is the ridiculous virgin tears because that will put the MCs under stress to get it. Maybe they need to remain virgins to get ammo. I'm not saying to use that but some kind of system makes the story complex and provides things to do for the MCs.
I personally like to create completely new demons. Some ideas... 1)Nature is the only way to stop demons. You can tie them up with branches, make them trip over roots or something. The MCs discover this when a demon hunting trip goes wrong and they end up running into the forest. Out of desperation, the demon follows them and gets killed. 2)Maybe they have to set the demons against each other. I just love it when Indestructible Unstoppable Evil Monster Number 1 fights Indestructible Unstoppable Evil Monster Number 2. Think Barrakas and Verminion from Nightmare Academy. 3)Demons can shapeshift into humans, but something gives them away, like a ring that marks them as a demon, or the fact that they don't need to blink, or maybe their nails seem longer and sharper than usual...? 4)The first demon fell on Earth in a comet from Hell/another Planet/whatever. He then started to reproduce and that's the backstory of how demons were created. 5)The only way to kill a demon is by cracking its egg before it's ready to come out. So the heroes have to travel back in time and storm the demon egg nest. 6)When you kill a demon, it travels back to hell for 2 years, then comes back again. That's why you need to keep fighting them, again and again.
That one sounds fun. Maybe it would be fun to have something smelly kill the demons. That would follow the garlic theme. Maybe stinky cheese also kills or weakens them. Maybe skunks are their mortal enemies. This would also put the MCs under stress! If you're really looking for laughs, what if items found in a joke shop killed them? They discover this by accident... a demon comes upon them and all they have is a can of silly string... and it WORKS! They only find out later that, hm, laughter is deadly to demons, but only genuine laughter when they're in visible form, and it's pretty hard to laugh when a demon's in visible form... but the more laughter an object has absorbed, the deadlier it is to them! They proceed to buy out the whole joke shop.
The cheese idea is funny. Maybe only certain bacteria on cheese kill the demons and that's why people started eating rank rotten milk! It's not just food, it's a weapon. I always liked those stories where people have to travel to hell and back to get some special medicine of item and our ideas are like that.
