Real-life people who feared vampires tried to prevent bodies from rising from the grave by staking them to the ground. The stake would enter the dirt, just like when you pound in stakes for a tent when camping. That's what stakes are for -- they aren't weapons, they're pieces of wood that go into the ground. Stakes through the heart weren't used to kill vampires, or they were just one of many methods used, according to myths. But in real life, people were staked to the ground to keep them in their graves.