Salt is the most fundamental tool in a hunter's arsenal. It is cheap, readily available, and effective against a broad range of supernatural threats. Every hunter carries salt — in the car, in pockets, loaded into shotgun shells, and lining the doors and windows of wherever they sleep.
Usage
Salt repels and temporarily disperses ghosts on contact. A circle or line of salt creates a barrier that most spirits cannot cross. Rock salt loaded into shotgun shells ("salt rounds") disperses ghosts when fired through their manifestation — it does not destroy them permanently but buys critical time. Salt is also effective against demons, who cannot cross salt lines, and is used in numerous rituals and protective wards.
How It Works
Salt lines across doorways and windowsills protect a room. Pouring a salt circle around yourself creates a temporary safe zone. Salt rounds in a shotgun provide ranged ghost disruption. Salt mixed with accelerant is used in the salt-and-burn ritual for permanent ghost disposal.
Real-World Basis
Salt as a protective substance appears in folklore worldwide. Salt was historically precious and associated with purity, preservation, and covenant (the word "salary" derives from Latin "salarium," related to salt). In Japanese Shinto tradition, salt purifies. In European folk magic, salt wards against evil. In hoodoo, salt lines protect thresholds. The near-universal association of salt with protection likely stems from its preservative properties — it prevents decay, which metaphorically extends to preventing spiritual corruption.