#Vampire-slaying kit with Bible, crucifix and gun goes to auction

While we can’t say for sure that vampires exist, an auction house in the UK has listed a 178-year-old vampire-slaying kit, complete with pistol, crucifix, a Bible and sundry other consecrated talismans to ward off evil.

Encased in an ornate wooden box with brass ornaments and a “crimson” silk lining, Hansons Auctioneers, in Derbyshire, has estimated its worth between $2,500 to $3,700 (£2,000 to £3,000). Bidding opens July 21.

The lid’s interior is affixed with enamel artwork depicting Christ’s resurrection, as well as an ivory carving of a wolf wearing a hooded cloak and carrying rosary beads in its anthropomorphized hands.

The box has eight compartments that fit exactly one 1842 copy of the New Testament; a pocketknife with a mother-of-pearl handle and blade made of hallmarked silver; a pocket pistol; a few bottles, one containing shark’s teeth and another with “contents unknown”; pliers, crucifixes and rosary beads.

“I know very little of its history,” says the chest’s previous owner, who asked to remain anonymous, in a statement on the auctioneer’s website. “I have had it in my own collection for three years now. I bought it from a large antiques fair in Newark. I loved the look of the Gothic box and, when I opened it, I just had to have it. I thought it was so interesting — a great conversation piece.”

Says Charles Hanson, owner of Hansons, “The task of killing a vampire was extremely serious and historical accounts suggested the need for particular methods and tools. Items of religious significance, such as crucifixes and Bibles, were said to repel these monsters, hence their strong presence in the kit we have found.”

While the vampire-killing cache doesn’t come with a user guide, folklore and modern literature may hint at the significance of these objects. The belief that vials of holy water and crucifix amulets could ward off vampires was popularized by Bram Stoker’s “Dracula,” published in 1897. The wolf-like pauper figurine could suggest St. Christopher, third-century martyr dubbed the protector of travelers, who has historically been depicted with the head of a dog in some religious artwork.

The question remains whether the murder box is bona fide or pricey kitsch. In fact, vampire-killing kits are not altogether uncommon. Last year, Snopes revealed that purposely aged vampire-hunting tools became a popular merchandising scheme in the 1970s by those who wanted to cash in on a trend of vampire-themed movies and television, and the first such kit was not documented for sale until 1986, according to the Royal Armouries blog. Besides rare antique objects, few, if any, were truly manufactured prior to the 20th century. Though they are now widely considered by historians to be novelty curios, some have gone on to pay thousands for them.