Modern Mysteries

Mystery surrounds 19th-Century 'vampire hunting kit'

By T.K. Randall
July 1, 2022 ·  14 comments

Vampires were once taken very seriously. Image Credit: CC BY-SA 3.0 Musicalvienna The kit, which was once owned by British peer Lord Hailey, looks like something that might have been carried by Van Helsing - the fictional vampire expert often portrayed as the nemesis of Bram Stoker's Dracula.

Finely crafted, the wooden box contains a wealth of tools and weapons including two pistols, a wooden stake, a bottle of holy water, a crucifix, a brass powder flask, a Bible and some beads.

It's not clear, however, how seriously Lord Hailey actually took the threat of vampires.

"Vampires have been part of popular culture for more than 200 years," said auctioneer Charles Hanson. "They are enshrined in European folklore.""The publication of John Polidori's The Vampyre in 1819 had a major impact and that was followed by Bram Stoker's 1897 classic Dracula."

"However, a belief in vampires and strange superstitions go back even further and persist to this day. The task of killing a vampire was extremely serious and historical accounts suggested the need for particular methods and tools."

The kit ended up selling for over $15,000 - which was five times its initial guide price.

Mystery surrounds aristocrat's vampire hunting kit:
"The bizarre box of paranormal paraphernalia, including candlesticks, crucifixes and pistols, was once owned by British peer Lord Hailey"https://t.co/9LX27tBMB8 #FolkloreThursday

— Mark Rees (@reviewwales) July 1, 2022

Source: BBC News | Comments (14)

Tags: Vampire