A kit to kill vampires, which belonged to a 19th century English gentleman who kept pistols, crucifixes, holy water and a wooden stake in case of an attack, went up for auction.
The creepy wooden box of “anti-vampire” weapons was owned by Lord William Malcolm Hailey, a former British colonial administrator of India.
The “sacred” tools and objects are stamped with his initials and contains your full name and address.
The box with lock features two brass crucifixes on the lid that act as a sliding secret locking device.
Inside there are more crucifixes, a pair of matching pistols, a brass gunpowder flask, holy water, a gothic bible, a wooden mallet, a stake, brass candlesticks, rosary beads and documents from the metropolitan police of the time.
The “vampire killing kit” is estimated to sell for $2,300 and $3,618 dollars, at the time of auction at Hansons Auctioneers.
🧛♂️ Set to make a killing ? Victorian vampire SLAYING kit with crucifixes, a pair of pistols, holy water and a mallet, which was once owned by British peer and former governor in India could sell for £3,000 at auction https: //t.co/u2OB2gz6jH
— 🇺🇦Evan Kirstel #TechFluencer (@EvanKirstel) July 2, 1969
Auctioneer Charles Hanson mentioned on his website: “Items like this always capture the world’s imagination.”
“The belief in vampires, a creature not death that is said to need human blood to survive, dates back hundreds of years and persists in some parts of the world today”, he added.
“The provenance reminds us that the myth of the Vampires affect people from all walks of life,” Hanson noted.
“Whether out of fear or fascination, the owner of this particular kit was a gentleman, a member of the most high aristocratic social order capable of sitting in the House of Lords”.
The owner of the vampire hunting kit
William Malcolm Hailey, 1st Baron Hailey (1872-1969) was recognized for “his intellect”. He was educated at Corpus Christi College, Oxford. He was Governor of Punjab from 1819 to 1928 and Governor of the United Provinces of 1928 a 1934 .
In the midst of his illustrious career, he was drawn to this kit for killing vampires. Vampires have been part of popular culture for over 200 years. They are enshrined in European folklore.
Items of religious importance, such as crucifixes and bibles, were said to repel these monsters, hence their presence in the kit we have found.
It is worth mentioning that the vampire by the author John Polidori was published in 1819 and had a huge impact, followed by Dracula from 1897 by Bram Stoker.
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