Vampire-Slaying Kit Lures Blood-Thirsty Bids From Around The World
Image via Hansons Auctioneers
Somewhere out there, some unlucky vampire is going to get seriously wounded.
It could be a doomsday mindset fueled by recent events, or simply a shared love of pop culture, but a vampire-slaying kit from the 19th century has gone off the market for £13,000 (US$15,528) after inciting offers from around the world.
The box, originally owned by British aristocrat Lord William Malcolm Hailey, was estimated to only be sold for between £2,000 and £3,000 (US$2,389–$3,583), but ended up raising sixfold at Hansons Auctioneers on June 30.
Interested bidders hailed from France, America, and Canada, to Australia. In the end, the kit found its new owner in an anonymous buyer from the UK.
The box was truly prepared for blood-sucking monsters, based on the information available at the time. The two brass crucifixes on its lid formed a secret locking mechanism—just in case, you know, some 19th-century hacker with a cape and fangs got their hands on it.
Image via Hansons Auctioneers
Inside, you’d find holy water, more crucifixes, a pair of matching pistols, a Gothic Bible, a wooden mallet, a stake, brass candlesticks, and rosary beads. Lord Hailey stamped his initials on them, as well as included his name and address on the box. He also kept Metropolitan police paperwork inside.
Vampire hunting was an “extremely serious” job back in the day, described the auction house’s owner Charles Hanson. That’s why there were not one but multiple tools in the box to ward off these supernatural enemies.
The severity of this deed becomes more evident when you realize that Lord Hailey was highly-educated and remembered as an intellect. He studied at the Corpus Christi College in Oxford and served as governor of the Punjab between 1924 and 1928, before taking on the role of governor of the United Provinces.
“Whether through fear or fascination, it’s interesting to know a member of the highest aristocratic social order, a man with a place in the House of Lords, acquired this item,” says Hanson. “It reminds us that the vampire myth affects people from all walks of life.”
He adds: “I think the aristocratic connection made this object even more desirable and, perhaps, helped it on its way to a particularly strong result.”
The previous owner of the vampire-slaying kit says they were “stunned and delighted by the result.” Whether the box ever came in handy after Lord Hailey remains to be known. Anyhow, there are spookier things to vex over today.
[via CNN and New York Post, images via Hansons Auctioneers]
