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Vampire Slaying / Vampire Killing Kits (Alleged Antiques)

The one thing that bothered me about this custom one-off exhibition piece is the fact that if I were stalking a vampire I'd be packing something of a caliber more 'impactful' than a .38 Special.
 
The one thing that bothered me about this custom one-off exhibition piece is the fact that if I were stalking a vampire I'd be packing something of a caliber more 'impactful' than a .38 Special.
That's the only thing that bothered you? :evil:
 
That's the only thing that bothered you? :evil:

Well ... That and the conviction more than a few folks will undoubtedly interpret the kit as 'real' ... :cool:
 
That would probably only work on RC & Smells n Bells Anglican Vampires.

There's a comedy Dracula fillum I've seen with a Jewish vampire who laughs at all that stuff. Can't remember which it is, even from the list of horror comedies on Wiki.
 
Incidentally, were there ever any authentic vampire killing kits or are they all modern?
 
Incidentally, were there ever any authentic vampire killing kits or are they all modern?
There may be one or two genuine items about, but I would suggest that most are 'constructions'. Basically an assemblage of items from the 19th century. A small pistol, cross, rosary beads, bottles of holy water, pocket Bible, hammer and stakes all fitted into an antique writing box. Any antique dealer could put that together (I know I could, anyway).
 
Incidentally, were there ever any authentic vampire killing kits or are they all modern?
I can't verify any of them, but I've heard stories that Europe did at one time have professional vampire hunters. It's hard to be sure what sort of equipment these people had, but they had to make a living doing something. One tale of questionable accuracy is of a group of hunters who came into town and inquired about "mysterious ailments" with the pretext that a recently "deceased" person was causing it and that they knew how to fix the problem. Even if it was all an act, they mostly likely at least had props that looked the part of vampire killing gear. Although the modern concept of vampire killing gear is probably different than what people used back then.
 
Here's a vampire slaying kit up for auction. The BBC "journalist" has swallowed and regurgitated everything the vendor and auctioneer have said without any apparent attempt at research or challenge. Basically, they've given the item a free advertisement.

<<Its origins are cloaked in mystery but there is no shadow of a doubt it is a "great conversation piece," the current West Midlands-based owner said.>> (Its origins are cloaked in mystery, in much the same way as the origins of a Kiss Me Quick hat or a novelty pencil sharpener.)

Nevertheless, it is a beautiful set and the photos are worth looking at.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-53352383
 
Yeah, saw that in the paper, it's being repeated across the media as if it was 19th century (!).
 
Rag N Bone Emporium on Etsy.

Their Facebook page features photos and videos of the kits, cleverly aged to look like well-used industrial artefacts.

Does anyone really believe there were professional vampire-killers going round carrying these things?
 
This issue of validating age or provenance for an alleged vampire-slaying kit made me wonder ...

What would be the criteria for suspecting - if not finally proving - that such a kit might indeed date back to (e.g.) the 19th century?

Setting aside the obvious forensic tests (e.g., age testing) on the kit's container and its contents ...

Are there any elements of vampire lore that are so clearly of more modern origin that their reflection in a kit would automatically indicate it was a modern fabrication?

Conversely (but less definitively ... ) .... Are there any elements of vampire so obscure or archaic that their reflection in a kit would make you think twice before dismissing it as a modern fabrication?
 
Seeing as how they were never mentioned in any media until about ten years ago, you would think it was obvious they are a modern invention.

Yup, why are people even discussing this? They're all modern. They didn't exist in Victorian times because there were no vampire hunters, because there were no vampires.
 
Seeing as how they were never mentioned in any media until about ten years ago, you would think it was obvious they are a modern invention.

They date back farther than a mere decade ...

In 1986 an unusual cased pistol was offered for sale in the United States as an ‘anti-vampire kit’ of the nineteenth century. It contained a percussion pocket pistol with accessories, a combined cross and stake in wood and ivory, and two silver bullets. A dog-eared label in the lid attributed this fascinating object to a Professor Blomberg and the gunmaker Nicholas Plomdeur of Liège.

https://blog.royalarmouries.org/2016/10/31/object-of-the-month-october-the-vampire-killing-kit/

There are claims that such novelty items were in circulation as far back as circa 1970.
 
Yup, why are people even discussing this? They're all modern. They didn't exist in Victorian times because there were no vampire hunters, because there were no vampires.
You’re saying the Georgian vampire hunters were so successful they drove them to extinction?
 
Yup, why are people even discussing this? They're all modern. They didn't exist in Victorian times because there were no vampire hunters, because there were no vampires.

The notion of an undead person preying on the living (including feasting on blood or life force) dates back to ancient times. Some of the tactics for killing the undead we associate with modern vampires date back centuries. Archaeologists have found burials done in such a way as to prevent the deceased from returning as one of the undead (in accordance with the given culture's version of the undead).

In contrast, the notion of a slaying kit in a valise is almost certainly a late 20th century invention.

The essential difference lies in the difference between modern (i.e., post-Stoker) vampires and their folkloric precedents.

Stu posted an excellent summary about the historical versus modern divide in a 2008 post within the Vampires thread:

https://forums.forteana.org/index.php?threads/vampires.2563/post-831464
 
PROGRAM NOTE:
I stumbled across an earlier (2008), different thread about auctions and vampire slaying kits. Threads have now been merged.
 
I just saw on 'pawn stars' someone sord a mid victorian vampire protection kit, wanted to share the photo and thought here was as good a place as any, if there is aomewhere better please feel free to move it, btw the caliber of the guns is .50!!! And the bullets are silver
vampire-defense-kit.jpg
 
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I just saw on 'pawn stars' someone sord a mid victorian vampire protection kit, wanted to share the photo and thought here was as good a place as any, if there is aomewhere better please feel free to move it, btw the caliber of the guns is .50!!! And the bullets are silver

that's a nicely done one!
 
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