[Nathan Keysor]

I'll post this in the Historical Arms forum since it is supposedly genuine. I came across this in the Ripleys Believe it or Not museum in Williamsburg VA. I thought you all might find it interesting. It looks like something out of Hellboy to me or maybe Van Helsing. Kind of neat either way.

[Eric W. Norenberg]

Hate to break it to you, but it's probably a fake. I've slain a few vampires in my time, and firearms don't work, not even with silver bullets. The silver bullet thing is a Hollywood, post- Bram Stoker bit of fiction. 1850 is too early for the pistol to be included. There's some disagreement in the field as to the effectiveness of the crucifix, as well. Most of the pre-Stoker historical sources give some weight to the use of garlic and holy water as protection/repellent, which buys you time to actually pin the revenant down and dismember it, but these things are not visible in the kit (perhaps one of the vials is powdered garlic... or garlic salt. That could come in handy, for cooking on the job, too).

Okay, I've never killed a vampire. I did date a series of goth girls, back in the day, and live to tell about it, and I did own a copy of the Rev. Montague Summer's seminal work on the vampire (until one of those girls made off with it). Could be a light-weight multi-purpose kit, pistol with silver bullet for werewolves... hmmm.

Can you imagine, 'tho, peddling kits like that door-to-door when a town was fearing such a thing? There's a fun job!

-Eric

[Nathan M Wuorio]

I've seen a bunch like that, and have even made a few in my spare time, although without the pistol. Even if it might be a fake, it IS a pretty cool item to see or own. I once saw one online that was encased in glass and was meant to be hung on the wall, the front said, "Incase of Vampire, Break Glass". There was even one for werewolves. I have seen a few real ones before, pistol included. Usually dated around late 1880's.

[Eric Meulemans]

Depends on what you consider "genuine." The objects contained in these kits are generally "real" but their assembly into a kit for protection from the undead is invariably contrived. There is such a kit at the Mercer Museum in Doyletown, PA, which has some additional information.




(Photos linked from http://www.diggersrealm.com/mt/archives/002390.html)

[Ed Toton]

Very cool. I imagine all sorts of things may have been sold in the "snake oil" sort of way. All you need is a town with strange deaths or people who have gone missing, come in talking about vampire theories, and sell anti-vampire kits.

I think I need to assemble one of these.

That and an anti-zombie kit, containing an axe and a shotgun.

[F. Carl Holz]

I always figured a well chosen baseball bat would work better for zombies. if picked well its just about as durable and you don't have to worry about edge alignment.

[Nathan M Wuorio]

What about a good mace? A nice crushing weapon with pointy edges would cause devastating damage to any zombie's, werewolf's, vampire's, or enemy soldier's body. I always thought that would be one of the most simple and effective weapons for many situations.

[D. Austin]

This is straying a little from the original topic, but I can't believe that no-one's mentioned chainsaws yet. The perfect zombie slaying tool.

Something I would have expected in a vampire slaying kit, would be a larger stake and a mallet. Perhaps in those days they didn't have such tough skin. Definitely another item for that LONG list of cool things to own some day.

[Nathan M Wuorio]

You could always make one. I made everything in mine, with the exception of the mallet and bottles. It's a pretty cool thing to have, and a good conversation starter. I even made this awesome box to hold it all in, with slots for bottles, daggers, stakes, a mallet, crosses, and anything else I might need.

[D. Austin]

I wish I could find the time to make one. One day maybe...

Nathan W, could you possibly show us pictures of yours? I love this kind of thing.

Darren.

[Nathan M Wuorio]

I'll see about the pics, it's not fully completed, I still have to stain the box and stakes. Might be a little while, but I'll try and get them up as soon as possible. I love this kind of thing as well.