Vampire slaying kit from Victorian era that was hidden in a Bible sells for over £2,000 at auction

It seems that teens in the 21st century are not the only people obsessed with vampires. A 'vampire slaying kit' from the 19th century that recently sold at auction is shining a new light on the Victorian era.

The kit containing a wooden stake and Holy Water disguised inside a hollowed-out Bible has sold at auction for more than £2,300. The creepy leather-bound book, which also includes a crucifix, rosary beads and a brass hammer, was said to be owned by an American film actress.

The large Cassell Bible only has a few pages inside which conceal a hidden locked box holding 19th-century tools to fight the living dead. In another section is a pistol, ecclesiastical candlesticks, a brass powder flask and a miniature telescope. A faint name on the case lid reads, ‘Miss I & F Willetts’.

The defence kit went under the hammer at Hansons London on Saturday (December 9) where it sold to a private United States buyer for a total of £2,361. Chris Kirkham, associate director of Hansons London, said: “Finds like this appeal to bidders all over the world. The vampire-slaying kit is pure theatre - spooky and fascinating. Examples, some older than others, emerge from time to time and they often spark major interest. Vampires, which are said to need human blood to survive, are enshrined in European folklore and embedded in superstition. References to them go back more than 200 years. 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. If the need arose to kill a vampire particular methods and tools were advised.

"Items of religious significance, such as crucifixes and Bibles, were said to repel the monsters, hence their presence in the kits. This example contains a composite collection of 19th-century items. In the 20th century, kits like this were created to sell as novelty items to horror fans. They were particularly popular during the classic Gothic horror-film era. Today these items are sought after for their novelty value and because the vampire myth is still extremely popular. The fascination with all things dark and mysterious means vampires makes appearances in contemporary TV shows, films and literature.”