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A Victorian vampire slaying kit containing crucifixes, a pair of pistols and a mallet is set to fetch up to £3,000 at auction.
The creepy wooden box of anti-vampire weapons was owned by Lord Hailey, a British peer and former administrator in British India.
The tools and holy objects are stamped with his initials and it contains his full name and address.
The lockable box features two brass crucifixes on the lid which act as a sliding secret locking device.
Inside are more crucifixes, a matching pair of pistols, brass powder flask, holy water, Gothic Bible, wooden mallet, stake, brass candlesticks, rosary beads and Metropolitan police paperwork from the period.
It is set to fetch between £2,000 and £3,000 when it is sold at Hansons Auctioneers in Derbyshire on June 30.
The Victorians were well-known for their obsession with the supernatural, with stories of vampires and ghosts proving hugely popular.
A Victorian vampire slaying kit containing crucifixes, a pair of pistols and a mallet is set to set to fetch up to £3,000 at auction
Auctioneer Charles Hanson said: ‘Items like this always capture the imagination of the world.
‘Belief in vampires, an undead creature said to need human blood to survive, goes back hundreds of years and persists in some parts of the world today.
‘The provenance reminds us that the vampire myth affects people from all walks of life.’
The creepy wooden box of anti-vampire weapons was owned by Lord Hailey, a British peer and former administrator of British India
The owner, whose full name was William Malcolm Hailey, was well-known for his intellect.
Educated at Corpus Christi College Oxford, he was the governor of the Punjab region of India between 1924 and 1928.
He later became governor of the United Provinces – another region of India when it was part of the British Empire – from 1928 until 1934.
Mr Hanson added: ‘And yet, amid his illustrious career, he was drawn to this vampire-slaying kit.
‘That’s perfectly understandable. These objects are both curious and intriguing.
‘Vampires have been part of popular culture for more than 200 years. They are enshrined in European folklore.
‘The task of killing a vampire was extremely serious and historical accounts suggested the need for particular methods and tools.
‘Items of religious significance, such as crucifixes and Bibles, were said to repel these monsters, hence their presence in the kit we have found.’
The lockable box features two brass crucifixes on the lid which act as a sliding secret locking device
Inside are more crucifixes, a matching pair of pistols, brass powder flask, holy water, Gothic Bible, wooden mallet, stake, brass candlesticks, rosary beads and Metropolitan police paperwork from the period
The mallet and stake are seen above in one part of the box. Auctioneer Charles Hanson said: ‘Items like this always capture the imagination of the world’
Author John Polidori’s The Vampyre was published in 1819 which a major impact, followed up by Bram Stoker’s Dracula in 1897.
The seller, from Derbyshire, discovered the macabre kit only recently.
They said: ‘It’s a fascinating item, a conversation piece. I came across it in Southwell, Nottinghamshire, fairly recently.
‘I liked it for its novelty and historical value.
‘Interestingly, Lord Hailey has a memorial tablet in London’s Westminster Abbey which pays warm tribute to him.’
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