05 February 2007

Vampire Killing Kit

The Vampire hunting kit – sold for 4450 USD.

When thinking about Romania one would connect the name with Dracula, the most famous of all vampires. It happened to me to be asked, both in Italy and in France (but more in Italy) if the Dracula story starts from a little bit of truth. I always explain that Vlad Dracula was a bloody warlord, however there are no real proofs it become a vampire after he passed away :).

However, seems like selling Dracula’s Myth is a pretty good business. (Maybe that’s why the amount asked for Dracula’s Castle is around 100 m. USD.) Today I found out that an American Company, "Turner and Williams" sold on eBay a vampire killing kit - rare Dracula Antique, that they claim to have belonged to a monk in Transylvania.

According to the presentation, the kit is composed of a wooden box (made of linden tree), internal of brown velvet, and has eight compartments. Inside the box there are: a wooden hammer, 9 inches long, four wooden stakes, 9 inches each. Maybe the lime tree is not for nothing, we know the linden tee has the best relaxing, calming effect. It is also used for reducing the blood pressure, but also as an antispasmodic. In Romania the nervous babies are even being washed in linden tea. There are crosses both on the stakes and on the hammer.

The lower side of the box contains: a prayer book, a crucifix, knife and eight bottles with Pamânt (holy soil), Agheazma (holy water), Mir (anointing oil), Tamâie (holy incense), Usturoi (garlic), red serum, blue serum and secret potion, wooden cross, a metal syringe box. They present the box as a creation of a Transylvanian monk, in 1857 – 1860. The praying book is written in old Romanian, with Cyrillic characters. This makes me wonder. Is known that by the middle of the XIX-th century Transylvania was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, therefore the majority of the books were written in Latin or Hungarian. However, they claim that the box is certified by the Romanian minister of cults and culture. The crucifix is made out of silver and put on a metal chain. There are some inscriptions like “Is est Sanctus Res ego sum decessio secundum ut meus pius futurus adsuesco assuesco obviam Malum , Nox noctis Ingredior Nosferatu , Lamia quod Intentus” ("This is the Holy Thing, I am leaving behind to my own kind to be used against the Evil, the Night Walker , Nosferatu , the Vampire and Strigoi").
According to them, the vampire experts said that this kind of kits where largely used in the XVIII – XIX century.
I personally did search on eBay and found also a Vampire hunting kit sold at 15 USD, with the mention it is made to look like old. An extensive search also revealed the Vampire Killing Kit here, selling for US $4,450.00 + shipping cost of US $90.00

No comments: