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Vampire Killing Kits on Ebay

I just wish I had no morals, so I could make one of these and get paid, too.

Pesky sense of right and wrong. :mad:
 
Maybe we could rationalize it somehow?

How about:

"We're only taking money from non-skeptical woos, and that money goes to good skeptical causes. That way, we promote skepticism and take away money that would otherwise be spent to promote woo."

I dunno, that still feels too oily.
 
As someone who does a lot of Victorian era historical reenactments,the authentic Victorian screw on caps are drop dead funny It reminds me of some of the faked "authentic,original" Civil War Memorabia that has become a plague on the market.
The kit that is sold as a prop/costume accsesory is a hundred times better looking then the "real" vampire killing kit and costs about 1/20th as much.
Me,I like the idea of a supersoaker filled with Holy Water from "From Dusk To Dawn".
 
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Huntsman said:
Maybe we could rationalize it somehow?

How about:

"We're only taking money from non-skeptical woos, and that money goes to good skeptical causes. That way, we promote skepticism and take away money that would otherwise be spent to promote woo."

I dunno, that still feels too oily.
Click to expand...

Well, yeah, unless you consider my personal bank account to be the location of a good skeptical cause. :p
 
dudalb said:
As someone who does a lot of Victorian era historical reenactments,the authentic Victorian screw on caps are drop dead funny It reminds me of some of the faked "authentic,original" Civil War Memorabia that has become a plague on the market.
The kit that is sold as a prop/costume accsesory is a hundred times better looking then the "real" vampire killing kit and costs about 1/20th as much.
Me,I like the idea of a supersoaker filled with Holy Water from "From Dusk To Dawn".
Click to expand...

I collect antique poison bottles. Those miniature liquor bottles sent me into gales of laughter. I mean, if you are going to do a convincing fake, at least try to get it right.

The prop is very well done. Had I not blown my entire Halloween budget for the year, I would buy the prop for my own collection of horror movie memorabilia.
 
The Ripley's Believe It or Not in DFW has such a kit on display. It had the usual assortment of bottles, phials, and crucifixes (crucifi?), and looked suitably aged. It wouldn't be hard to fake. The display card touted it as having being available for purchase by persons who would be traveling to Europe.

Beanbag
 
You know, I see a lot of fake militaria and "ancient" weapons on ebay, and it gets me quite irate that people with limited knowledge and experience of such things are getting ripped off, and learning the hard way. This is clearly something different, as there is no historical reference for "vampire hunting kits", no benchmark, no evidence that they were ever even made (of course, because even those that believed in vampires wouldn't have thought to construct a Dr Von Goosewing-style slaying kit :) ).

This being the case, I'm conflicted. On the one hand my sceptical and anti-woo side says "that's just as bad as any other fake artefact" and that something should be done. But as a student of history and an ebayer, I can't help but think this is just a tax on stupidity, and although it's presented as genuine, and even assuming the buyer believes in vampires (!), they should still be aware of the existence of fakes, and the need for provenance with antiques and historical objects. For goodness sake, the seller even says;

"Others claim that the kits originated in twentieth century America and are nothing more than romantic curiosities."

This is about as legitimate as selling fakes on Ebay gets, if that makes sense. In other words although they claim elsewhere in the listing that this is real, the above line acts as a good enough disclaimer as far as Ebay is concerned at least. Legally, if not morally, they are probably covered. I'm increasingly of the opinion that you can take the proverbial horse to water, but can't make it drink, and this definitely falls into the arena of "caveat emptor" for me. Don't get me wrong, it's still pretty reprehensible, but it's not quite the same as the people who buy replica swords, bury them in the back yard, dig them up and sell them for twice the price as 200-year-old antiques. The only difference is the specific claim made, granted, but it's an important one when it comes to the sale of purported antiques.

Very interesting anyway Miss Whiplash - thanks for pointing us to your article on it. I need to check your site more regularly; you do a great job with it.
 
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dudalb said:
[...]
The kit that is sold as a prop/costume accsesory is a hundred times better looking then the "real" vampire killing kit and costs about 1/20th as much.
Me,I like the idea of a supersoaker filled with Holy Water from "From Dusk To Dawn".
Click to expand...

I liked George Clooney's pneumatically operated reciprocating wooden-stake
gun too! "Psychos do not explode when sunlight hits them. I don't care
how crazy they are!"

Are there in fact such things as real, authentic antique vampire killing kits?
 
Oh, this is priceless. As if there were any doubt at all that this is a total fake, check out the dagger;



Compared with this modern, cheap and nasty Greek or Roman style "replica" from this and no doubt many other, weapons sites;



I'd love to do a blog post on this myself Miss Whiplash, if that's OK (I have a little pseudohistory blog of my own). I'll give full credit and reference to you of course.

TX50 - Miss Whiplash will know more than me about the subject, but AFAIK in the folk tales of "real" vampires, the locals always use improvised wooden stakes, and there are no references to either dedicated kits, or vamp slayers, outside the ramblings of a certain bonkers bishop ;)

ETA - Have you asked the FZVA about this? Whoever made this kit must have been inspired by one of their many satirical/spoof/alternate history pages, namely this one on the historicity of such kits, and this. Didn't Bishop Bonkers also have his own supposedly original kit?
 
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Big Les said:
I'd love to do a blog post on this myself Miss Whiplash, if that's OK (I have a little pseudohistory blog of my own). I'll give full credit and reference to you of course.

TX50 - Miss Whiplash will know more than me about the subject, but AFAIK in the folk tales of "real" vampires, the locals always use improvised wooden stakes, and there are no references to either dedicated kits, or vamp slayers, outside the ramblings of a certain bonkers bishop ;)
Click to expand...

I have discovered that the Mr. Biggles Aviator glasses I spent $600 on e-bay are fraudulent! Miss Whiplash, this miscreant who calls himself 'Big Less' is in need of of corporal discipline. I trust you know what to do ;)
 
TX50 said:
Are there in fact such things as real, authentic antique vampire killing kits?
Click to expand...

I don't think so. The ever patient Ms. Guiley said she didn't think so either. Neither of us have found any reference to such a kit in history. The vampire hysteria of eastern Europe took place in the 17th and 18th century, not the 19th as the "history" of these kits state. As the participants in the hysteria were usually peasants who did not understand the process of decomposition, tools used to dispatch suspected vampires were improvised with whatever material that was on hand. Materials used for stakes varied from location to location. Most places decapitated the corpse and cremated the body.

Senex: Yes, certainly know what to do. Naughty, naughty people must be punished! ;)

NoZed: Hold on to your hat. I'm on the trail of a Triloids bottle complete with tablets in mint condition. Those tablets - lavender colored, coffin shaped tablets of mercury bichloride, each with their own little skull and cross bones - is there anything cooler? :D
 
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