Leaves are falling off the trees, harvest season is upon us and the nights are getting longer. What does that mean? Halloween is almost here. Time to carve those pumpkins and buy treats for the neighbourhood children. To help you get into that spooky state of mind, we made a list of some of the creepiest Halloween items ever offered up for our auction. Read on... if you dare!
Vampire Killing Kit
Vampire killing kits contain everything you could ever need to protect yourself from those bloodthirsty creatures: wooden stakes, crucifixes, garlic, a gun with silver bullets, holy water and a Bible. There are different stories about the origin of these kits. Some say that people in the 19th century actually carried the equipment with them, in case they encountered a vampire. Others say they were sold as souvenirs for tourists travelling to Eastern Europe after the publication of the popular book about Count Dracula in 1897. Another goes that it was simply a selling trick of an antique gun trader in the 1970s. He made the vintage-looking kits in order to sell the guns with profit. Real or fake, vampire killing kits are a popular cult accessory and has frequently been seen at auctions across the world...how much would you pay for protection?
Exorcist Wall Decoration
'The Exorcist' (1973) is a true horror classic. The movie about Regan, a young girl that is possessed by a demon, horrified the world when it was released. Stories circulated about cinema visitors vomiting and running for the doors. After all, who can forget the scenes where Regan spins her head 360 degrees and walks down the stairs bent over backwards on her hands and feet? But for some people, that just isn’t scary enough. A not-so-frightened buyer payed €165 for this lifelike wall decoration of actress Linda Blair as the demon-possessed Regan. Can you imagine it hanging in your living room?
Guillotine
In 2014 we sold this terrifying guillotine dated around 1793. Guillotines were used for over 200 years and were designed to provide their victims with a humane and painless execution. But be warned: the process used was still pretty gruesome. After being laid down on a bench (head facing downward), victims would be tied down with a strap. Their neck would be placed in the stocks beneath the two wooden blocks which held the blade. Said blade would be released and fall from 3 to 4 meters in height, severing the victim's neck. Their head would subsequently fall in a basket placed in front of the guillotine. And that was it, done! It is estimated that several tens of thousands of people were executed by the guillotine during the French Revolution, with a possible 40,000 in Paris alone. See how much this guillotine sold for here.
Shrunken Head
It doesn’t get much creepier than a Tsantsa: an actual human head, shrunken to about a third of its original size. Tsantsas were made by the Shuar (Jivaro) tribe in the Amazon, known for the beheading of their enemies. After a head was chopped off, the Shuar removed the skull and boiled the skin and hair to let it shrink. Then, they filled the skin with hot sand or stones to create the shape of a tiny head. The mouth was stitched up, to ensure the soul of the deceased could not escape to take revenge on its killer. The tiny heads became popular (and scary) collector’s items. Authentic Tsantsa’s are very rare, but occasionally do come up for auction.
Are you looking for some exceptionally creepy items for Halloween? Take a look at our Halloween / Horror auction which runs from 27 October through 31 October (2017). Do you think you can top our list with scary items you have stored in your attic or basement? Register as a seller to offer up your items for auction and maybe someone will brave enough to bid on them!