The semi-plausible references to vampires in your discussion is really funny. The overall effect is "seasoned vampire hunter expresses distaste for imitators." Lol
My favorite thing here is the Rosicrucian cross in the instrument case one. Whoever made this has to be REALLY confident that the person they’re scamming is unfamiliar with religious and mystical symbols. I think these are really cool as works of art, if they were just being sold for a couple hundred bucks openly labeled as contemporary artistic creations there wouldn’t be any problem with them. The issue with them is the fraudulent marketing used to make a quick buck off gullible wealthy people.
@@veritasetcaritas Gothic horror aesthetics (today, at least) are deeply influenced by Catholic religious aesthetics, so these look cooler if you include crucifixes and use the crucifix as a decorative symbol, but then the fraudsters try and pass them off as originating from historically Protestant nations like the UK lmao
The biggest tell-tale sign for a “19th Century Vampire Hunting Kit” is the kit itself… prior to the publication of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, the methods by which vampires could be killed or repelled varied WILDLY depending on region. There would be little demand for a kit such as this, nor would there be any use for one, as the most widely accepted way to destroy a vampire properly (though not ubiquitous) was the decapitation and burning of the vampire as it slept. The best lexicon on the real folkloric and historical phenomenon of vampirism is Montague Summers’ dulogy: -The Vampire: His Kith and Kin (1928, Kegan Paul, London) -The Vampire in Europe (1929, Kegan Paul, London) These are unquestionably the most thoroughly interrogated texts examining the genuine lore of vampirism ever published, and Summers goes to great lengths to explain how each culture would have elected to kill or destroy vampires based on the era and region. Almost none of them would have employed a kit such as this, and certainly none prior to the publication of Dracula.
@@veritasetcaritas thanks! I own a rare Weird Fiction/Antiquarian-Horror bookstore, and read a lot of work that examines the historical roots of many supernatural phenomena. Summers is chief among them, and I also recommend his lexicon on lycanthropy (The Werewolf: 1933, Kegan Paul, London). Interesting side note: the most drawn upon version of the vampire in Dracula is the Belarusian “umpyr”, yet the “stake through the heart” was an alteration by Stoker to draw more similarities to the man he based the count on… to, in a way, impale it is to destroy it. Good stuff!
@@hames6768 thanks for the resources. I really want to make a video on how this myth of vampire killing kits emerged, and I've done quite a lot already but I haven't' seen those resources before.
@@veritasetcaritas unfortunately, following the emergence of so many new age movements, and the collapse of scholarly (or qualified) publication standards regarding this type of material, the best resources are often buried beneath mountains of poorly researched pop-culture garbage. Summers has been a casualty of this, but so have many others. I’d be happy to share some additional resources that may help you in forming a better case against these scams, and why they should be avoided. As for the skull and crossbones on the crucifixes: this is actually a common feature of many depictions of the crucifixion. You’ll notice this being more common in Catholic crucifixes of the period, as this is meant to represent the remains of Adam. It appears far less in Protestant and Anglican crucifixes, and these two would almost never be present in the same “kit”, should they ever have existed. Following Dracula’s release however, wealthy (and gullible) paranoiacs and adventurers would purchase (or have these made for them) on occasion from charlatans. Though very very few of these genuine kits have ever been produced. Summers actually purchased one of these in an effort to see how accurate it was to the recorded lore he’d seen. I believe it’s mentioned by him in “The Vampire: His Kith and Kin”.
@@robertfaucher3750 yeah fair. Difficult to know if this was supposed to be bloodstain or fire hardening, but if the latter then they just didn't know what it was supposed to look like.
@@robertfaucher3750 well it might work for twentieth century vampires, but the nineteenth century vampire stories borrowed the idea from the Greeks of using garlic cloves to ward off evil spirits.
At 2:25 I accidentally described the pistol flint as a "small piece of metal", instead of a "small piece of stone". Commenters @chrisball3778 and @BewegteBilderrahmen have helpfully provided this additional information. _________ @chrisball3778 The 'tubes' in the second fake kit shown at 13:30 are the pistols' barrels. Some pocket pistols were made with detachable, screw-on barrels. You'd remove the barrels to load the chambers, then screw the barrels onto the guns. That's why they don't have ramrods- this design doesn't actually need them. The pistol part of that set does actually look genuine, which sadly means it might have been made by chopping up a real antique pistol case and sticking part of it into a 'vampire hunting kit' to boost its value. The barrel was intended to be just slightly smaller than the breech, so the ball would hold the powder in place until fired, when it would be forced into the barrel, creating a very tight gas seal and making the ball engage with the rifling (if present). I don't really know whether it affected durability, but they were quite high-end, well-made pieces, so maybe not as much as you'd think. Also, percussion revolvers didn't usually need a separate ramrod either- most had a 'loading lever' under the barrel that would push the ball into the cylinder, causing it to expand laterally and form a seal. I can't really see if it's present on the gun in the kit. It looks like an 1860 or 1861 Colt to me, which both definitely had a loading lever (unless it fell off), but I'm far from an expert. The Royal Armouries museum RUclips channel has some good videos explaining how some of these older firearms work, (with a few on Forgotten Weapons as well, although it's mostly 20th century and later there), without the weird right-wing politics that tends to dominate most of the gun channels. Thanks for the video- very entertaining. ___________________ @BewegteBilderrahmen You didn't mention how the glass bottles look absolutely pristine (read new af). Leather is usually treated with all sorts of things, most importantly fat which would leave residue on bottles that were new but stored in that case for longer periods. There is also absolutely no residue, grime or anything in or outside the bottles, so did someone clean specifically only the bottles regularly? Last, it's rather atypical to see bottles with such factory made corks that are just randomly dipped in some wax to look old. Bottles would often be roughened up inside the neck to receive a glass stop or be properly corked and usually sealed with some wax, again this would leave residue. Lastly corks really don't age well and tend to crumble after a few decades if anyone had moved them.. I'm not going into the seemingly modern make of them, let's just say I've more convincing bottles lying around that aren't even valuable despite their handful of decades of age. The documents are a "Certificate of Registration of an Alien Enemy" by the Metropolitan Police. The photo on it looks a bit out of order like someone placed an older picture on it, as photographs tend to look more modern than most people assume, and the picture looks more like something someone found on a glass plate copy or even a daguerreotype instead of what the metropolitan police likely would have used. Overall this would very likely put the document past 1900. PS: I've actually found an example of 1914 that has a much better picture quality (we're talking sharp, well visible face) and probably identical lettering, making that document a plastic red herring, to fool people into believing the age.
You didn't mention how the glass bottles look absolutely pristine (read new af). Leather is usually treated with all sorts of things, most importantly fat which would leave residue on bottles that were new but stored in that case for longer periods. There is also absolutely no residue, grime or anything in or outside the bottles, so did someone clean specifically only the bottles regularly? Last, it's rather atypical to see bottles with such factory made corks that are just randomly dipped in some wax to look old. Bottles would often be roughened up inside the neck to receive a glass stop or be properly corked and usually sealed with some wax, again this would leave residue. Lastly corks really don't age well and tend to crumble after a few decades if anyone had moved them.. I'm not going into the seemingly modern make of them, let's just say I've more convincing bottles lying around that aren't even valuable despite their handful of decades of age.
Just wanted to add some comments regarding the last kit that was reviewed. First let me say, great review..And secondly, that kit was built by me about 13 years ago. I was inspired to build this kit after watching an auction TV show where a vampire kit was sold. The kit took about 3 weeks to build and cost about $250 with antique items purchased on Ebay. After I built the kit I felt it was a bit too large and bulky for display so I sold it shortly afterwards for about $1,000. It was sold as a custom replica and not an authentic Vampire killing kit. After selling that kit I built two more which are smaller and closer in style and design to the ones displayed at Ripley’s Believe it or Not. The two final kits I built are still in my possession. If you have any questions regarding the construction of the kit in your video feel free to ask.
Thanks for the comment! I rated your kit "high quality" due to the effort put into it. I noticed on your site that you hadn't represented it as authentic, and you also described features of its construction process. You certainly did a great job of using authentic items and I really liked the effort you put in to create a proper cut-out in the velvet to houes the pistol a detail most kits totally over look. Yours was definitely the most well made kit out of those I reviewed.
The 'tubes' in the second fake kit shown at 13:30 are the pistols' barrels. Some pocket pistols were made with detachable, screw-on barrels. You'd remove the barrels to load the chambers, then screw the barrels onto the guns. That's why they don't have ramrods- this design doesn't actually need them. The pistol part of that set does actually look genuine, which sadly means it might have been made by chopping up a real antique pistol case and sticking part of it into a 'vampire hunting kit' to boost its value.
Oh I see what you mean. It concerned me that the barrels were so short, but I've seen very short barrels on small pistols of the period before. So I guess you can just cram the wadding and ball into the breech with a thumb. I also guess those barrels wouldn't last long, as the screw thread would be a weak point. And yeah I think they recycled an antique pistol case for this.
@@veritasetcaritas Yes, you loaded it by hand. The barrel was intended to be just slightly smaller than the breech, so the ball would hold the powder in place until fired, when it would be forced into the barrel, creating a very tight gas seal and making the ball engage with the rifling (if present). I don't really know whether it affected durability, but they were quite high-end, well-made pieces, so maybe not as much as you'd think. Also, percussion revolvers didn't usually need a separate ramrod either- most had a 'loading lever' under the barrel that would push the ball into the cylinder, causing it to expand laterally and form a seal. I can't really see if it's present on the gun in the kit. It looks like an 1860 or 1861 Colt to me, which both definitely had a loading lever (unless it fell off), but I'm far from an expert. The Royal Armouries museum RUclips channel has some good videos explaining how some of these older firearms work, (with a few on Forgotten Weapons as well, although it's mostly 20th century and later there), without the weird right-wing politics that tends to dominate most of the gun channels. Thanks for the video- very entertaining.
I think the missing tool in the real pistol case at 4:40 is most likely a bullet mould. Before ammunition was standardised you needed a specific tool for making balls of the right size for your gun. These were of the approximate shape shown by the missing piece. You poured molten lead (or maybe silver if you were to give credence to the 'Vampire killing kits') into a small hole in the top of the mould, then when it was cool you opened it up like pliers, the circular chamber split in two and the ball fell out. You'd then have to snip or sand off the 'sprue' left behind where the hole was to let the metal in. Most cased pistol sets came with one. I think the smaller tool just underneath the empty space may be the bullet mould for the smaller pistols, as they don't seem to be the same calibre.
To be fair to the fake set shown immediately after, the 'pincers' shown are a bullet mould, so you would be able to make more after you'd fired your four shots, if you were willing to sit down in the middle of a vampire battle to stoke up a fire and start melting down random bits off silverware you had to hand.
Yes, good observation. The bullet mold is a pair of pincers used to shape the molten metal into a ball. In the video I noted these pincers appear in a couple of the other kits, but without the other tools necessary.
You could make yourself a one of a kind, custom version of these kits yourself for cheaper than the auctions sell them, and make it better than they do too. I assume you'd want one of these for the aesthetics.
The documents are a "Certificate of Registration of an Alien Enemy" by the Metropolitan Police. The photo on it looks a bit out of order like someone placed an older picture on it, as photographs tend to look more modern than most people assume, and the picture looks more like something someone found on a glass plate copy or even a daguerreotype instead of what the metropolitan police likely would have used. Overall this would very likely put the document past 1900. PS: I've actually found an example of 1914 that has a much better picture quality (we're talking sharp, well visible face) and probably identical lettering, making that document a plastic red herring, to fool people into believing the age.
I'm wondering whether the first high quality kit is something like a (last) rites chest for priests that someone remodeled into this fake vampire hunter box. It would explain the icons and cross/crucifix placements in a decent box. PS: after some searching, there are indeed modern kits that have a very reminiscent feel to the excessive straps in all of these examples, so we can probably assume that people were inspired by such trunks.
I think you're very likely correct. Some of these were definitely containers for devotional and worship items such as crosses, crucifixes, rosaries, and icons. Additionally, the obsession with straps (apart from them being very easy to make), is quite likely inspired by luggage as you suggest.
That Vampire kit is about as Legit as Logan Paul's Pokemon card booster case box. tldr: he paid millions for a box containing supposedly first edition unopened booster cases of pokemon cards, which could possible be worth even more than the 3ish millions he paid. The box was "authenticated" by one of the big card authenticators but when they opened the box on camera it was full of fakes.
To be fair to them, the points of the stakes are probably charred to harden them, it's a common thing that would be done with wooden stabbing utensils of all sorts, starting with spears in prehistoric times. Ironically it's probably among the most authentic details of the whole kit.
The problem is these don't look like hardened wood, it's clearly a stain. The underlying wood hasn't been changed at all. Actual fire hardening has a very different appearance; you can see closure of the grain, and carbonization. Not only that but it turns out fire hardening isn't even very effective for making a tip hard; it's mainly useful for reducing moisture in wood, increasing rigidity and making it stronger in the thrust. arstechnica.com/science/2016/05/turns-out-fire-hardened-spears-arent-as-badass-as-we-thought/
If these vampire killing kits are being advertized as "circa 1900s and later", then shouldn't the guns included be single-action revolvers/derringers which fire cartridge bullets?
Yes, one thing you notice is that the guns are often highly anachronistic. In 1900 no one is going to be using a pathetic little percussion cap pistol like that.
At 10:25 the skull and crossbones symbol is sometimes used in Christianity afaik e.g. Spanish cemeteries, also it's sometimes used to symbolize Golgotha in many Christian sects (and/or sth about the biblical Adam's place of death). In general it just seems to be a popular symbol associated with death.
@@veritasetcaritas Suprisingly on crucifixes, too! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crucifix#/media/File:Kirche_Oberwiesenthal_Kruzifixe.jpg en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crucifix#/media/File:Orth_Kreuz.gif Just a few examples. It seems especially common in Orthodox crucifixes, where it symbolizes Golgotha.
Cool video and relevant to the time of year, but I sincerely hope none of your regular viewers thought these things were real, and I don't know how useful it is to pull in people who were hoodwinked by costume jewelry.
Well I started this video by assuming people know these aren't real, but what I really wanted to demonstrate is how we can KNOW they aren't real. This is an exercise in learning how to analyze historical realia. Viewers should learn some interesting and useful history through this video, as well as improving their ability to interpret historical objects. I want to make a similar video on how to identify modern reproductions of historical armor, which is arguably even more important since so many museums knowingly hoodwink their visitors with modern reproductions or at best Victorian copies.
The skull and bones is very common on older european crucifixes, as a symbol of death and there is a legend that Adam's skull was laying on the ground at Jesus' cross
A skull at the foot of the crucifix is found on traditional crucifixes, not a skull and crossbones. That seems a lot more modern. It became popular in the twentieth century.
@@veritasetcaritas You can google "antique crucifix with skull and crossbones" i guess as an American you are not very familiar with catholic traditions
@@alexanderleuchte5132 firstly I am not an American, secondly I am an actual Christian. I am very familiar with crucifixes. The skull at the bottom is traditional, the skull and crossbones is not, especially when it's not even below the crucifix. These vampire kits are supposed to be nineteenth century Protestant Britain or Protestant Germany, not Roman Catholic Italy, so Catholic traditions are irrelevant. The Orthodox likewise sometimes use a skull, but it is not on the crucifix, it is below; they have a different shaped cross and don't use crossed bones. The crucifix in this Sotheby's vampire kit is a recognizably cheap modern one you can buy online, not an antique.
@@veritasetcaritas I'm not talking about these ridiculous kits, i'm talking about sklull and bones on cruzifixes being traditional and not a 20th century phenomenon. Google: "kruzifix mit kreuzknochen"
Well yeah, like I said in the video there aren't any real ones, which is why I prefer to call these frauds rather than fakes. Theoretically a real one could be made, if the genuine intention was to fight vampires, just like you can make an anti-zombie kit even though zombies don't exist.
The semi-plausible references to vampires in your discussion is really funny.
The overall effect is "seasoned vampire hunter expresses distaste for imitators." Lol
My favorite thing here is the Rosicrucian cross in the instrument case one. Whoever made this has to be REALLY confident that the person they’re scamming is unfamiliar with religious and mystical symbols.
I think these are really cool as works of art, if they were just being sold for a couple hundred bucks openly labeled as contemporary artistic creations there wouldn’t be any problem with them. The issue with them is the fraudulent marketing used to make a quick buck off gullible wealthy people.
The religious iconography in these kits really does tend to be all over the map.
@@veritasetcaritas Gothic horror aesthetics (today, at least) are deeply influenced by Catholic religious aesthetics, so these look cooler if you include crucifixes and use the crucifix as a decorative symbol, but then the fraudsters try and pass them off as originating from historically Protestant nations like the UK lmao
The biggest tell-tale sign for a “19th Century Vampire Hunting Kit” is the kit itself… prior to the publication of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, the methods by which vampires could be killed or repelled varied WILDLY depending on region. There would be little demand for a kit such as this, nor would there be any use for one, as the most widely accepted way to destroy a vampire properly (though not ubiquitous) was the decapitation and burning of the vampire as it slept.
The best lexicon on the real folkloric and historical phenomenon of vampirism is Montague Summers’ dulogy:
-The Vampire: His Kith and Kin (1928, Kegan Paul, London)
-The Vampire in Europe (1929, Kegan Paul, London)
These are unquestionably the most thoroughly interrogated texts examining the genuine lore of vampirism ever published, and Summers goes to great lengths to explain how each culture would have elected to kill or destroy vampires based on the era and region. Almost none of them would have employed a kit such as this, and certainly none prior to the publication of Dracula.
Great comment.
@@veritasetcaritas thanks! I own a rare Weird Fiction/Antiquarian-Horror bookstore, and read a lot of work that examines the historical roots of many supernatural phenomena.
Summers is chief among them, and I also recommend his lexicon on lycanthropy (The Werewolf: 1933, Kegan Paul, London).
Interesting side note: the most drawn upon version of the vampire in Dracula is the Belarusian “umpyr”, yet the “stake through the heart” was an alteration by Stoker to draw more similarities to the man he based the count on… to, in a way, impale it is to destroy it. Good stuff!
@@hames6768 thanks for the resources. I really want to make a video on how this myth of vampire killing kits emerged, and I've done quite a lot already but I haven't' seen those resources before.
@@veritasetcaritas unfortunately, following the emergence of so many new age movements, and the collapse of scholarly (or qualified) publication standards regarding this type of material, the best resources are often buried beneath mountains of poorly researched pop-culture garbage. Summers has been a casualty of this, but so have many others. I’d be happy to share some additional resources that may help you in forming a better case against these scams, and why they should be avoided.
As for the skull and crossbones on the crucifixes: this is actually a common feature of many depictions of the crucifixion. You’ll notice this being more common in Catholic crucifixes of the period, as this is meant to represent the remains of Adam. It appears far less in Protestant and Anglican crucifixes, and these two would almost never be present in the same “kit”, should they ever have existed.
Following Dracula’s release however, wealthy (and gullible) paranoiacs and adventurers would purchase (or have these made for them) on occasion from charlatans. Though very very few of these genuine kits have ever been produced. Summers actually purchased one of these in an effort to see how accurate it was to the recorded lore he’d seen. I believe it’s mentioned by him in “The Vampire: His Kith and Kin”.
The spice is garlic, the vinegar is "holy water", the tips of the stakes are meant to look fire hardened.
Garlick CLOVES protect from vampires, there's no value in fire hardening tips which are that blunt, and any water that color is very far from holy! 😀
@@veritasetcaritas yeah I agree but it's what they were poorly attempting to do
@@veritasetcaritas also I'm pretty sure if I use granulated garlic or garlic salt as pocket sand a vampire is screwed
@@robertfaucher3750 yeah fair. Difficult to know if this was supposed to be bloodstain or fire hardening, but if the latter then they just didn't know what it was supposed to look like.
@@robertfaucher3750 well it might work for twentieth century vampires, but the nineteenth century vampire stories borrowed the idea from the Greeks of using garlic cloves to ward off evil spirits.
At 2:25 I accidentally described the pistol flint as a "small piece of metal", instead of a "small piece of stone". Commenters @chrisball3778 and @BewegteBilderrahmen have helpfully provided this additional information.
_________
@chrisball3778
The 'tubes' in the second fake kit shown at 13:30 are the pistols' barrels. Some pocket pistols were made with detachable, screw-on barrels. You'd remove the barrels to load the chambers, then screw the barrels onto the guns. That's why they don't have ramrods- this design doesn't actually need them. The pistol part of that set does actually look genuine, which sadly means it might have been made by chopping up a real antique pistol case and sticking part of it into a 'vampire hunting kit' to boost its value.
The barrel was intended to be just slightly smaller than the breech, so the ball would hold the powder in place until fired, when it would be forced into the barrel, creating a very tight gas seal and making the ball engage with the rifling (if present). I don't really know whether it affected durability, but they were quite high-end, well-made pieces, so maybe not as much as you'd think. Also, percussion revolvers didn't usually need a separate ramrod either- most had a 'loading lever' under the barrel that would push the ball into the cylinder, causing it to expand laterally and form a seal.
I can't really see if it's present on the gun in the kit. It looks like an 1860 or 1861 Colt to me, which both definitely had a loading lever (unless it fell off), but I'm far from an expert. The Royal Armouries museum RUclips channel has some good videos explaining how some of these older firearms work, (with a few on Forgotten Weapons as well, although it's mostly 20th century and later there), without the weird right-wing politics that tends to dominate most of the gun channels. Thanks for the video- very entertaining.
___________________
@BewegteBilderrahmen
You didn't mention how the glass bottles look absolutely pristine (read new af). Leather is usually treated with all sorts of things, most importantly fat which would leave residue on bottles that were new but stored in that case for longer periods. There is also absolutely no residue, grime or anything in or outside the bottles, so did someone clean specifically only the bottles regularly?
Last, it's rather atypical to see bottles with such factory made corks that are just randomly dipped in some wax to look old. Bottles would often be roughened up inside the neck to receive a glass stop or be properly corked and usually sealed with some wax, again this would leave residue.
Lastly corks really don't age well and tend to crumble after a few decades if anyone had moved them.. I'm not going into the seemingly modern make of them, let's just say I've more convincing bottles lying around that aren't even valuable despite their handful of decades of age.
The documents are a "Certificate of Registration of an Alien Enemy" by the Metropolitan Police. The photo on it looks a bit out of order like someone placed an older picture on it, as photographs tend to look more modern than most people assume, and the picture looks more like something someone found on a glass plate copy or even a daguerreotype instead of what the metropolitan police likely would have used. Overall this would very likely put the document past 1900.
PS: I've actually found an example of 1914 that has a much better picture quality (we're talking sharp, well visible face) and probably identical lettering, making that document a plastic red herring, to fool people into believing the age.
Look this still isn't easing any concerns that you are indeed a vampire trying to remove what few defenses society has against your kind left.
I love your commitment to the bit.
You didn't mention how the glass bottles look absolutely pristine (read new af). Leather is usually treated with all sorts of things, most importantly fat which would leave residue on bottles that were new but stored in that case for longer periods. There is also absolutely no residue, grime or anything in or outside the bottles, so did someone clean specifically only the bottles regularly? Last, it's rather atypical to see bottles with such factory made corks that are just randomly dipped in some wax to look old. Bottles would often be roughened up inside the neck to receive a glass stop or be properly corked and usually sealed with some wax, again this would leave residue. Lastly corks really don't age well and tend to crumble after a few decades if anyone had moved them..
I'm not going into the seemingly modern make of them, let's just say I've more convincing bottles lying around that aren't even valuable despite their handful of decades of age.
This is fantastic detail, thanks! I will add this to the pinned comment.
Dude your work has got so few views, but yet it's so good. I cannot understate how great this material is.
Well thank you!
Just wanted to add some comments regarding the last kit that was reviewed.
First let me say, great review..And secondly, that kit was built by me about 13 years ago.
I was inspired to build this kit after watching an auction TV show where a vampire kit was sold.
The kit took about 3 weeks to build and cost about $250 with antique items purchased on Ebay.
After I built the kit I felt it was a bit too large and bulky for display so I sold it shortly afterwards for about $1,000.
It was sold as a custom replica and not an authentic Vampire killing kit.
After selling that kit I built two more which are smaller and closer in style and design to the ones displayed at Ripley’s Believe it or Not.
The two final kits I built are still in my possession.
If you have any questions regarding the construction of the kit in your video feel free to ask.
Thanks for the comment! I rated your kit "high quality" due to the effort put into it. I noticed on your site that you hadn't represented it as authentic, and you also described features of its construction process. You certainly did a great job of using authentic items and I really liked the effort you put in to create a proper cut-out in the velvet to houes the pistol a detail most kits totally over look. Yours was definitely the most well made kit out of those I reviewed.
@@Fortigurn Thanks! Keep up the good work.👍
The 'tubes' in the second fake kit shown at 13:30 are the pistols' barrels. Some pocket pistols were made with detachable, screw-on barrels. You'd remove the barrels to load the chambers, then screw the barrels onto the guns. That's why they don't have ramrods- this design doesn't actually need them. The pistol part of that set does actually look genuine, which sadly means it might have been made by chopping up a real antique pistol case and sticking part of it into a 'vampire hunting kit' to boost its value.
Oh I see what you mean. It concerned me that the barrels were so short, but I've seen very short barrels on small pistols of the period before. So I guess you can just cram the wadding and ball into the breech with a thumb. I also guess those barrels wouldn't last long, as the screw thread would be a weak point. And yeah I think they recycled an antique pistol case for this.
@@veritasetcaritas Yes, you loaded it by hand. The barrel was intended to be just slightly smaller than the breech, so the ball would hold the powder in place until fired, when it would be forced into the barrel, creating a very tight gas seal and making the ball engage with the rifling (if present). I don't really know whether it affected durability, but they were quite high-end, well-made pieces, so maybe not as much as you'd think. Also, percussion revolvers didn't usually need a separate ramrod either- most had a 'loading lever' under the barrel that would push the ball into the cylinder, causing it to expand laterally and form a seal. I can't really see if it's present on the gun in the kit. It looks like an 1860 or 1861 Colt to me, which both definitely had a loading lever (unless it fell off), but I'm far from an expert. The Royal Armouries museum RUclips channel has some good videos explaining how some of these older firearms work, (with a few on Forgotten Weapons as well, although it's mostly 20th century and later there), without the weird right-wing politics that tends to dominate most of the gun channels. Thanks for the video- very entertaining.
@@chrisball3778 fantastic information, thank you. I will add this to the pinned comment.
Now, I find them a fun novelty...as long as you know they are and always have been just props and decoration, they are fun items to have.
I think the missing tool in the real pistol case at 4:40 is most likely a bullet mould. Before ammunition was standardised you needed a specific tool for making balls of the right size for your gun. These were of the approximate shape shown by the missing piece. You poured molten lead (or maybe silver if you were to give credence to the 'Vampire killing kits') into a small hole in the top of the mould, then when it was cool you opened it up like pliers, the circular chamber split in two and the ball fell out. You'd then have to snip or sand off the 'sprue' left behind where the hole was to let the metal in. Most cased pistol sets came with one. I think the smaller tool just underneath the empty space may be the bullet mould for the smaller pistols, as they don't seem to be the same calibre.
To be fair to the fake set shown immediately after, the 'pincers' shown are a bullet mould, so you would be able to make more after you'd fired your four shots, if you were willing to sit down in the middle of a vampire battle to stoke up a fire and start melting down random bits off silverware you had to hand.
Yes, good observation. The bullet mold is a pair of pincers used to shape the molten metal into a ball. In the video I noted these pincers appear in a couple of the other kits, but without the other tools necessary.
I am here for how incensed you sound over the legions of inadequate stakes
It was a huge disappointment. They couldn't even get basic stakes right.
You could make yourself a one of a kind, custom version of these kits yourself for cheaper than the auctions sell them, and make it better than they do too.
I assume you'd want one of these for the aesthetics.
"a guide to make authentic vampire kits"
Good point!
This is the funniest serious topic I can imagine.
Good, good. Now I need to know how to tell if the vampires that are living in my basement are authentic .
It's kinda suspicious how much thought you put into figuring out how much force and under what circumstance could you use those stakes effectively
Well to be fair, you only need experience hammering tent pegs.
The documents are a "Certificate of Registration of an Alien Enemy" by the Metropolitan Police. The photo on it looks a bit out of order like someone placed an older picture on it, as photographs tend to look more modern than most people assume, and the picture looks more like something someone found on a glass plate copy or even a daguerreotype instead of what the metropolitan police likely would have used. Overall this would very likely put the document past 1900.
PS: I've actually found an example of 1914 that has a much better picture quality (we're talking sharp, well visible face) and probably identical lettering, making that document a plastic red herring, to fool people into believing the age.
This is a great find, thank you! I will add this to the pinned comment.
I'm wondering whether the first high quality kit is something like a (last) rites chest for priests that someone remodeled into this fake vampire hunter box. It would explain the icons and cross/crucifix placements in a decent box.
PS: after some searching, there are indeed modern kits that have a very reminiscent feel to the excessive straps in all of these examples, so we can probably assume that people were inspired by such trunks.
I think you're very likely correct. Some of these were definitely containers for devotional and worship items such as crosses, crucifixes, rosaries, and icons. Additionally, the obsession with straps (apart from them being very easy to make), is quite likely inspired by luggage as you suggest.
The missing piece is the bullet mould
Yes, I realised that after I made the video. I also have a pinned comment with helpful information from two viewers who provided further insights.
20 grand for an elaborate cosplay prop
That Vampire kit is about as Legit as Logan Paul's Pokemon card booster case box.
tldr: he paid millions for a box containing supposedly first edition unopened booster cases of pokemon cards, which could possible be worth even more than the 3ish millions he paid. The box was "authenticated" by one of the big card authenticators but when they opened the box on camera it was full of fakes.
To be fair to them, the points of the stakes are probably charred to harden them, it's a common thing that would be done with wooden stabbing utensils of all sorts, starting with spears in prehistoric times. Ironically it's probably among the most authentic details of the whole kit.
The problem is these don't look like hardened wood, it's clearly a stain. The underlying wood hasn't been changed at all. Actual fire hardening has a very different appearance; you can see closure of the grain, and carbonization. Not only that but it turns out fire hardening isn't even very effective for making a tip hard; it's mainly useful for reducing moisture in wood, increasing rigidity and making it stronger in the thrust.
arstechnica.com/science/2016/05/turns-out-fire-hardened-spears-arent-as-badass-as-we-thought/
I think the "spice" is actually chopped garlic.
If these vampire killing kits are being advertized as "circa 1900s and later", then shouldn't the guns included be single-action revolvers/derringers which fire cartridge bullets?
Yes, one thing you notice is that the guns are often highly anachronistic. In 1900 no one is going to be using a pathetic little percussion cap pistol like that.
"1900s or later"
Includes a Desert Eagle
Vampire killing kits are cool
I think the best ones are, but the worst ones just look rubbish.
At 10:25 the skull and crossbones symbol is sometimes used in Christianity afaik e.g. Spanish cemeteries, also it's sometimes used to symbolize Golgotha in many Christian sects (and/or sth about the biblical Adam's place of death). In general it just seems to be a popular symbol associated with death.
Yes on cemeteries and in other contexts, but not on crosses or crucifixes, from what I have seen.
@@veritasetcaritas Suprisingly on crucifixes, too! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crucifix#/media/File:Kirche_Oberwiesenthal_Kruzifixe.jpg
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crucifix#/media/File:Orth_Kreuz.gif
Just a few examples. It seems especially common in Orthodox crucifixes, where it symbolizes Golgotha.
Cool video and relevant to the time of year, but I sincerely hope none of your regular viewers thought these things were real, and I don't know how useful it is to pull in people who were hoodwinked by costume jewelry.
Well I started this video by assuming people know these aren't real, but what I really wanted to demonstrate is how we can KNOW they aren't real. This is an exercise in learning how to analyze historical realia. Viewers should learn some interesting and useful history through this video, as well as improving their ability to interpret historical objects.
I want to make a similar video on how to identify modern reproductions of historical armor, which is arguably even more important since so many museums knowingly hoodwink their visitors with modern reproductions or at best Victorian copies.
Ovv Course VVampires Ahent Rheal, smelly Morhtal! 🧛♂️
If you see one for sale, it is fake.
your voice sounds diffrent
Probably because this was unscripted, so I was speaking entirely spontaneously instead of in my narration voice.
The skull and bones is very common on older european crucifixes, as a symbol of death and there is a legend that Adam's skull was laying on the ground at Jesus' cross
A skull at the foot of the crucifix is found on traditional crucifixes, not a skull and crossbones. That seems a lot more modern. It became popular in the twentieth century.
@@veritasetcaritas You can google "antique crucifix with skull and crossbones" i guess as an American you are not very familiar with catholic traditions
@@alexanderleuchte5132 firstly I am not an American, secondly I am an actual Christian. I am very familiar with crucifixes. The skull at the bottom is traditional, the skull and crossbones is not, especially when it's not even below the crucifix. These vampire kits are supposed to be nineteenth century Protestant Britain or Protestant Germany, not Roman Catholic Italy, so Catholic traditions are irrelevant.
The Orthodox likewise sometimes use a skull, but it is not on the crucifix, it is below; they have a different shaped cross and don't use crossed bones. The crucifix in this Sotheby's vampire kit is a recognizably cheap modern one you can buy online, not an antique.
@@veritasetcaritas I'm not talking about these ridiculous kits, i'm talking about sklull and bones on cruzifixes being traditional and not a 20th century phenomenon. Google: "kruzifix mit kreuzknochen"
Show me a "real" vampire killing kit
Well yeah, like I said in the video there aren't any real ones, which is why I prefer to call these frauds rather than fakes. Theoretically a real one could be made, if the genuine intention was to fight vampires, just like you can make an anti-zombie kit even though zombies don't exist.
Couldnt you just use it on a vampire? If it doesnt work, obviously a fake. Or they werent a vampire.
It could be a useful way to identify fake vampires.