'Vampire-slaying kit' bought by Royal Armouries museum

The box contains a prayer book and "vampire-slaying equipment"

A "vampire-slaying kit" has been bought by the Royal Armouries museum in Leeds.

The 19th Century box, containing a crucifix, pistols, wooden stakes and a mallet, was sold for £7,500 at an auction in North Yorkshire on Friday.

It had been left to a Yorkshire woman in her uncle's will.

The Royal Armouries said it expected the box would prove a major attraction when it went on display at the Clarence Dock museum later this year.

The box and its contents all date from the 19th Century but are likely to have been put together in the 20th Century.

It is thought it was produced to capitalise on the popularity of Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula and the Hammer Horror Movies.

As well as the weaponry, the box contains a copy of the Book of Common Prayer from 1851 and a handwritten extract from the Bible which quotes Luke 19:27.

It reads: "But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me."

Jonathan Ferguson, curator of firearms at the Royal Armouries, said: "These kits are often said to have been made as novelties in the Victorian period, but research shows they are later than this.

"We've yet to establish a firm date for our kit, but we know it will attract a lot of interest from our museum visitors."