For the new version I want the display to look a little more vampire huntery, if you will. That means a more stylized stake instead of the World War 1 era tent peg used in the original. Here's the new stake, all fresh and shiny. It's turned from oak and measures approximately 14" in length.
As with the original it's a narrow shape designed to slip between the ribs, but the profile is longer and slightly wider. That means some tweaks to the original mummfied heart. The general shape and surface texture is fine, but I'll have to reshape the channel where the stake pierces through the tissue. Once I know the new stake will nestle inside that opening I can finish the surface treatment. That involves a layer of schmutz and some mild bloodstains along the section imbedded in the heart.
4 comments:
Wouldn't an angled end like that make a mallet likely to slip glancingly off the stake, rather than landing a solid, penetrating blow? Unless you're using this like a dagger and just stabbing with your hand.
Go for it Propnomicon. Here are a few real mummified hearts that may inspire other prop makers as well.
Richard the Lionhearted 1199
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-21609783
http://www.livescience.com/27534-richard-lionheart-heart-mummified.html
Coptic era Egyptian mummified heart, circa 5th to 8th century.
http://www.revespcardiol.org/en/mummified-heart-of-an-ancient/articulo/90302502/
Louis 16th mummified heart http://www.mysteriesofparis.com/mummified-heart-of-louis-xvii/
Robert the Bruce’s embalmed heart examined http://www.braveheart.co.uk/macbrave/history/bruce/heart.htm
Mummified heart of Anne-Madeline Remuz from the early 1700s http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Philippe_Charlier2/publication/264241888_The_heart_of_Blessed_Anne-Madeleine_Remuzat_a_biomedical_approach_of_miraculous_heart_conservation/links/54328c8c0cf225bddcc7b578.pdf
Finally, amusing or not – Propnomicon’s original 2010 heart gaff on the beleve-or-not.blogspot.com site and later other sites have picked it up as “fact”. The power of credulity is overwhelming on the web. You need only to Google Auguste Delagrance to find it has taken a life of its own.
http://believe-or-not.blogspot.com/2010/12/mummified-vampire-heart.html
@gndn
I'm of the belief that hammering is only necessary if you have a big, honking stake that has to be pounded through the ribs and into the chest cavity. In a perfect world the ideal tool for killing a vampire, IMHO, is an ice pick.
Sadly, my heretical ideas are still rejected by the majority of vampire hunters. Heh.
@CoastConFan
I am both amused and intrigued that Auguste Delagrange has taken on a life of his own. Again.
Dude, I love your blog and this beautiful object has turned up on my Facebook newsfeed in a collection of http://www.fairlaughter.com/15-scary-historical-photos-you-have-to-see/ among a few that appear to be real.
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