In this shot alone there are over three dozen storage bottles filled with all manner of herbs, powders, and parts. There are even more cased away in the smaller storage boxes.
This is a brilliant touch- stakes made from a variety of woods. It's embarrassing to confront a supernatural creature and realize it's impervious to the stakes you have on hand. This helps cover all the bases.
A variety of potions and pre-mixed alchemical preparations.
Another example of planning for contingencies- a selection of wards, amulets, and religious symbols.
My thanks to Mr. Bigford for sharing his work. It's a unique take on a well-worn idea that must have taken an incredible investment of time and effort to put together. You'll find a full album of the case over here. It includes a closer look at the multitude of boxes and storage cases nestled inside the main trunk.
I also strongly approve Mr. Bigford's careful attention to materials.
ReplyDeleteNoah Wyle's "Librarian" TV-movies were very intelligently written, and the last of them (so far, I say hopefully) — Curse of the Judas Chalice, 2008 — did address the question of the most suitable wood with which to stake Dracula himself.
Aspen, as it turns out... which delights me, as my 5-foot walking staff is aspen... so I can now walk at night with even greater confidence.
But another choice wood... or several species, actually... comes from South America, palo santo, "holy wood", used there by the curanderos [magical healers, shamans] to kill evil spirits; Bursera graveolens can be burnt as an aromatic incense wood like sage or derived into an oil,... — while the Peruvian "ironwood" chonta can be carved into pointed stakes, and even (for double purposes) shaped into crosses whose lower extremities are pointed stakes. Handy!
These sites ship up ready-made from the source, helping support local artisans. That's a good deed. Also, these are the real thing, not papier-maché imitations — and yet you're paying prop-type prices for them! That's a good deal.
So then if you want to branch out into genuine curanderia, well, at least get a good teacher....
I can refer you to a Bonpo shaman for training on how to use that phurba, by the way. I have several such items myself. The one advice I will give is that if you acquire any with cords knotted around them, do not untie the knots. They're meant to stay that way, unless you want to unleash a whole lot of trouble.