Sunday, December 7, 2014
DIY Vampire Killing Kit
Megan at the "Polish the Stars" craft blog brings us a tutorial on crafting a vampire hunting kit. It's a good introduction to the subject that uses off-the-shelf components from craft stores and Amazon. It's certainly not the kind of ornate, over the top piece normally featured here, but the directions provide a good foundation for further development.
That’s a good, honest prop vampire kit and excellent for RPGs and LARPs. It’s not over the top, looks functional, and is portable. Sometimes less really is more. The burned labels are a bit much, but that’s just me, personally.
ReplyDeleteProp makers could learn a lot from a basic set such as this, which fits well in a valise, easily carried in a carriage and can be tucked into a steamer trunk. I also appreciate Megan giving her sources as well as her techniques in her tutorial. It’s not really how much you pay for components, but how you use them.
One thing that has been brought up on Propnomicon in the comments about vampire hunting and lore is that iron is often used to dispel magic and killing vampires. Less so is the use of silver to disperse evil, but still important. I’d like to see some iron or silver tipped stakes, which would double your chances for a good kill, in my estimate.
As far as screw top jars go, take for example John Mason had patent #22186, Nov 1858, so they go back a ways (as in uh, Mason jars). So don’t be afraid to use screw top containers in your late Victorian kits. There are earlier, rarer, and more exotic types of closures but given their scarcity, using an original might get pricey.
Here’s a great emergency weapon against vampires if you are playing in the Victorian era and have a photographer in your group: silver gelatin for plate photography really ought to get a vampire or evil spirit. If you use a syringe, then you have a projectile weapon!
BTW a good article on the history of bottle closures can be found at http://www.sha.org/bottle/closures.htm
A bit more esoterically: http://www.sha.org/bottle/closures.htm
I can't help but think of the vampire Jerry's remark in Fright Night (as he plucks out the silver bullets fired into him):
ReplyDelete"Silver is for werewolves."
But as for 19th century photographers' tools, flash powder flares with a strong actinic (often ultraviolet) component -- bare those fangs and say "cheese!", vamps! -- better living [longer] through chemistry!