A mysterious 'vampire-slaying kit' featuring a pistol, knife, and copy of the New Testament from the 1800s is being auctioned off online

• A so-called "vampire-slaying kit" is being auctioned off in the UK next week.
• The box features a pocket-sized pistol, a knife with a mother-of-pearl handle, pliers, a rosary, a bottle of shark teeth, and a copy of the New Testament dating back to 1842.
• The owner selling the box told the Press Association that he doesn't know the historical details behind the box.

A so-called "vampire-slaying kit" is going up for auction in the UK.

The velvet box, being auctioned off by the Derbyshire-based Hansons Auctioneers, features a pocket-sized pistol, a knife with a mother-of-pearl handle, pliers, a rosary, a bottle of shark teeth, and a copy of the New Testament dating back to 1842.

The owner selling the box told the Press Association that he doesn't know much about where the box came from. He bought it three years ago from an antiques fair in Newark-on-Trent.

"I know very little of its history," the man, who asked to remain anonymous, told the Press Association. "I loved the look of the Gothic box and, when I opened it, I just had to have it. I thought it was so interesting – a great conversation piece."

Vampires in the modern-day sense — who have fangs and drink human blood — aren't real. But Hanson's Auctioneers owner Charles Hanson told PA that people have been fascinated with the idea of vampires for centuries.

Vampires were used as a scapegoat for disease for many years, especially in the Middle Ages, when many blamed plagues and other diseases on signs of vampirism.

"Items of religious significance, such as crucifixes and Bibles, were said to repel these monsters, hence their strong presence in the kit we have found," the owner said.

According to BBC News, the edition of the New Testament found in the kit going up for auction featured an inscription from a contemporary owner, named Isabella Swarbrick.

The vampire-slaying kit has been given an estimate of £2,000-£3,000 ($2,500-$3,700) by valuers.

It will be auctioned off online on July 16.

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