An expert from the Royal Armouries will be sticking his neck out with a high stakes lesson in the art of vampire slaying.
With the help of the museum’s newest acquisition, Jonathan Ferguson is ready to give visitors something they can really get their teeth into with his pre-Halloween talk on How to Kill a Vampire.
Drawing on literature, film and popular culture, the Armouries’ Curator of Firearms will look at the various ways of dispatching blood-suckers as well as the real stories behind the legends.
And the star attraction of the evening will be an incredible vampire killing kit bought by the Armouries earlier this year.
The fascinating set includes a four wooden stakes, a mallet, a gun, rosary beads, a prayer book and bottles containing garlic, holy water and sacred earth.
Speaking at the Armouries as the YEP got an exclusive sneak preview of the kit, Jonathan said: “The kit is what we call an invented artefact. Some of the items in it are 100 years old or more, but based on research into these kits, it was probably put together in the 1970s to capitalise on people’s interest in vampires.
“I wouldn’t say these kits are fake, because to be fake there has to be a real one to copy, and as far as we know there isn’t. But it’s more about why someone might have put this together and where the legends originate- because the items in the box are based on the ways people think you would kill a vampire if they were real.”
The talk, which aptly takes place the night before Halloween, will look at the different ways of killing a vampire that appear in ancient folklore and more contemporary fiction, as well as a chance to find out more about the kit.
Jonathan said: “I’ll be talking about vampires, what they are, where they come from and why do people believe in them.
“And the if you were out in the mountains and you were attacked by a vampire, how would you deal with it? I don’t believe in vampires, but I’m fascinated by the folklore and mythology and this is a chance for me to combine the two.”
How to Kill A vampire takes place at the Armouries on October 30 at 6.30pm. Tickets are £5 from.royalarmouries.org
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