Just saw this article on scifi.com
Just in time for Halloween, a vampire-slaying kit complete with a wooden stake and 10 silver bullets sold for $12,000 at auction, the Associated Press reported. The kit"”a walnut box that also contained a crucifix, a pistol, a rosary and vessels for garlic powder and various serums"”was bought by an anonymous phone bidder, the wire service reported.
According to Sotheby's, some experts believe that such kits were commonly available to travelers in Eastern Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries, while others think the kits were made in the early 20th century, possibly to cash in on interest in vampires sparked by the 1897 publication of Bram Stoker's Dracula, the AP reported.
Elaine Whitmire, head of 19th century furniture for Sotheby's, said she believes the kit was assembled in the early 20th century and sold to travelers as a souvenir. A label on the kit says: "This box contains the items considered necessary for persons who travel into certain little known countries of Eastern Europe, where the populace are plagued with a particular manifestation of evil known as Vampires."