Mummified Vampire Heart

We bring you the mummified heart of the vampire Auguste Delagrange. Before his destruction in 1912 Delagrange was responsible for the deaths of over forty people during one of the worst outbreaks of vampirism in the United States. He was eventually identified and hunted down by a Roman Catholic priest and a Voodoo Hougan. The pair began systematically destroying nests and minions, forcing Delagrange to take refuge in an abandoned farmhouse on the outskirts of a small town in Louisiana. It was there that a stake was driven through his heart and his body destroyed, consigning his soul to it's inevitable end. All that remains is the heart you see before you.

The vampire's dessicated heart and the stake that destroyed him are stored in a box of finger jointed oak that measures approximately 5" high, 8" wide, and 11" long. The plaque on top of the box notes the day Delagrange was destroyed and appears to be hand lettered, consistent with the time period.

This realistic prop was constructed with the traditional techniques used for sideshow gaffs and goes quite a bit beyond what's commonly available. I've provided views from a variety of angles and lighting conditions so you can appreciate just how detailed it is. This isn't something that just looks impressive on a shelf or behind glass, but a unique item that will withstand extremely close scrutiny. When your guests inevitably ask "Can I touch it?" just imagine the look on their face when you say "Yes." When they pick it up they'll swear it's real.

The "flesh" of the heart is very firm, but slightly yielding, consistent with a human heart that's been mummified and preserved using early 20th century technology. It feels exactly like you imagine a preserved vampire heart from 1912 would- the texture of very dry beef jerky with a protective coating of wax. The large hole in the left auricle is where the oak stake that de-animated this particular vampire entered the heart. Along the top you can see the stubs of the major vessels (pulmonary artery, aorta, superior and inferior vena cava) from when the heart was cut from the creature's chest.

The stake is turned oak and measures approximately 8.5" in length. It has a sharp point and slender shaft so it can slip between the ribs of the chest cavity like a dagger with just one or two blows from a small hammer. The packing material is genuine excelsior made from wood shavings, appropriate for the period.

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Allison Rebecca Stokke | American track and field athlete | Hottest Female Athlete

Allison Rebecca Stokke is an American track and field athlete and fitness model. She broke a number of American records for high school pole vaulting. At the age of seventeen, images of her were widely shared on the internet resulting in her becoming an internet phenomenon

One day Allison Stokke was a just a pretty high school athlete and the next she was an international Internet destination, although not by her own choice. Miss Stokke's photograph was taken during a high school track meet, where she was preparing to compete in the pole vault, and someone posted it to a web site. It didn't take long for other less reputable sites to pick up the image and set off a round of Stokke-mania on the worldwide web.

Miss Stokke isn't just a pretty girl; she's a pretty girl who happens to be a tremendous athlete. She was the California pole vaulting champion and is on scholarship at the University of California. She wanted to be known for her athletic accomplishments rather than purely for her looks. In terms of athletics, she wanted to be seen as Maria Sharapova, an attractive tennis player who wins, instead of Anna Kournikova, an attractive tennis player who just shows up and looks pretty. Miss Stokke could eventually become another Natalie Gulbis, a gorgeous LPGA golfer who has been quite successful.

The problem began to surface in 2004 when she began to receive messages from her friends that her photo had been seen on the Internet. She had 1,000 new messages on her social network site and a YouTube video of her being interviewed had been viewed 15,000 times. She began to receive interview requests from around the country, including one from Brazil. She went to her coach for help and to her parents (her father is an attorney) for guidance. They soon realized there was little they could do to stem the flow of messages and photos, other than to focus on trying to stop the ones that were particularly tasteless. They were successful in getting a fake profile of Allison removed from Facebook and another taken off MySpace, which included a slideshow with a dozen photos and a chat forum. She told the Washington Post, "Even if none of it is illegal, it just all feels really demeaning."

There's no question that Miss Stokke is an amazing athlete. Born in Newport Beach, California, she made the U.S. team that competed in the 2005 World Youth Championships, but couldn't compete because of a broken leg. As a senior at Newport Harbor High School she jumped 13 feet, 7 inches, which ranked second in the nation. She held seven national records.

As a freshman at Cal, Miss Stokke set a school freshman record by vaulting 13-5¾ at the Pac-10 Championships. She also qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships and was ranked No. 20 in the country. In the outdoor season she jumped 13-9¾, the second-best performance in school history.

But because of her notoriety, Miss Stokke hasn't been able to enjoy her success. She rarely leaves her home and has grown weary of the attention she's garnered. In fact, the online media information on the Cal website does not include her mug shot, while all other student-athletes have their images on their biography pages.