Vampire killing kits, haunted dolls, and a door you shouldn't open in Bucks County

In his Buckingham museum of good and evil, curator Edmondo Crimi displays haunted dolls, Ouija boards, demonic paintings and Satan in frightening forms. But it’s the weapons to kill vampires that dominate.

Daggers darkened with age, at least one darkened with human blood. Ornately carved stakes and hammers, said to be effective when killing a vampire.

“Killing isn’t the right word,” Crimi said. “How do you kill something that’s undead?”

But “The Art of the Kill” is what he calls his permanent exhibition at VAMPA, the Vampire Art Museum and Paranormal Activity. The richly appointed museum, on the ground floor of Crimi’s old Bucks County house on Route 202, will open to the public for one day of Saturday, Oct. 28.

Crimi, 64, a rare antiques dealer, chose each item. Some are on loan, some he purchased, some were given to him by creeped out owners who didn’t want them in their homes. Like the haunted ghost ship.

“It moves,” he said. “The previous owner gave it to me saying it would turn in one direction, then another, by itself,” Crimi said.

So far, the unnamed vessel with its disturbing black tattered sails hasn’t moved since arriving in Bucks County.

“But it’s been boxed up for a while. I just put it out,” he said.

The vampire stuff is the showstopper. He loves the aesthetics.

“Look at them. Beautifully carved, beautiful works of art,” Crimi said, admiring his display of some 700 vampire killing implements. “The purpose of this museum is to show how, for 400 years, art has been influenced by the eternal battle between good and evil.”

He stood over a wooden trunk, lid open, revealing knives, stakes, and small glass bottles of holy water, garlic and salt, all said to be excellent vampire repellents.

“This is a primitive kit. Nineteenth century. Came from a farmhouse,” he said.

People had these things in their homes, not always on display, but always on hand. Maybe they liked the novelty. Maybe, as people today acquire firearms hoping not to use them, old world Europeans acquired tools to gut a vampire, should one visit their the village.

“Objects of beauty, but also of comfort,” Crimi said.

For the record, he believes vampires are fiction.

“But I believe there are people who believe they are vampires,” he said.

Such sad souls are obsessed with drinking human blood.

“It’s called clinical vampirism, a mental illness,” he said.

Vampire collection started it all for Ed Crimi

Crimi has spent 46 years collecting this unusual art. Vampires hold special fascination.

His interest was sparked as a kid in Brooklyn, watching “The Night Stalker,” a 1972 television movie about a news reporter who discovers that a serial killer in Las Vegas is really a vampire.

“Loved that movie,” Crimi said. “I’ve been collecting this stuff since I was 18.”

His collection spreads through nine high-ceiling rooms. Artwork depicts Satan, demons, and skeletons. He has a macabre skeleton rocking chair said to be owned by the late horror film actor Vincent Price.

“Excellent craftsmanship,” Crimi said.

While it's easy to get a chill or two touring the place, it's not Crimi's intent to frighten. There is a demonic realm which, if contacted or invited, will attack and weaken a person.

“It’s a serious look at the paranormal,” he said. “This isn’t Ripley’s Believe It or Not.”

If you expect your visit to be akin to a family haunted hayride, don’t bother. For one, the place really is haunted, Crimi said. At least some of the items are.

“It’s called demonic infestation, and it’s genuine,” he said.

A visit to the Vatican to discuss demons and exorcisms

Crimi is a scholar on the topic. He recently returned from an eight-day conference in the Vatican discussing demonic infestation and exorcism. He was required to write several serious papers proving in-depth knowledge before he was granted permission to attend.

“I was the only non-clergy in the room,” he said.

The Vatican sees the West and the Church under demonic attack. In Italy alone, some 500,000 demonic possessions are reported each year. Tarot cards and fortune tellers are the common paths to demonic possession, Crimi said. The situation is so grave that in 2018, the Vatican began adding priests to its ranks of exorcists.

That same year, Pope Francis recommended that Catholics to recite, at the conclusion of each Mass, the Prayer of St. Michael the Archangel. The prayer petitions God to “cast into Hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls.”

Evil in the museum in Bucks County

Evil spirits prowl his museum.

"I defend myself by saying prayers of liberation," said Crimi, who added that he "identifies as a Catholic."

Walking past Vincent Price’s creepy rocker, and more vampire stuff, Crimi stops. There's a display of Ouija boards, which an explainer card describes as “Windows into the Demonic.” One board, beneath a depiction of a female demon, was reportedly owned by the British occultist, Aleister Crowley.

“Ouija is a trade name, but they were originally called ‘talking boards’ and were used to contact the spirits of dead relatives,” Crimi said. “I don’t like them. Priests don’t like them. They aren’t a toy, especially for children. They open portals to the demonic. The best thing to do if you have one is to burn it.”

He is equally uneasy with a display of haunted dolls, over which there is a stark “WARNING” to visitors: “Many of the items in this display have demonic activity. Please show caution when viewing.”

A large doll with a frightening countenance and frightening eyes is from Burma, he said.

“That doll has moved. That’s a fact. It has moved locations. It’s always moving around. That’s one piece that I try not to pass by … I try not to look at it.”

Some evil is too evil to talk about

He passed a red door with black trim. It’s chained and padlocked shut. Asked why, Crimi, a jovial man, turned serious, curtly saying, “I don’t want to talk about that.”

Pressed, he said, “We keep it like this because I don’t want anyone going in there by accident.”

The chained door has several small windows cut into it. It leads to the basement. At the bottom, looking up in eerie orange light, is a large bronze sculpture of Baphomet, also chained.

“Yes, it’s Satan,” Crimi said quickly.

He won’t say how he acquired it, or from whom, but it’s clear it spooks him.

“The guys who work for me, we’ve all had experiences with that thing, and that’s all I’ll say. We keep Holy water all around it,” he said.

He moves on passing black, horse-drawn, glass-sided hearse that once carried anti-vampire tools.

Some touring the museum may experience a strange heaviness that increases as they move through the exhibit. But it vanishes instantly in the last room, dedicated to St. Michael the Archangel.

Ed Crimi said he’ll leave it to visitors to determine why.

IF YOU GO: The VAMPA museum and its permanent exhibition, "The Art of the Kill," opens Friday Oct. 28, 2023. Hours on Friday and Saturday are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $15 per person. The museum is located at 3686 US 202, Buckingham Township, Pa. 18901. Phone: 215-345-4253.

JD Mullane can be reached at 215-949-5745 or at jmullane@couriertimes.com.

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: From vampire killing kits to haunted dolls, a museum of the paranormal