Dracula’s 7 deadly horror souvenirs

IN Dracula’s vault lies seven deadly souvenirs including Queen Victoria’s knickers. Here’s the secrets behind the Gold Coast’s priceless collection of marvellous and macabre horror memorabilia.

Dracula's 7 most weird and wonderful items include a Freddie Kruger replica. Picture Glenn Hampson

DRACULA’S patriarch John Newman and son Mark Newman share stories from the vault — the secrets behind seven deadly souvenirs from the Gold Coast venue’s priceless collection of marvellous and macabre memorabilia.

1. Queen Victoria’s Knickers

Bought at Sotheby’s London in 1954 for 400 pound sterling — a princely sum for those years.

The royal underpants, featuring QV’s personal seal on the waistband, were displayed at Tikki and John’s Music Hall restaurant in Exhibition St, Melbourne from 1965 to 1994.

“I was offered Queen Vic’s nickers from a man in Adelaide when we were doing the music hall at Tikki and John’s,” John Newman said.

Luke Newman with Queen Victoria's underwear. Picture Glenn Hampson

“The reason they are genuine is that they have Queen Vic’s red seal, very faint, on the waist band just to the left of centre and about the size of a five cent piece.”

A pair of QV knickers sold recently at a Sotheby’s auction for 12,000 pounds.

2. Australia’s largest collection of horror memorabilia

Dracula’s has less than half its total collection on display. The collection includes the autographs of almost 70 stars including Boris Karloff (Frankenstein), Gary Oldman (Bram Stoker’s Dracula), Anthony Hopkins (Hannibal Lecture, The Silence of the Lambs) and Lon Chaney (The Phantom of the Opera in the 1925 silent horror film) — the most valuable signature in the collection. Master magician David Copperfield, who owns the largest collection of Lon Chaney memorabilia in the world, has ‘tried numerous time’ to buy his autograph from Dracula’s, Mr Newman says.

The Lon Chaney picture and autograph. Picture Glenn Hampson

3. A David Bowie life cast

This original cast from the 1976 British science fiction drama The Man Who Fell to Earth

was used as a prosthetic in the movie. “This one was purchased at Antiquities of Hollywood in Las Vegas in 2007,” Mark Newman said. “They provide authentication certificates for all of our collection. They create these life casts to use as a base for prosthetic makeup appliances.”

David Bowie masks. Picture Glenn Hampson

4. The face of Freddie Kruger

A prosthetic mask of Robert Englund as Freddie Kruger, the cast was made for and used in the third Nightmare on Elm Street movie. “We also have three life casts of the faces of famous horror movie stars from the 1950s Hammer Films — Basil Rathbone (Sherlock Holmes), Vincent Price (famous horror movie actor and commentator) and Christopher Lee (Dracula). Again, a Vegas purchase,” Mark Newman says.

Alexia with Freddie Kruger replica. Picture Glenn Hampson

5. Transylvanian linen

Actual Transylvanian Linen — from the actual Castle of Vlad Dracul in Romania.

Vlad the Impaler’s (Dracula) father, Vlad II, also known as Vlad Dracul or Vlad the Dragon became voivode (or prince) of Wallachia in 1436. “It was purchased by a friend, Rebecca Bulley, and gifted to Dracula’s in 2003,” Mark Newman says.

“It isn’t anything of value but rather the interest that it is actually from Romania and has the symbol of the Dragon in the design. Nice to actually have something authentic from Romania — other than the staff that is (ha).”

Transylvanian linen. Picture Glenn Hampson

6. Taxidermy

When financial problems forced a taxidermist out of business, Mr Newman backed up a semi trailer and filled it with more than 100 new ‘family’ members.

“I went to an auction for an entire taxidermist’s shop stock,” he says.

“He had died and his family wanted to get rid of the lot. I left with a huge truck load of stuffed things including a full sized deer on four legs, four enormous buffalo heads and a few ‘Frankenstein’ animals, where they mix-matched horns and various parts on wort hogs heads. Very ugly — very Drax.”

Taxidermy. Picture Glenn Hampson

7. Queen of the Damned memorabilia

Filmed on the Gold Coast in 2002, the fantasy drama film starred Aaliyah as the vampire queen Akasha and Stuart Townsend as the vampire Lestat.

Alexia in Queen of the Damned chair. Picture Glenn Hampson

“We received a tip-off that all the props from the making of the movie were up for grabs so we took a trailer and stuffed it with interesting props and items,” Mark Newman says.

“We have two large metal chandeliers, two carved mahogany church chairs, a white ivory-look sculptured chair, some paintings and other memorabilia. Customers wouldn’t even know their history but we do and it’s nice to have the bar festooned with authentic fantasy movie props.”