Most horror movie buffs can’t see a chainsaw without thinking of Leatherface wielding one in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, watch a hockey game without thinking of Jason Vorhees’ iconic hockey mask from the Friday the 13th movies, or find a stack of old VHS tapes without wondering if one is cursed like in The Ring.
That’s how ingrained horror movie props can become in pop culture and our minds. Many have become iconic and instantly recognizable symbols of terror, like the evil Chucky doll from Child’s Play and Freddy Krueger’s claw-like glove from Nightmare on Elm Street.
Collecting horror props, whether costumes, weapons, or small set pieces, is a dynamic and growing hobby. It is popular with fans who want to own a piece to relive the visceral thrills from their favorite films.
Plenty of props appear on the auction block at Propstore, recognized as the world’s leading auction house specializing in this field across all genres. During an Online Entertainment Memorabilia Auction from July 8–24, horror-movie pieces were abundant.
The top horror prop was a pair of Deadite hand gloves from the 1981 cult classic, The Evil Dead, that sold for $2,835, more than double the high estimate of $1,200. The gloves consist of two hands made of latex with red color applied to resemble blood. They were from the collection of special effects artist Tom Sullivan, best known for his work on the Evil Dead trilogy.
Other props from The Evil Dead franchise and Sullivan’s collection included a set of four of his hand-illustrated pages from the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis (an ancient tome of prophecies and demon resurrection) featured in Evil Dead II (1987), which also conjured $2,835; Necronomicon pages from the Ash Vs Evil Dead TV series (2015–2018), which sold for $1,512; and Deadite appliance pieces from The Evil Dead, which brought $1,008.
The most common horror props are murder weapons, varying from basic slasher machetes to more complex weapons, such as the elaborate death traps in the Saw movies.
Among the variety of prop weapons sold were a bloodied axe from The Strangers: Prey at Night (2018) with a metal head and hickory shaft that sold for $1,512; a stunt axe from The Amityville Horror remake (2005) that brought $1,134 against a high estimate of $800; a stunt crowbar from The Walking Dead TV series made of foam rubber that sold for $756; and a couple of replicas from Aliens (1986): an ICONS M41A pulse rifle that sold for $756 and a Colonial Marine M240 incinerator unit that fetched $504. Another prop from Aliens, a pair of full-size USS Sulaco floor tiles, achieved $1,638.
Horror movies frequently utilize prop masks, often featuring monstrous or distorted features, to heighten fear, and are favorites of collectors. A foam latex Whisperer Mask from The Walking Dead sold for $1,512; two masks sold for $1,209 each: The Mummy Ghost’s resin fiberglass mask with acrylic eyes from Haunted Mansion (2023) and a latex silicone mask from A Quiet Place Part II (2020); and a pair of masks from Trick (2019), one of a pig and the other a pumpkin, brought $1,008.
Prices include a 25% buyer's premium.
All images courtesy of Propstore.
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