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The Best Expensive Halloween Decor: Real Skulls and Stuffed Lions

The Best Expensive Halloween Decor: Real Skulls and Stuffed Lions

The Best Expensive Halloween Decor: Real Skulls and Stuffed Lions
Pumpkins sit by a window in an apartment above a restaurant on Castro Street in San Francisco (Photographer: Erin Lubin/Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) -- This year, instead of going to CVS to stock up on cheap plastic skulls and fake cobweb fiber that probably has a half-life of 10,000 years, why not invest in some some high-end home design that is genuinely creepy? There is some great/terrifying stuff out there with real history and provenance that will linger in your houseguests' nightmares for years to come.

In honor of Halloween, we scoured the shops and auction sites for some truly hair-raising decor that will last a lifetime—and beyond.

 

Stuffed White Lion

The Best Expensive Halloween Decor: Real Skulls and Stuffed Lions
A stuffed white lion.
Source: 1stdibs

The ethics of owning a stuffed white lion aside (this one, we are assured, lived and died in captivity), think of the stylistic possibilities of a low-lit foyer, a few strategically placed floor lights, and a glowing, seven-foot-tall albino killing machine with a candy bowl at its feet.

Cost: $61,642

 

Albrecht Dürer print of a Knight, Death, and the Devil

The Best Expensive Halloween Decor: Real Skulls and Stuffed Lions
A print by Albrecht Dürer.
Courtesy of Swann Auction Galleries

Now, this might not be spooky or even scary, but it is absolutely unsettling, which Sigmund Freud assures us (PDF) is a perfectly valid form of fear. In this 500-year-old engraving by one of the masters of the German Renaissance, we see a worm-eaten personification of death, with snakes coming out of his skull, a horned devil, and variety of other symbols to remind the viewer that death comes to us all.

Estimate: $60,000- 90,000

 

A Real Human Skeleton

The Best Expensive Halloween Decor: Real Skulls and Stuffed Lions
A human skeleton.
Source: The Bone Room

No, it’s not subtle, but yes, it is real, and yes, you can make up some excellent stories about how it made its way into your home. Maybe hang it with an inspirational sign (“Didn’t pay Neighborhood Association dues” or “Decided to ignore my noise complaint”), or simply dress it up in your local high school’s team colors.

Cost: $4,750

 

A Stuffed Sheep That Is Also a Bedside Table

The Best Expensive Halloween Decor: Real Skulls and Stuffed Lions
A stuffed sheep/ bedside table.
Source: Barcelona Design

On days that are not Halloween, this (real) stuffed sheep, made by Barcelona Design in conjunction with Deyrolle, the famed Parisian taxidermy store, can function as a bedside table. On Halloween, however, it can be where you store your candy. Fun, handy, and also a neat way to figure out which of your neighbors’ kids is willing to disembowel an animal for a Hershey’s Kiss.

Cost: $82,000

 

First Edition of The Discoverie of Witchcraft

The Best Expensive Halloween Decor: Real Skulls and Stuffed Lions
Source: Sokol Books

The Discoverie of Witchcraft

Not every piece of decoration has to be on permanent display. Some, such as this 1584 first (and only) edition of Reginald Scot’s treatise on witches (their primary aims appear to be “to pursue the poore, to accuse the simple, and to kill the innocent”) can be used as props. Gather visitors by the fire and read the how-to chapter on torturing suspected witches.

Cost: $70,000

 

Human Skull

The Best Expensive Halloween Decor: Real Skulls and Stuffed Lions
A human skull.
Source: 1stdibs

Love the skeleton, but afraid you don’t have enough room in the den? Not to worry. There’s a fun middle ground in the form of a real human skull. This one has the added plus of being 130 years old. Pro-tip: Turn it upside down, and it would make a lovely candy dish.

Cost: $1,850

 

Stuffed Lizard

The Best Expensive Halloween Decor: Real Skulls and Stuffed Lions
A stuffed monitor lizard.
Source: Ayre & Co.

It’s also possible to embody the Halloween spirit while diverging, if only slightly, from traditional Halloween subject matter. Such is the case with this eminently disturbing monitor lizard. Don’t believe that it’s right for Halloween? Check out the Dürer print above— you’ll see a lizard running right alongside the knight, bound for hell.

Cost: $245

 

Allosaurus Claw

The Best Expensive Halloween Decor: Real Skulls and Stuffed Lions
An allosaurus claw.
Source: Christie's

Similarly, the petrified claw of a giant carnivorous lizard isn’t really spooky, but it is absolutely scary. This is particularly true if you demonstrate, Jurassic Park-style, precisely how it was used to disable prey.

Estimate: $7,314- $10,971

 

Doll

The Best Expensive Halloween Decor: Real Skulls and Stuffed Lions
An antique doll.
Source: LiveAuctioneers

At one point in time, this doll was (probably?) not terrifying. Those days are long gone, obviously, and now this “Bebe Jumea” in its original factory chemise— ostensibly a collector’s item— could work beautifully as a casual set-piece in a more elaborate house of horrors.

Estimate: $4,000-$6,000

 

Painting of a Severed Head

The Best Expensive Halloween Decor: Real Skulls and Stuffed Lions
Source: Bonham's

The Head of Saint John the Baptist by a follower of Andrea Solario (Milan 1460-1522).

In theory, this is a vignette from the gospels. In practice, this is a painting of a severed head on a cake platter. The thing speaks for itself, and—with the right placement—could say more than you ever could, too.

Estimate: $3,000-$3,500

 

Deconstructed Lobster

The Best Expensive Halloween Decor: Real Skulls and Stuffed Lions
A deconstructed lobster.
Source: Creel and Gow

Sometimes, to creep people out, all you have to do is put a dead thing on display. This “deconstructed” crustacean is definitely dead, definitely creepy, and if you look closely, oddly mesmerizing.

Cost: $4,000

 

Imperial Matchlock Musket From the Qianlong Period

The Best Expensive Halloween Decor: Real Skulls and Stuffed Lions
An antique musket.
Source: Sotheby's

This gun was created for an emperor; it’s covered in filigreed gold silver and copper and is one of just a few extant muskets in the world to carry an imperial seal. 

Estimate: $1 million- $1.5 million

 

Suit of Armor

The Best Expensive Halloween Decor: Real Skulls and Stuffed Lions
Source: Peter Finer

A North Italian etched three-quarter armour, Milan, circa 1580.

And finally, we end things with an artifact from the Scooby Dooby School of terror: Suits of armor are harmless enough … until they start moving. SpoOooky!!!

Cost: Price on Request.

 

To contact the author of this story: James Tarmy in New York at jtarmy@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Chris Rovzar at crovzar@bloomberg.net.