Edmondo "Ed" Crimi spent 40 years collecting vampire-killing kits, exorcism artifacts and spirit boards across Europe. The collection fills eight rooms of his Doylestown home.

The Visual Arts Museum of Paranormal Antiquities, known as VAMPA, sits at 3686 Route 202 on a former dairy farm dating to the late 1700s. Crimi, the museum's owner and curator, opened it in October 2023 after decades of buying trips through England, France, Germany and Italy, as first reported by BucksCo.Today.

The property is a designated Historic Place under the Heritage Conservancy. Outside, peacocks wander five acres that include a dinosaur park and a Zen garden.

Wooden stakes and a German exorcism chair

The permanent exhibition, "The Art of the Kill," traces how vampire legends shaped religion, art and popular culture. Wooden stakes, crucifixes and holy-water containers anchor the displays. VAMPA claims to hold the world's largest collection of antique vampire-killing sets, with the oldest piece dating to the 1400s, according to Crimi.

One highlight is a hand-carved exorcism chair from 19th-century Germany, complete with restraining straps and a wooden crucifix, according to Visit Philadelphia.

A séance room holds talking boards and other material tied to attempts to contact the dead. The tour ends in a room devoted to St. Michael the Archangel. Crimi told WHYY in October 2024 that the room captures the museum's purpose, which he summed up as learning how to fight evil.

Family roots in Sicilian exorcism

Crimi traces his fascination to his ancestry. His grandfather's brother and uncle were priests in Catania, Sicily, who performed exorcisms. He told WHYY the family carried many stories about those rituals.

He bought his first vampire-killing set in Paris at age 18, according to BucksCo.Today. He has lived on the Route 202 property for more than 30 years.

Ghost stories and a spirit named Abigail

Crimi calls the doll room the museum's most paranormally active space. He told WHYY in October 2024 that objects sometimes move, though he does not consider the activity demonic.

The property also has its own ghost story. Crimi describes a mischievous spirit he calls Abigail, a little girl he associates with the farm's dairy past and unexplained milk disappearances. He told WHYY: "I poured milk for the cats, and within two minutes, the cats weren't even in the room, half the milk was gone."

The museum and the Abigail story became subjects of "Paranormal Pickers," a two-part documentary featuring Crimi and Doylestown paranormal investigator Eric Mintel. It premiered at the County Theater on Oct. 11, 2024.

Book signing and Halloween events in October

Crimi is scheduled to give a free lecture and signing for his new book, "Vault of the Vampire," at Barnes & Noble Doylestown on Oct. 23 at 7 p.m. A ticket secures a seat. The book, published by Quarto Books, features more than 200 images of artifacts from the collection.

Roxey Ballet will stage "Dracula's Lair," an immersive haunted-house experience using VAMPA relics, at Mill Ballet School in New Hope. Performances run Oct. 24, 25, and 31, and Nov. 1, with tours at 7:30, 8:30 and 9:30 p.m.

VAMPA is open Thursday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $20 for adults and $8 for ages 6–17. Children under 6 enter free.