There are fewhorrorfranchises that have as rabid a fan base asEvil Dead. TheSam Raimifranchise has seen five film installments, a TV series and a recent hit video game that has introduced a new generation of fans to Ash Williams. The original film in this deadite-based nightmare,The Evil Dead, just celebrated the 40th anniversary of its theatrical release a couple of years ago. Now,fans can bid on the film’s original deadly props. This includes the dreaded Necronomicon.
From legendary effects artistTom Sullivan’s personal collection,Evil Deaddie-hards will have a ton of memorabilia to fight over. This includes Deadite Shelly’s Burned Facial Appliances, Production Made Book of the Dead Prototype, Linda’s Necklace and Screen-Matched Gift Box and the Kandarian Dagger. The latter of which is estimated to be between $10,000 USD and $20,000. Other hellish items for the auction are Tom Sullivan’s Personal Script with Hand-Illustrations, Hand-Illustrated Poster Concept Artwork, Linda’s Special Effects Leg, Deadite Linda’s Head, Deadite Cheryl Final Facial Appliance andAsh’s Special Effects Arm and Hand from Within the Woods. However, the crown jewel of this collection is thescreen-usedNecronomiconthat has a starting bidding price of $25,000. The Propstore will be hosting the event as their latest Entertainment Memorabilia Live Action. They describe the Necronomicon as followed:
“This book is composed of a brown latex-coated cardboard cover filled with hand-illustrated 38 pages (glued together in pairs to form thicker pages) of parchment-color paper that were intentionally distressed by production. The pages feature original artwork hand-illustrated by Sullivan. The book’s cover was made from cardboard coated with latex and is now separated into three pieces (front, spine and back) with some latex loss to the components. The interior pages are also loose from the covers.”
Raimi’sEvil Deaddefined the horror scene in the 1980s. The practical effects, the inventive filmmaking tricks/camera movements and the independent spirit that the industry has seemed to come back to in the last decade. While the originalEvil Dead’s story is simple,being host to the classic “cabin in the woods” backwoods genre set up by a group of ill-fated young adults, few could have predicted the popular horror comedy franchise it would have become. That was in large part because of Raimi’s creativity, but also because of his partnership with his star,Bruce Campbell. The actor made Ash Williams one of horror’s rare “final boys”. His catchphrase “groovy” and his eventual chainsaw hand would cement this lovable goofball as one of the genre’s most recognized icons. The Necronomicon has haunted him inEvil Dead II,Army of Darkness, andAsh vs. the Evil Dead. The franchise has seemingly moved on from the character withEvil Dead(2013) and 2023’sEvil Dead Risefocusing on entirely new characters. However,Easter eggsthat were planted inRiseand these auction pieces show that Ash’sEvil Deadjourney lives on in cinema history.
The three-day Entertainment Memorabilia Live Auction will begin at 10:30 AM PDT each day from Wednesday, March 26th to Friday, March 28th. In-person bidding will be held at The Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, California.Evil Deadisn’t the only horror franchise included in this particular auction. Pieces fromA Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors,Gremlins, and theHalloweenfranchise will also be featured. You can register for the auction onPropstore’s website.The Evil Deadis also currently streaming on AMC+.
