Pieces from Guillermo del Toro’s Bleak House going up for auction

Guillermo del Toro has one of the most incredible collections of horror memorabilia on the planet. Amassed in two and a half homes separate from where he actually lives, Bleak House is a showcase of all things ghoulish, with statues, busts, props, and so much more, all housed in themed rooms. Now, del Toro is putting up a lot of it for auction.

While del Toro won’t be auctioning off every one of the items in Bleak House (there are over 5,000 after all), it will be spread across three phases, with the first set for later this month, with the second and third phases coming next year. As for what inspired the auction, del Toro said it started with the Los Angeles wildfires earlier this year, which was just the most recent example of fires nearing the property. del Toro was able to move a lot of art previous times but it has apparently become a burden and also too dangerous to his passion.

He considered moving his collection to a museum but was concerned it would go uncurated and just sit in a warehouse. Thus, the auction, where he says he can “reach the true believers, the people that know what this means and can have it and say, ‘This is a legacy piece from an author I like…And this was in that collection at that time and then it came to me and it’s gonna pass after me to somebody else.’ And I think that’s part of the auction world that’s very driven by love.”

So what exactly is Guillermo del Toro offering in his auction? Well, don’t expect to be bidding on his life-size H.R. Giger or that gargantuan Frankenstein head that greets Bleak House visitors. As listed on Heritage Auctions’ website, items up in the first phase include original art from Cronos, the illuminating UV bomb from Blade II, Ron Perlman’s jacket from Hellboy, the “big baby” shotgun from Hellboy II, Pan’s Labyrinth’s clapperboard, maquettes from The Shape Water, and more. The entire auction will also showcase pieces from Walt Disney, H.R. Giger, Ray Harryhausen, and other legends in the field.

In their own statement, Heritage Auctions wrote, in part, “Guillermo del Toro’s collection is unlike anything we’ve ever handled. This is not just memorabilia — it’s the visual and emotional DNA of a singular creative force. Every piece in this auction offers a window into the heart and mind of a true auteur, someone who has reshaped how we see monsters, myths and ourselves…”

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