X Sells: Secret Files Up for Grabs

Tired of giving fruitcake and reindeer sweaters for Christmas? Then how about getting a little crazy and leaving an alien fetus under the tree? Or perhaps a blazer dripping with jellied bumblebees? Oh, don't look so shocked — we're not revealing what's on Tim Burton's yuletide wish list, we've just been perusing the items up for bid at Sothebys.com and EntertainmentRarities.com's wild, wild X-Files auction to benefit Hollywood Cinema Production Resources, a nonprofit organization that gives at-risk youngsters an opportunity to break into showbiz.

"Fox is a big supporter of the program," EntertainmentRarities.com prez Darren Julien tells TV Guide Online. "They donated us the props that couldn't be reused [and are now on the block]."

By the time the bidding closes Friday — leaving plenty of time for preholiday shipping — Julien expects the proceeds to be in excess of $100,000 — and chances are, he won't be disappointed, either. Scully and Mulderobilia of this quality is all but guaranteed to bring in big bucks.

"We've already had a big response on several [items]," Julien notes. "For instance, in an episode that Stephen King wrote, this doll appeared at many crime scenes, and finally, Scully realized that in order to stop the crimes, she had to destroy the doll. So she put it in a microwave, and as it caught on fire, it kept saying, 'I want to play! I want to play!' We have that charred doll.

"And this kind of crosses the line a little bit, in my opinion, but there was a guy who saved himself on the show by eating cancer," he continues. "Mulder goes in and finds all these plastic baggies of toxic waste in the guy's car, and... well, we have those. They're basically this guy's lunch bags, I guess you could call them."

On the off chance that homegrown Santas' pockets prove too shallow to buy such top-drawer collectibles, Julien is confident that X-philes the world over will come forth with the silver and gold. David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson might even break open the vault and try to repurchase some of their hand-me-downs.

"They'd have to bid on it at this point," Julien laughs, "but they'll definitely hear about it, so you never know."