Exploring Dracula: The Legends of Romania
Be careful of vampires, said friends when they learned I’d be traveling in Romania. Were they joking?
I thought of the classic Dracula horror movie starring Bela Lugosi and his famous line, “To die, to be *really* dead, that must be glorious!” I thought of everyone who dresses up as a vampire for Halloween. (It’s consistently one of the top three costume choices.) Spooky castles, vampires and bats are associated with Halloween, one of my favorite holidays. Maybe, I told myself, I should be on the look-out for vampires if I take a stroll at night.
Transylvania, now a part of Romania, is home to over 26 different species of bats and the birth place of the famous fictional character, Count Dracula. The Dracula/Vampire legend began with the 1897 novel DRACULA by Bram Stoker- or did it? Belief in vampires exists all over the world. From Asia to South America are stories about supernatural beings that fly through the air and sustain themselves on animal blood.
Stoker’s book which, started the association between Vampires and Romania, has inspired dozens of books, movies and television series. A few examples are: Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles, Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight Series, Buffy and the Vampire Slayers, The Vampire Diaries and Dark Shadows.
Transylvanian History
Once an autonomous principality within the Ottoman Empire, Transylvania was also at one time a part of Hungary. Post World War II, it permanently became a part of Romania.
As a tourist, the region is a fascinating place to visit because of the various cross-cultural influences: the Turks, Saxons, Celts, Hungarians, Germans and in ancient times the Thracians, Greeks and Romans. One of the best-preserved medieval towns in the region, built by the Saxons, is Sighisoara.
Sighisoara is also purported to be the birthplace of Vlad Dracula. Which brings me back to the Dracula story.
As part of our itinerary, our guide felt honor bound to tell us everything he thought we should know about the famous Dracula. Only he assumed that the Dracula character and Vlad Dracula, also known as Vlad the Impaler, were one and the same. This is probably because literary historians have sought to find the sources for Stoker’s Inspiration. Maybe he just arbitrarily made most of it up and liked the sound of the name Transylvania, which in 1897 was part of Hungary. We just don’t know for certain what lead to the author’s creation. Our guide made a point of telling us that there is no such thing as a “Count” in Romania, but my research tells me it was an honorary title in Hungary.
The details of how Vlad Dracula became known as Vlad the Impaler are pretty gruesome. Military Governor and Prince Vlad Dracula, who challenged and successfully beat the Turks, drove stakes vertically through the bodies of his victims. He intentionally left his victims to be found, to discourage reinforcements from continuing their military offensive.
The suffering from impalement could last for hours or days. Vampires are destroyed by driving a stake through their heart. Their death comes quickly.
Whether you believe in Vlad as the inspiration for Count Dracula or not, Sighisoara is a worthy of a several day visit. We were fortunate to spend three nights in the walled section of the original hilltop town, giving us plenty of time to explore the streets of this lovely UNESCO site. Take the opportunity to visit the church, the graveyard, the side street paths, and dine outside to admire all the views. And no, after dark we didn’t meet any vampires nor did we meet any at Bran Castle, often purported to be the inspiration for Count Dracula’s home.
Bran Castle
More of a fortress then a castle when it was constructed in 1388, Bran Castle’s primary purpose was to serve as a look-out post. The massive structure was positioned to prevent Ottoman Empire expansion. Soldiers and merceneries lived there.
Built on a steep cliff between Măgura and Dealul Cetăţii (“fortified town’s hill”), the fortress had a good view of anyone coming or going.
In 1888, one year after Dracula, the novel was published, the city administration of Brasov transferred the castle to the region’s forestry. Foresters and woodmen used it for shelter and for the next 30 years it deteriorated.
In 1918 the region became part of Greater Romania and the city of Brasov offered the fortress to Queen Maria. Enchanted by its location, she decided to transform the structure into a proper palace and modernized it to become a residence for the royal family.
During the communist regime it became a museum open to the public in the 1950’s and in 2009 the castle was returned to its heirs.
Looking upwards at its imposing structure, it does look like a romantic castle, possibly the home of a lonely vampire craving companionship. However, whether novelist Bram Stoker was aware of its existence is open to speculation. He never visited the region. If you do visit Bran Castle, you’ll see displays showing vampires, but while Vlad Dracula might have spent the night at the fortress during one of his military campaigns it was never his home.
WRITING PROMPT:
How do we get our ideas for Fairy Tales? Whether writing stories about supernatural creatures with wings or a lonely prince who has been cursed, do our ideas come from a person or a place? Supposedly Bram Stoker took his inspiration for Count Dracula’s “backstory” from travelogues, books, and pictures. Could you do the same? Look at a picture postcard. Imagine it as some place out of the ordinary where uncanny events take place, what story will you tell?
Write that story and have fun with it. Maybe it’s a short scene or an entire story. Try changing it up for your character by creating actions that result in unexpected events.
The stories of vampires have fascinated readers for centuries. Can you create a different version of a vampire?
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Originally published at http://nadjamaril.com on June 5, 2025.
