I was indeed awake and among the Carpathians

Bram Stoker

I think I was about thirteen when I first fell in love. The memory that I’m recalling was of a movie that I saw part of at a high school fete. After that day, obsessed with an immortal being, I promised myself that one day I would travel to the country of the origin of the vampire. I’ve read so many stories about vampires, that it almost stops my heart just thinking about the hours I’ve spent devouring sentence after sentence. So when I had the chance to visit Transylvania in Romania, I naturally took it.

The vampire is one of the lustier horrors in this world and although they’re blood sucking killers, they’re captivatingly evocative. There have been so many novels written about these night stalkers, but I only have one in mind at the moment and that particular book is of course, Dracula.

 

Bram Stoker the creator of this particular devil was born Abraham Stoker on the 8^th of November 1847. An Irishman, he grew up on the north side of Dublin and was the third of seven children. Stoker had an illness that kept him bedridden until he started school at the age of seven when he made a full recovery. He was educated at a private school and then Trinity College where he became interested in the theatre. His work as a critic for the Dublin Evening Mail was well received due to the calibre of the reviews, and a favourable review of Henry Irving’s Hamlet earned him an opportune friendship.

At the Lyceum Theatre in London there is a plaque dedicated to Irving and Stoker honouring the work they both did there, and it was  whilst working at this theatre that Stoker wrote the book Dracula. This is the book that introduced both the characters Dracula and Abraham Van Helsing to the world and this is in my opinion, possibly the best vampire book of all time.  It’s a collection of several characters diaries and letters about the infamous Count and when you read it, you kind of think that they can’t all be wrong, there has to be something to this. So I travelled to Transylvania myself.

Communism was like a stake in the heart of Romania and it left the country poor and unforgiving. As I journeyed through the countryside and saw the abandoned farms and burnt out houses, I felt a sadness that put things into perspective for me.  Naturally I was excited about my epic quest, but I kind of felt that I had taken my life for granted and that I should count my blessings.  As I looked out of the train window at the Carpathians capped in snow, I began to think about how Jonathan Harker felt as he travelled towards the castle in the mountains. Obviously we were travelling from different directions as he made his trek from Budapest and I was training it from Bucharest, but we kind of had a similar goal. Now I know that vampires are folklore and that Stoker’s original ideal came from a mix of Vlad the Impaler and the dark stories of the Carpathians, but it’s fun to think that these creatures might actually exist. I can also reveal that Bram Stoker never travelled to Transylvania, but I also find it amusing to know that thousands of tourists flock to Bran Castle every year because of the notorious legend.

Bran Castle promoted as Dracula's Castle.

After one night in Bucharest and the second in Brasov, I caught the bus to Bran. The bus fare was a tiny seven Lei which is about one pound forty. I saw a few villages along the way, but none quite as alluring as Bran.  The Castle can be seen from the main road and it’s amazing. It kind of juts out above the rock and has some incredible views from the windows and balconies. The castle has been maintained well and is now a major tourist attraction.  I don’t think either Vlad Tepes or Dracula ever lived there, but I had a fantastic feeling as I walked through the castle doors and fulfilled a lifelong dream and would gladly return to Transylvania as Harker did, but not to stake a vampire.

Before taking the trek to the Carpathians, I revisited the book Dracula just as a refresh.  The copy I have is kind of special because it was a gift from my eldest son Brendan. Both of my boys know how much I love the un-dead.

Bram Stoker passed away on the 20^th of April in 1912 and was cremated at Golders Green Crematorium in London where his ashes are on display in an urn. During his lifetime he created one of the most evil and seductive characters in literary history which brings me to say that Once upon a time in Transylvania, my dream came true and although both Bram Stoker and Vlad Tepes are gone, the legend of Dracula lives on.