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| PBS: Secrets of the Dead: "How to Dress Like Dracula" (1) |
Halloween:
Every year on Halloween hundreds of children dress up as Dracula for Halloween in the United States. But with the expansion of the popular holiday, you can now find little Dracula's around the globe. Yet, it is not only little children who dress up as Dracula, it as common for families and young adults to dress up as Dracula and other characters from Stoker's novel. Dracula's current mainstream costume has been influenced by the literature descriptions, theater productions, and the movie depictions of the character. The costume is so popular that any YouTube or Google search will lead to multiple how-to's and tutorials to obtain the Dracula look. Often times these tutorials cover not only costume but also make up and hair.
Tourism in Romania:
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| "The main Romanian tourist destinations included in Dracula tours" (2) |
Bran Castle and Halloween:
No Dracula tour of Romania is ever complete without visiting Bran Castle. Bran Castle is the sole castle associated with Bram Stoker's Dracula because it is the only castle in Romania to have fit Stoker's description, by doing so it is often referred to as Dracula's Castle. It offers tours that walk visitors through the castle. Often, the tourists leave with an abundance of historical knowledge that influenced Stoker's novel. Bran Castle has also become the number one attraction for tourists. Some referring to it as "unofficial brand" of Romania (Ms. Balmus in Cizmas) (3). Yet, neither visiting Romania and/or Bran Castle can compare to spending Halloween overnight in Bran Castle. Starting in 2009, every year the castle throws it's annual Halloween party. The all-night affair is complete with tours guided by Vlad the Impaler, traditional Romanian dances, horror movies, and music curated by the local DJ's. It has quickly become a popular attraction for die-hard fans of Dracula, often attracting tourists from Australia, US, UK, Italy, etc. Those interested in attending begin planning in January (Cizmas) (3).
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| Bran Castle courtyard during the Halloween party. (4) |
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| "Halloween party goers at Bran Castle (Dracula’s castle), Transylvania, Romania. (Photo by Christopher Campbell for Writers’ Expeditions)" (4) |
Along with that, two lucky people get to spend the night in coffins. The two are chosen winners of an Air BNB contest. In the video you will see the brother and sister who won the first contest, and were the first people to spend the night in Bram Castle in 70 years.
Overnight in Bran Castle
Citations:
- Malabrigo, How To Dress Like Dracula, http://www.pbs.org/wnet/secrets/vampire-legend-how-to-dress-like-dracula-for-halloween/2346/
- Adina Nicoleta CANDREA, et al. “Marketing the Count’s Way: How Dracula’s Myth Can Revive Romanian Tourism.” Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Brasov. Series V : Economic Sciences, Vol 9(58), Iss 1, Pp 83-90 (2016), no. 1, 2016, p. 83. EBSCOhost, proxy-bloomu.klnpa.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsdoj&AN=edsdoj.ff41d0e6aaef4f3b8f7cc13e17c07cd5&site=eds-live&scope=site.
- Cizmas. "Halloween in Transylvania: Where legend ends and history begins" Pittsburg-Post Gazette. 26 October, 2016. http://www.post-gazette.com/life/travel/2016/10/26/Halloween-in-Transylvania-Where-legend-ends-and-history-begins/stories/201610260014
- Campbell, Partygoers . . ., 2013. Bran Castle, Romania. http://kirstenkoza.com/expeditions/vlad-dracula-expedition-romania-halloween/
- Mediatime Network. "Night at Dracula's Castle" Online Video Clip. Youtube. Web. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOJoeeGdRCI
Wow! This is a very intersting blog because Dracula is all over the place and especially around Halloween. I can't help but think that for my whole life until this semester, I really did not have a clue who Dracula was or why he exists and I kind of just went with the flow because I knew society accepted him as a character. In fact, for Halloween this year, I decorated my dorm door with a big Dracula on it so this is super relavant and relatable! I thought your research really went into the idea and how prevalent Dracula still is today given it was written in the Victorian Era. I also find it super ironic that Dracula is far for appropriate for children and yet we see so many of them every Halloween. Overall, I thought you did a wonderful job on this blog and i was very informed!
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ReplyDeleteThis is super interesting I had no idea that Dracula had so much Halloween hype. It makes a lot of sense though after reading your blog. I like how you described his typical Halloween look and how it has evolved over the years. I love all the images especially the map of Romania. I also didn't know Romania got so many tourists, embarrassingly enough I'm not sure if I ever knew Transylvania was a real place. It's neat they chose a castle to designate as Dracula I'm sure that really adds to the experience of visiting. I however would not want to sleep in a coffin.
The Halloween nights at Bran Castle sound lit. All jokes aside, it is very cool that the owners of the castle hold this event. You never think of Romania when exploring tourism destinations. It's no surprise to me that Bran Castle is the biggest source of tourism in Romania. Dracula is such a great character that it's hard to not want to see his supposed castle. Also, why would you ever agree to sleep in a coffin, let alone enter a contest to do so?
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