Peggy and I never expected to visit Dracula’s Castle in Transylvania but there it was on our Danube River trip itinerary. How could we resist? Halloween was only 2 1/2 weeks away.I felt right at home.There were even places for naps.And to sit.Or stand if you preferred…There was a danger of being tied up, however.And ghosts. This scary fellow was floating back and forth in a dark room, like a caged wild animal. Optical illusion? Perhaps…A wild lion with vampire sharp teeth peered out from a table…A lioness with frightening sliced eyes was hidden among scroll-like decorations.Looking closely, other evil creatures seemingly appeared out of nowhere, like this satan goat with dead eyes and his companion, a horned dragon.Even door knockers were threatening. “Beware!” rather than “Welcome” was the message. Monsters’ heads peered out from the medallion. Two snakes slithered out, wound around the knocker, and became a second set of massive horns on a cruel face with pursed lips.Strange metal doors invited opening. Dare we? What dark secrets does the room hide? Eyes stared out from the top panel. Halloween scary for sure.Peggy entered a dark room and came out screaming. Had her hair fallen out? (Our guide had hidden behind a curtain and jumped out yelling.)And there were lots of dark, narrow, ancient stairs to climb that led to mysterious heights. Was this damsel in distress wearing a nervous smile about to become Dracula’s latest victim? (We were traveling with Peggy’s brother John and his wife Frances. This is Frances negotiating the ‘dark, narrow stairs,’ with a smile.)Even the castle’s no-smoking sign had a bit of Halloween-type humor, which brings me to something much more scary than Bram Stoker’s Dracula, the real, historical Dracula, son of Dracul…Vlad the Impaler.
Stoker never visited Dracula’s Castle but he based his book partially on folk tales, legends, and the actual historical Dracula/Vlad the Impaler. Compared to him, Stoker’s Dracula was a wimp, a woozy, a rank amateur. Born in 1431, Vlad would be responsible for some 80,000 deaths throughout his 45 years of life, utilizing various means including torture— the worst of which was impaling. Not to get too graphic, but imagine sitting down on a yard long, pointed, narrow pole. Ouch. He once did in 20,000 Ottoman Turks using that method. The rest of the army turned and ran home. Even Pope Pius II was impressed. The gruesome chair and standing tomb above are other examples of torture implements he might have used. Once a delegation of diplomats visited Vlad and refused to take off their hats in respect. He had their heads cut off and their hats nailed to their heads. So, if you want scary, Vlad is your man.
These were violent times throughout Europe and Vlad was among the most violent. No wonder ghosts roam about his castle, virtual, or otherwise.
At one point, Vlad was imprisoned in this tower for a couple of years, a part of his own castle.
And now, to lighten things up, a leap forward to Halloween 2024…
If you’ve been around this blog for a while, you know Bone, Eeyore, Bonetta, and George, the African Bush Devil. Bone has been wandering the world for 47 years, ever since Tom Lovering and I found him while backpacking south of Lake Tahoe; Eeyore has been his traveling companion for 25 of those years; Bone found Bonetta in a Florida swamp and married her at Burning Man; George came home with me from Africa in 1967 and is on the front of my book about my Peace Corps experience: The Bush Devil Ate Sam. They dressed up for Halloween— and you— using their Burning Man costumes.Eeyore and Bone have been wandering around North America together for 25 years. Bone gets Eeyore into trouble and Eeyore gets Bone out of trouble. Eeyore is wearing his leopard mask. Bone, BTW, is naked, which is his Burning Man costume. If Eeyore appears a bit bedraggled, it may be because he served as an elementary school mascot before joining Bone.The gorgeous Bonetta put on her Burning Man wedding dress to appear as the Bride of Frankenstein. (Baby Bone was sleeping in his coffin and no one wanted to hear him scream if he woke up.)George is wearing his dramatic Red Hawk mask. He was carved by a leper in Ganta, Liberia.And finally, the Mekemson and Cox Family Pumpkins. Clay’s lurks threatening in the background. Tasha’s is a First Grade Monster with eyes peeking out on the side. Ethan’s is an AI Robot (scary as a category five hurricane). Cody’s large mouth pumpkin is throwing up his innards. Peggy’s is the Castle of Dracula, and mine is Dracula’s Teeth. (I have a dental appointment this week and all I could think of was teeth. How much scarier can it get than trip to the dentist?)Actually, my dentist, Dr. Tim Smith, and his staff at Purcellville Dental are excellent. And have a great sense of humor! Their annual “Decorate for Halloween Contest” was underway. Each staff member creates a ‘Jack-o-lantern’ and patients are invited to vote for their favorite. This was mine.
Peggy and I, along with Clay, Tasha, Ethan and Cody and, of course, Bone, Eeyore, Bonetta and George would all like to wish you and your family a Happy and Safe Halloween filled with laughter, goodies, and slightly scary things.
This just isn’t my cup of tea, but it surely made for an interesting visit. I’ve never been a fan of horror fiction or films — or roller-coasters, for that matter. I’ll take my horror in the course of life-as-usual. That’s generally enough!
All true, of course, Linda, which is why I enjoy sci-fi and fantasy and have never been a fan of tragedy. Plenty of that in life. Peggy and I skip the horror genre as well.
Laurel and I visited the castle on a European trip/pilgrimage from our church, since the “Unitarian” part of “Unitarian Universalist” started in the Transylvania region of Romania.* Fun to see it. The “Dracula” parts seemed a little cheesy to me, like they knew it was nonsense but American tourists with $ demanded it. My favorite bit was when there were lightening flashes, and I looked back to see someone standing there, flipping the light switch. On the other hand, vampire mythology was part of the history off the region. /Don *Fun fact: We met Unitarians who still primarily speak Hungarian. Hungary was remarkably consistent in choosing the wrong side in major wars, and had various territory lopped off at the end of the wars, including Transylvania. The heroic statues in Budapest seemed mostly to celebrate men who heroically died during failed military ventures.
Cheesy yes, Don. The story of Halloween! The ghost was the best part of it. Nothing cheesy about Vlad, however. They told us about the Unitarian origins when we were there. It was news to us. Borders were very flexible in the region. As relearned again and again.
Great post, Curt! I enjoyed every bit of it, from the marvelous spooky castle and all its clever awful details, and the summary of Vlad’s greatest hits, and the Jack-O-Lanterns, and the Halloween wishes from everyone. All our love back to you. ~Crystal & Pedro
Glad you managed to visit the Bran Castle. You got there just in time for some Halloween fun!
As for Vlad’s legendary cruelty, he grew up in such troublesome times, he took from the best (or the worst!). It is said that Timur was the most cruel conqueror of those times, causing the death of 17 million ppl, about 5% of the world population at that time..
That was the perfect post for Halloween. OMG. Vlad was a monster. How horrific. The whole place looks frightening (right down to the door knobs). Kind of can’t look away though.
And super fun, happier personal Halloween photos, Curt. 🙂
I usually curse my slow internet connection when the images take too long to show up, but not this time. I saw the white haired lady sitting on a chair or wherever and that’s it for me, bye bye. Glad you had fun though!
This is an amazing post! Your writing is casual, fun and funky, it makes me feel like you’re someone I’ve always known!!!! Feel free to checkout my blog and give some suggestions,please!
It looks pretty scary, Curt, but this post was perfect for the spooky event! Sorry I’m late! 🙂 Love the photos at the end too! What a Halloween for you both to remember! 🎃👻😁
Wandering through Time and Place 
How fun! I just watched Nature on PBS and it was about the environment around the castle! Lovely flowers and this looks like fun! Booooooooooooooo!
Boo back to you, Wendy.
This just isn’t my cup of tea, but it surely made for an interesting visit. I’ve never been a fan of horror fiction or films — or roller-coasters, for that matter. I’ll take my horror in the course of life-as-usual. That’s generally enough!
All true, of course, Linda, which is why I enjoy sci-fi and fantasy and have never been a fan of tragedy. Plenty of that in life. Peggy and I skip the horror genre as well.
Laurel and I visited the castle on a European trip/pilgrimage from our church, since the “Unitarian” part of “Unitarian Universalist” started in the Transylvania region of Romania.* Fun to see it. The “Dracula” parts seemed a little cheesy to me, like they knew it was nonsense but American tourists with $ demanded it. My favorite bit was when there were lightening flashes, and I looked back to see someone standing there, flipping the light switch. On the other hand, vampire mythology was part of the history off the region. /Don *Fun fact: We met Unitarians who still primarily speak Hungarian. Hungary was remarkably consistent in choosing the wrong side in major wars, and had various territory lopped off at the end of the wars, including Transylvania. The heroic statues in Budapest seemed mostly to celebrate men who heroically died during failed military ventures.
Cheesy yes, Don. The story of Halloween! The ghost was the best part of it. Nothing cheesy about Vlad, however. They told us about the Unitarian origins when we were there. It was news to us. Borders were very flexible in the region. As relearned again and again.
https://pacificparatrooper.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/happy-halloween-animated-images-15.webp
A head getting ahead!
Great post, Curt! I enjoyed every bit of it, from the marvelous spooky castle and all its clever awful details, and the summary of Vlad’s greatest hits, and the Jack-O-Lanterns, and the Halloween wishes from everyone. All our love back to you. ~Crystal & Pedro
Thanks, Crystal and Pedro. Appreciated.
What a creepy but timely post. I didn’t realize Dracula was so morbid and inhumane. Hope you enjoyed your Halloween!
We did Diana. And now we are preparing for the truly scary thing. Next Tuesday.
Glad you managed to visit the Bran Castle. You got there just in time for some Halloween fun!
As for Vlad’s legendary cruelty, he grew up in such troublesome times, he took from the best (or the worst!). It is said that Timur was the most cruel conqueror of those times, causing the death of 17 million ppl, about 5% of the world population at that time..
Cheers, Happy Halloween!
Boooo😀
Doesn’t get much scarier than those guys, Christie. Wait, we have an election coming…
Just in time😀
That was the perfect post for Halloween. OMG. Vlad was a monster. How horrific. The whole place looks frightening (right down to the door knobs). Kind of can’t look away though.
And super fun, happier personal Halloween photos, Curt. 🙂
Had to end on a lighter note after Vlad, that’s for sure! Thanks, D.
LOL. I had no idea how deeply violent he was.
I usually curse my slow internet connection when the images take too long to show up, but not this time. I saw the white haired lady sitting on a chair or wherever and that’s it for me, bye bye. Glad you had fun though!
Laughing. Sort of. Wise woman.
This is an amazing post! Your writing is casual, fun and funky, it makes me feel like you’re someone I’ve always known!!!! Feel free to checkout my blog and give some suggestions,please!
It looks pretty scary, Curt, but this post was perfect for the spooky event! Sorry I’m late! 🙂 Love the photos at the end too! What a Halloween for you both to remember! 🎃👻😁
Hi Lauren, it was a good fit. Grin. As for being late, I think that’s been my nick name for the past couple of months..
It’s hard to keep up, Curt. Life has its way. 🙂
Indeed. Always making demands! Darn it. Grin.
Re: Vlad the Impaler, just goes to show the truly scary folks don’t always wear elaborate, stand out in a crowd costumes.
Looked like a normal person for his time, Dave. Some of his predecessors looked much scarier.