The TRAVELER'S JOURNAL: October thirty-first, knocking on Dracula's door.

Vlad Tepes was a 15th-century Rumanian prince who won himself a reputation for cruelty with tactics like impaling his enemies, of which there were many, on sharpened stakes. Known lovingly by his own subjects as Vlad the Impaler, or Draco, for the dragon on his family's crest he was immortalized centuries later as the blood thirsty count in Bram Stoker's classic novel "Dracula."

During Romania's Communist years, the government tried to play down the notoriety of this unpleasant prince of Transylvania, a stunningly beautiful mountainous region in the western part of the country. But now giant steps have been taken to rehabilitate Vlad's reputation, or at least use it to attract badly needed tourist dollars.

The Transylvanian Society of Dracula has developed tours that give one a glimpse of the gruesome prince, up close and personal. For most travelers, these escorted tours are probably the easiest and least expensive way to see Romania, which is still short on transportation or gasoline supplies.

Most Transylvania-bound tours use the Castle Dracula, which happens to be a modern hotel built on the edge of the Borgo Pass, as a base for sightseeing. They visit the medieval city of Sighisoara and historic sites such as the infamous 11th-century Castle Bran, even though it's unlikely that Vlad ever set foot in the place. Also including twilight cemetery visits and masked balls, these tours tend to blood-sucking theatricality, but they'll certainly make for a memorable Halloween visit.

FMI For information: www.rotravel.com or www.draculand.com

Back to October 2003 Main

Look through the list of fascinating places and off-beat features we’ve covered. Search text versions of past episodes and articles in our archives.