Page 100 - Encyclopedia of the Unusual and Unexplained Vol. 3

80 Mysterious Creatures

n the summer of 2002, Romanian Tourism Minis-
ter Dan Agathon announced plans to build a
Dracula theme park on a hilltop near the
Imedieval town of Sighisoara, the birthplace of
the fifteenth-century Romanian count Vlad Tepes
Count Dracula
(1431?–1476?), said to have been the inspiration for
Bram Stoker’s (1847–1912) famous vampire novel, Theme Park
Dracula (1897).
Critics immediately opposed the idea of such an
Marinas, Radu. “Dracula Park Plan ‘Undead.’” Reuters.com, July
enterprise, stating that the park would undermine 1, 2002. [Online] http://reuters.com/jhtml?type=
more dignified projects to restore the medieval spirit entertainmentnews&StoryID=1151684.
of Sighisoara.
Tourism Minister Agathon denied any rumors
suggesting that the concept of a Dracula theme park
was being abandoned due to the efforts of opposing
critics, and he requested that all groups support the
effort to attract more tourists to the medieval town.

Sources:
“Ghostbuster Believes Dracula’s Ghost Is Haunting Theme Park
Site,” Ananova, June 26, 2002. [Online]
http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_616089.html?men
u=news.scienceanddiscovery.p...

M Delving Deeper a nightmarish creature of the undead with
Fodor, Nandor. Between Two Worlds. New York: twisted fangs and grasping talons. After Bram
Paperback Library, 1967. Stoker’s novel Dracula (1897) became a popu-
———. The Haunted Mind: A Psychoanalyst Looks at lar stage play, and, in 1931, a classic horror
the Supernatural. New York: New American film, the image of the vampire as a hideous
Library, 1968. demon was transformed into an attractive
“Jewish Vampires.” Jewish Gothic. [Online] http:// stranger who possesses a bite that, while fatal,
www.jewishgothic.com/vampire.html. also promises eternal life. The vampire of leg-
Mack, Carol K., and Dinah Mack. A Field Guide to end, a demonic presence, wrapped in a rotting
Demons, Fairies, Fallen Angels, and Other Subver- burial shroud, intent only on sating its blood-
sive Spirits. New York: Henry Holt, 1998. lust, was forgotten and replaced by the beguil-
Unterman, Alan. Dictionary of Jewish Lore and Legend. ingly romantic figures that have appeared ever
London and New York: Thames and Hudson, 1991. since in films and popular novels.
The cinematic depiction of the vampire in
F. W. Murnau’s Nosferatu (1922) presented a
Vampire
much more accurate characterization of the
Contrary to the glamorous image popularized traditional vampire. In this film actor Max
by motion pictures depicting handsome vam- Schreck’s loathsome bloodsucker creeps about
pires and their beautiful “brides,” the appear- in the shadows with dark-ringed, hollowed
ance of a true vampire in folklore is grotesque, eyes, pointed devil ears, and hideous fangs.

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