A lil ditty I got today

Bram Stoker's Dracula - more Irish than Transylvanian?
It has inspired more than 1,000 movies and after the bible it's the biggest selling book of all time. But does Bram Stoker's gothic novel Dracula owe more of its inspiration to Ireland than to Transylvania?

Was Count Dracula really a bloodsucking Irish landlord who preyed on his19th century tenants? And were the undead and the gaunt haunted figures that fill the pages of Stoker's famous book straight out of Ireland's Great Famine?

These are the claims of director of the Bram Stoker's Dracula Organization Dennis McIntyre, who says that very few people know that Stoker was in fact an Irishman.

"A lot of people are under the impression that Bram Stoker was an American, an Englishman, or a Romanian, but he wasn't. He was very much an Irishman," McIntyre said in an interview with Ireland's RTE Radio 1.

First published in1897, the book has never been out of print and has been translated into over 50 different languages. But while the story of Dracula is known by every generation throughout the world, many moviegoers and readers are unaware of its origins.

It's widely believed that Bram Stoker's Dracula tells the story of the 15th century bloodthirsty Romanian Prince Vlad Dracula III, better known as Vlad the Impaler.

The Transylvanian prince earned this name because of his reputation for impaling his enemies and watching them slowly and painfully die.
But according to Dennis McIntyre there the similarities end, and with the exception of the setting the story is a very Irish one.

He points out that the name Dracula comes from the Irish word "Droch Ola", which means "bad blood". Stoker's mother was from the West of Ireland and she told Bram about a cholera epidemic in 1832 when she witness large graves and people being pushed into them with wooden poles while they were still alive.

"They were literally buried alive. Did he get the idea of the undead being one of these?" McIntyre asked. If you committed suicide in Stoker's time it was actually believed that you became a vampire unless you got the stake through the heart treatment, he added.

There was a suicide burial plot in Clontarf, Dublin, where Stoker lived. As a boy the author used to spend hours playing in that graveyard and St. Michan's Church, where the Stoker family had a burial vault. "By some atmospheric freak in this church bodies are preserved by a natural mummification or they were in the past," said McIntyre.

Bram Stoker was born in Dublin in 1847 at the height of the Great Famine. This was one of the most catastrophic events in Irish history, with hundreds of thousands of people dying from starvation and disease or emigrating in 'coffin ships' to America.

The famine may have inspired the visual characteristics of Count Dracula and also his infamous obsession with bloodsucking, McIntyre believes. "So metaphorically speaking we think that Count Dracula might be the landlord up at the big castle sucking the blood of the peasants."

Stoker's Dracula is also full of Irish symbols - storms, fog, rats, gypsies, castle, abbey, etc.

Stoker was educated in Trinity College Dublin, spend 10 years working as a civil servant in Dublin Castle and lived his first 31 years in Dublin before moving to England. But he has been the forgotten man of Irish literature, McIntyre believes.

"In Ireland we rightfully sing the praises of Yeats, Joyce, Beckett, Wilde, Shaw, O'Casey, Swift, Goldsmith, Synge, Behan and Kavanagh - but where is Bram Stoker?"

His Dublin based organization was set up as a global focal point for the study of Stoker, and to gain for author the international recognition his work and achievements S deserve.

"Sadly and shamefully the author is totally neglected in his own birthplace, by his own people," the organization's website claims.

Weird, but interesting.

I saw a tv show about "Dracula" The real Val the impaler. It was very scary. Only because I knew it was true. The guy was a sick dude man lol

Casper wrote:

I saw a tv show about "Dracula" The real Val the impaler. It was very scary. Only because I knew it was true. The guy was a sick dude man lol

Yep Vlad like to impale Heads on sticks & they were lined up his walk to the castle If i rememebr right. Sick indeed

I love to watch those shows on Discovery Channel and History channel about Vlad or about Vampires. There's this show I love to watch too called Monster Quest. It even had a show about werewolves.

Lycana wrote:

I love to watch those shows on Discovery Channel and History channel about Vlad or about Vampires. There's this show I love to watch too called Monster Quest. It even had a show about werewolves.

I like those shows too. Never seen Monster Quest that I know of

Monster Quest comes on I think Wed nights on the History channel but it also comes on the weekends. If you go to the History channel website, and look up Monster Quest there are some cool videos! There is one video that truly fascinates me!!! It's a video of these guys bungee jumping or hand gliding off of these Mexican caves and they video taped it. WELL- you see birds and bugs and these THINGS flying around them and the caves. The things are called "rods". They look like flying rods with like six sets of wings along their bodies. You can tell these are authentic video tapes because in many of the scenes you see birds, bugs and the rods together in the same shot. It's amazing! I personally think they are just giant bugs that science hasn't discovered yet.

Here's where you can see it: http://www.history.com/video.do?name=monsterquest

All that vid shows is a Crypto Museum,.

Whats the name of the vid with the neat birds?

It's called "Unidentified Flying Creatures" They are parachuting off the cliffs. You have to wait until the first commercial plays, then you can scroll down till you find the right video.

Lycana wrote:

It's called "Unidentified Flying Creatures" They are parachuting off the cliffs. You have to wait until the first commercial plays, then you can scroll down till you find the right video.

Oh OK. I will be shutting my computer down in a while & probably wont be back at allll today.

We r going to my stepdads tomorrow we leave bet 9-11am take about 5 hrs to get there {depending on the potty breaks LOL} well be there till sunday. He has net but it sucks sometimes so I might not be on much just depends on his net.

Mom wants to go to the store & get some goodies for her & i for the trip he hardly has anything there so we want to make sure we r set for Thrs Fri & Sat lol.

We also have 5 shows 3 of which I'm gunna tape in my room I'm hoping she'll wanna wait till we get back Sunday to watch the ones I tap that way I can go to bed early & be fresh for the 5hr drive there.

So in a nut shell I'm shutting my Computer as soon as I send this & my cell of by 7 & wont be on the computer again till after we get to his house & my cell will be back on after I shower in the morning

I'm gunna save this tab to open next time i open explorer so I can see those neat birds.My stepdad might like to see them too.

Shutting things down ttyl

Okay, have fun! We'll sees ya when ya gets back!

I watcxhed that visd WOW those are neat I hope they can catch one & just get some pics of it then let it go.To figure out what bird family it comes from.

Weren't they cool? I firmly believe whatever they are, they are real.

Well no one has a choice but the believe the r real its right there on tape I believe my eyes i may have cataracts in each eye {but I'm is such early stages the Dr says I'm yrs away from surgery} but i can still see & I saw several flying lines . Like i said i hope they catch one just long enough to photograph & video it so we can see what they look like not flying then let it go.If the scientists look around they may find a dead one then they can experiment on it.I mean if its already dead whats the harm in experimenting? Is that wrong to say? Esp if its a never before seen species of bird or even alien even. Now if the others attack someone for trying to take the dead one away then id leave it be LOL.

I've watched those shows on History and Discovery channels too. Vlad....who knew it was Irish. Wow. And I have watched Monster Quest quite a few times. One thing I am always interested in is Bigfoot (or whatever he is called in other regions.)

Yes, I saw that episode with the bars or whtever those creatures are. Definatly odd. There are always new species of critters being discovered so who knows. May be a new one.

Wow this is cool. Im still watching lol. I thought these shows would be lame. You know always acting like they will find somthing.. then nothing. So I never watched.. bte I LOVE BIG FOOT to!

They are really interesting even though they really never find the supposed 'monster'.

Exactly. One of my Mottos is Ya Never know.Even if its the most outlandish thing thout of. JFK said in the early 60's I want a man on the moon in 10 yrs July,16 1969 Neil armsotrog was the first man on the moon.So Ya never know.

I freaked at the 911 call.....

The 911 call truly scared me. I thought it was either Bigfoot he was seeing or maybe a werewolf!

MMMMMMMM I must see the 911 call

I know... it was so real

Where is this 911 call??? Moster quest addy

http://www.history.com/video.do?name=monsterquest
Scroll the videos to your right. Until you see one that says:
Mutant Canines
under the text you will see its a 911 call

HOLY HALLOWEEN BATMAN. Creeeepy. I wonder if it was a prank?!