Bran Castle Dracula Transylvania Romania
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A Day Trip to Bran Castle: A Romanian Landmark

Sherianne Higgins·
Castles, Manors and RuinsRomania Travel
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Visit Bran Castle, Find Dracula in Transylvania Romania

I have always wanted to visit Transylvania Romania around Halloween. I imagine the Gothic Bran Castle sitting high on its 200-foot rock with a full moon behind it, a little bit of fog, and enough wind to make the trees creak. Throw in a few bats and coffins and I may faint. I know I know… don’t roll your eyes at me. Dracula is a fictional character invented by Bram Stoker who never went to Romania. The character was possibly based on Vlad the Impaler who never lived at the castle. Bran Castle is not real, it is a fake Dracula Castle.  I know.

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Bran Castle Dracula Transylvania Romania
Bran Castle

History and Myths Surrounding Bran Castle

On the flip side, Vlad Tepes was imprisoned at Bran Castle for several months. He enjoyed impaling his enemies so much so that historians describe him as bloodthirsty. Vlad was from the house of Dracul, which translated to Dragon back in the day; today it translates to Devil. Romanians originally viewed Vlad as a hero because he fought against the Ottomans defending Christianity. The Catholic Church turned on him over money and began calling him Vlad the Devil. Facts aside, Bran Castle has all the makings of a perfect Dracula Castle! It’s Gothic, it has secret tunnels and passageways, and, it fits Stoker’s fictional description in the book. I’m on board!

Bran Castle Dracula Transylvania Romania
Bran Castle

Is Dracula’s Castle Real?

People love to complain about Bran Castle. It is either not real, not touristy enough, or too touristy. Surprisingly, Romania has not jumped on the ghost tour phenomenon. Could it be because, for many, it is real? What?!?  Yep.  Don’t believe me? Google ‘Vampire Craiova’. You will find articles such as: ‘Six men jailed for exhuming a vampire to eat his heart’. They were convicted for desecrating a grave but didn’t actually go to jail. And they shared their heart with a bunch of sick villagers who immediately were well.  They are not sorry; they believe they saved the village. True story… 2005. Vampires are not vampires in Romania or Bulgaria.  They are Strigoi and they do not like the living.  This belief remains so strong in the villages that it is customary to pierce the heart after someone dies to prevent them from coming back and terrorizing the village. Go back to Google, I have another fun one for you. Enter ‘Vampire Grave Bulgaria’. They ran DNA on this skeleton and found indicators of Porphyria. Porphyria is a blood disease that causes victims to be sensitive to sunlight, their gums shrink making their teeth look like fangs and they develop an aversion to garlic. A garlic aversion would be a noticeable problem in Romania where everything is cooked with garlic!

Bran Castle Dracula Transylvania Romania
Bran Castle

Visit Bran Castle in Transylvania

What does all this have to do with Bran Castle? Setting the scene! Do not expect a castle-sized haunted house when you visit. There will not be scary music playing as you climb the stairs (unless you remember to download it to your phone), there are no coffins in the bedrooms, no large pictures with beady eyes watching you as you walk by, and not a single bat. It’s quite disappointing. Instead, you will find a castle restored to reflect the life of Queen Mary. Which is more accurate historically. If you are wanting the vampire version, you need to create it yourself.  Start with a few Google searches. Then download some scary music, make a garlic necklace, bring a cross (or two), and some holy water. Have fun, but as always, be respectful of those around you.  BTW, Queen Mary had her heart buried at Bran Castle after her death… things that make me go hmmm.

Bran Castle Dracula Transylvania Romania
Bran Castle

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24 Responses

  1. Pingback: Short Folktales Stories and Legends from Around the World -

  2. Bran Castle was the one place I wanted to visit in Romania, and I ended up finding it a bit disappointing. The interior is sparse. It doesn’t need to be a giant haunted house, but surely they could do something more interesting. I found the exterior to be imposing and photo worthy, but touring the interior to just not be worth the time of entry fee.

    1. I was amazed at how tiny all the doors were and loved to secret staircase

  3. Am definitely adding Bran Castle and Romania on my list of countries to visit once am there in UK. A visit to Bran Castle would be a delight for the Dracula lovers for sure.

  4. Omg, I loved the way you set the scene! I was laughing so hard at your comments. I really thought that the castle would be more ominous, so I’ll have to take your suggestion and download some scary music for when I visit. lol!

  5. Just my kind of adventure. Always looking for something interesting and unique. You definitely found that here at Bran’s Castle.

  6. How interesting…pierce the heart so that one does not come back to terrorize the village. It’s always interesting to learn about the beliefs (true or not) that hold a village or community together. Fascinating read!

  7. I have been in Romania once, but the north part! It is totally an another world and it was one of my best trip. Transylvania never been but that is a curious place!

  8. I didn’t know that they would pierce the deceased’s heart! Neither about porphyria! That is so interesting! Thank you for sharing these stories! I can’t wait to explore Bran Castle, and will probably tell all the vampire stories I’ll read about on Google to the ones traveling with me! Haha..

  9. This must be a really cool trip. I like all these stories about Dracula but never had a chance to visit Romania. It’s so close to Poland where I live right now that I shoould just plan a trip 🙂

    best,
    Kasia

  10. Thanks for this article – I’ve heard quite a lot about Bran Castle, and you’re right, usually the reviews are disappointed but I think that’s because they assumed and expected a dracula version of a haunted house – like a theme park ride almost, but instead they get a historically accurate castle – which is awesome if that’s what you’re into (I’m fascinated by the life of Queen Mary) but will definitely disappoint if you’re expecting to be spooked! I would like to visit, and I choose not to Google for horror stories as I don’t think my stomach can handle it LOL!!

  11. Whether Bran Castle – Dracula story is fictional or not, there is something so appealing and mysterious about it. We love mystery, and the castle does fill a bit creepy which adds to it. Especially knowing now that Queen Mary’s heart was buried there. I have to get to Romania thanks for the inspiration!

  12. Looks way cool to me Sherianne. Grandpa was from Transylvania; cue Dracula jokes. He did move to the States in the 40’s but spent his formative years in this region of Romania. Between being a root of some of my heritage, the beauty of the region and yeah, the Dracula bit, I will visit one day.

  13. This is an interesting read. I would love to visit soon. Preparing myself now to get spookified.

  14. I think most of us have that Image of what Bran castle would be like – I’ve always wanted to Visit Romania, and Transylvania for that reason. I do remember when I lived in the Czech Republic a Romanian guy had told me that it’s not how I or anybody builds it up to be. Do love the way you have wrote this piece, kept me entertained 😀

  15. I’m planning a trip there next summer so I’ll book mark this. There is so much history behind this place and your photos of it are stunning. Thanks for the info.

  16. Romania is on my plans for next year and I’ve been dying to go to Dracula castle. The photos do it justice, cannot wait! Thank you for sharing!

  17. Whether its fake, touristy or whatever I would still love to visit it. It looks like so much fun. It would be interesting to see it really.

  18. Looks a fun trip and reachable from Bucharest, would love to visit Transylvania, the scenery looks stunning.

  19. Fake or not, it’s still fun (I’ve never been, just surmising from your story). Eat your heart out, real Dracula castles!

  20. Sometimes it’s fun to do things even if they are touristy, or if the hype around them is based on a fictional story rather than real history. But here there’s kind of a mingling of some real stuff that bleeds (pun intended) into the fictional! 🙂

  21. I’m planning a trip through Eastern Europe early next summer and you’d better believe Romania is on the list. I love visiting places that inspired literature and this has the added bonus of being freakin’ beautiful!

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