19th Century Transylvania

March 24, 2025

Map of Romania, Transylvania in the center (3)

The story of Bram Stoker's Dracula begins in Transylvania, a region covering central Romania, known for its unique Gothic architecture and mountainous terrain. The reader is thrown into Transylvania with the perspective of Jonathan Harker, leaving us largely uninformed of the region's unique culture and history, which can give us a much better feel for the setting of the book and why it was chosen for the location of the villain, Count Dracula. 

Superstition and Folklore

Romania as a whole, but especially Transylvania, was (and continues to be) a region extremely rich in folklore, superstitions, and supernatural beliefs. The folklore Bram Stoker references in Dracula is that of the Strigoi, or as we know them in English, vampires. Vampires were first noted in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, as much of Eastern Europe at the time was in a sort of craze regarding vampiric legend. In Romanian myth, they were first depicted as a "revenant who left his grave in corporeal form, brought death to the living, and returned to his grave periodically" (1). Very obviously, this is the inspiration of the Count himself, and Stoker's depiction of his vampiric tendencies and powers. 

Stoker himself actually revealed in a later interview after the book's release that he had drawn his inspiration for the character from Emily Gerard's Transylvanian Superstitions (2), released in July of 1885. Notably, Gerard speaks of the vampire's desire to drink the blood of their victims (1), which we see both Dracula and the three vampire women do in the novel. 

Transylvanian Geography and Architecture

Transylvania is an extremely mountainous part of Romania, one of its key defining traits. Dracula's castle is located among the Carpathian Mountains, a large mountain range that spans across much of Romania. These mountains in particular are steeped in myth and folklore, and many Romanians believe them to be the home of the previously mentioned Strigoi, making these mountains the perfect choice for Stoker when deciding the home of the Count. 

Castle Bran (4)

The architecture in this area is also iconic in Stoker's depiction of Castle Dracula. Much of Transylvanian architecture is known for its Gothic appearance, influenced by the Saxons. With tall, stone buildings looming overhead, the architecture of the land is used by Stoker as a way to make the reader feel just as intimidated as Harker was in the beginning of the story, first laying eyes upon the castle. Stoker was also known to have consulted four different texts when researching castles in search of inspiration for Castle Dracula (4). Among these texts, the most significant discovery was that of Castle Bran, a castle known widely as the "real-life" Castle Dracula. Though the actual connections between the castle and any myth of vampires is likely exaggerated, Dr. Marius Crisan, a senior lecturer at The West University of Timişoara, Romania, contends that Castle Bran served as the primary inspiration for Stoker when coming up with the castle we see in the book. 

Works Cited

(1) Johnson, Patrick. “Count Dracula and the Folkloric Vampire: Thirteen Comparisons.” Journal of Dracula 

Studies Journal of Dracula Studies, vol. 3, 2001, p. 6, research.library.kutztown.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?

article=1016&context=dracula-studies.  Accessed 24 Mar. 2025.

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(2) The Nineteenth Century, Kegan Paul, Trench & Co., London, July-December 1885, pp. 130-150. Emily Gerard. Transylvanian Superstitions Gutenberg.org, 2025, www.gutenberg.org/files/52165/52165-h/52165-h.htm. Accessed 24 Mar. 2025.

(3) Researchgate.net, 2021, www.researchgate.net/figure/Map-of-Romania-with-Transylvania-as-one-of-its

regions-Source_fig1_350073171. Accessed 24 Mar. 2025.

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(4) Crisan, Marius. The Models for Castle Dracula in Stoker’s Sources on Transylvania. West University of Timisoara, Romania, 2008, research.library.kutztown.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1058&context=dracula-studies. Accessed 24 Mar. 2025.

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