125 anniversary of Dracula novel writing in Whitby celebrated with a free Halloween party at Dracula's Castle

CAPE MAY, N.J. - April 17, 2015 - PRLog -- "We wanted to celebrate Bram Stoker’s influence on our lives. We are thrilled to offer a second party, beside the usual Halloween Party, that we keep each year, from the past 10 years, in the medieval citadel of Sighisoara, during our Dracula Tours and short breaks, that departs around Halloween. We were staying on one old bench in the central piazzetta from Sighisoara Citadel, the birthplace of Vlad Tepes aka Dracula, in a sunny autumn morning, after a successful Halloween party in 2014 and we were discussing with our team the great feedback we have received from the party goers; so I was wondering what’s better than a successful Halloween party for our tour goers? Two successful Halloween parties, in one tour - one in the citadel were Dracula was born and the second in the iconic Bran Castle. Transylvania is a great destination for our customers and we are happy to offer 2 Halloween parties in all our Halloween Dracula Tours with the occasion of the 125th anniversary of Dracula novel writing in Whitby,” said Hertha Todea CEO of Transylvania Live–expert in Transylvania

In 2015 Whitby, a little town from North Yorkshire, UK is proudly celebrating the 125th anniversary of the research and writing of Dracula by Bram Stoker, which took place in there in 1890. There is a Bram Stoker International Film Festival each year and a biannual Whitby Goth Weekend, an established and popular gothic festival kept in Whitby that attracts thousands of visitors.

Stoker visited Whitby in 1890 and that visit is said to be part of the inspiration of his great novel Dracula. While director of London's Lyceum Theatre, he started writing novels, beginning with The Snake's Pass in 1890 and Dracula finalized and published in 1897.

During this period, Stoker was part of the literary staff of the The Daily Telegraph in London.

On October the 24th, 1885, the Russian ship Dmitri ran aground in Whitby.  The Dmitri (renamed in the novel as the Demeter) served as a source inspiration for Dracula’s iconic entrance into Whitby 5 years after the real life event. In 2015, there will be exactly 130 years to the day.

On the other side of Europe, the influence of Stoker’s novel is obvious:  in nowadays Transylvania a hotel was built in Borgo Pass, near Bistrita, were Bram Stoker’s imagination  placed the Dracula Castle in the novel. This hotel is now a successful business, so a statue of Bram Stoker was erected in the front of the hotel.  Dracula themed hotels were built in Brasov and Turda and there are several Dracula themed restaurants all over the country.

As professor Duncan Light, who specialized in Dark Tourism from Bournemouth University, UK observed in his book, The Dracula Dilemma, “For many in the West, Romania is synonymous with Count Dracula. Since the publication of Bram Stoker's famous novel in 1897 Transylvania (and by extension, Romania) has become inseparable in the Western imagination with Dracula, vampires and the supernatural.”

Tour operators, like Transylvania Live-expert in Transylvania, specialized in Dark Tourism, has created literary Dracula Tours on the footstep of Jonathan Harker. Hundreds of tours are kept over the summer touristic season. The other main opportunity to participate in a Dracula Tour in Transylvania is on Halloween. The prestigious Fodor's travel guide, placed Halloween in Transylvania in Top 10 Must-Do Adventures (http://www.visit-transylvania.us/img/top-10-must-do-adventures.pdf)

Beside visiting Transylvania, tourists are invited to participate at masquerade parties and special events are experienced in this Romanian vacation:

·         Killing of the Living Dead ritual - Helping a haunted spirit to gain his peace - attending the ritual of killing a vampire

·         Learning how to make a special stake to kill a Vampire from the VampireWooden Stake Specialist, a famous woodcraftsman from Maramures

·         Visiting  Bran Castle, Peles Castle- Legendary castles in Transylvania with plenty of good stories for a Dracula tour

·         Special accommodations, the finest selections of "Dracula Hotels" including Dracula's Castle in Transylvania - Bram Stoker's imaginary castle in Borgo Passwhere, he placed the Bloody Count Dracula, accommodation and candle lit dinner,

·         Enjoy Jonathan Harker's Menu - the same meal Bram Stoker's hero served when in Bistrita citadel

·         Vampire menu for dinner in Turda to find out why it's worth killing for a meal!

·        Traditional dinner in Sibiu, the Cultural Capital of Europe in 2007

·         Survivor's Certificates are handed out at the farewell dinner that concludes the tour.

These dracula tours are intended to Halloween enthusiasts, culture and history fans, adventure seekers.

Departing from Bucharest from June till September, the Vampire in Transylvania –Dracula Tours with a special edition on Halloween these tours offer a 7 day trip back in time, following Jonathan Harker's footsteps but revealing the genuine historical facts and places. Price start at 1159€ with half board.

The 3 day short breaks departs both from Bucharest and Cluj-Napoca, Transylvania’s main airport, with a direct flight from London, includes the Halloween parties and starts at 569€.