Transylvanian Vampires ― Folktales of the Living Dead Retold

Authentic vampire tales exist in Transylvanian folklore. Yet the Transylvanian vampire is nothing like the bloodthirsty Count of Bram Stoker's imagination or the romantic hero of popular fiction. The Romanian tradition comes from the villages, reflecting the norms of peasant life and wisdom embedded in age-old communities. This book consists of 21 narratives created by the author, developed from the brief accounts recorded by amateur anthropologists and cultural historians from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The goal is to capture the major themes found in the existing sources, retrieving the narrative thread and bringing the stories back to life. The book also includes translations of 17 brief folk stories about Vlad epe , known as Dracula. Contrary to the prevailing fictive image, these stories portray Vlad as a wise although strict ruler and a proud defender of his country's autonomy. An introduction discusses the Transylvanian village and its rich folk traditions, making explicit the comparison of the folkloric vampire to the historic and the fictional Dracula. An interlude analyzes the characteristics of the Transylvanian vampire, including village superstitions regarding how to recognize and destroy one. Transylvania deserves recognition for its own vampire stories, rather than those artificially created for it.

Adriana Groza teaches in the Rhetoric and Writing Department at San Diego State University. She was born in the Romanian province of Transylvania, but now lives in San Diego, California.