Why are we so fascinated with Dracula's Castle?
536568
it doesn't matter who it belonged to really. the dracula story actually has a home. something tangible to tie it in to our world. and there are some really gruesome facts and studies about vlad dracul apart from bram stoker. \n that castle gives free reign to the imagination. people love a good ghost story. what could be more haunted than dracula's castle?
777587
I've always been obsessed with the paranormal, reading about ghosts and watching scary movies.  Lately I've been watching a lot of Most Haunted and I'm reading a book called Ghost Hunters, about William James's (one of the first psychologists) quest to find out whether the afterlife exists.  Despite my preoccupation, though, I still have to see it for myself to believe it exists, kind of like God.
738324
I think it would be fascinating to find out more, but since I don't make the decisions on where to explore I enjoy reading this link.\n\n\n\nNote to Linh :P    The statement 'I think it would be fascinating to find out more'  should mean yes go explore it and I for one do care about things I don't understand.
703649
I am a paranormal investigator.  And while there are a few graveyards with the reputation of being haunted, it is rare.  If you were a ghost, wouldn't you find a graveyard a boring place to hang out? My wife and I investigated a very old and large graveyard in our town and came away from it with a feeling of great peace and respect for those that had passed on and were buried there.  Nothing scary at all.  I'm sure you have nothing to worry about.  Rest In Peace!
154219
Vlad Tepes or Bela Lugosi a.k.a Dracula\nIsn't it funny how people from the Balkans always ask about their country as if nobody has heard of it? I thought of exactly the same thing to do when I first discovered Yahoo Answers. "What is Bulgaria?" ..it's rather sad man\nDo you see anyone asking "What is France?" or "What is Germany?"\nWe are doomed to a constant search for approval and reassurance that people know who we are...
989366
I am intrigued...Tell me more.
886593
I have heard of it, but not enough to give an opinion! But what I watched about it makes my want to know a little more! It is very intriguing.
536754
Vlad the Impaler (1431-1476)\n\nAs you may well know, author Bram Stoker (1847-1912) based the title character of his 1897 novel Dracula on an actual human being, or should we say inhuman being.  \n\nEven if you haven't yet read Stoker's novel, and seen the stage play which came after, you have probably seen some of the many films based on his character. Some of the most important cinematic adaptations are F.W. Murnau's 1922 masterpiece "Nosferatu", which was loosely based on Dracula but subjected to a "makeover" for copyright reasons, Todd Browning's "Dracula", which starred Bela Lugosi, a Romanian actor who had previously incarnated the titular character on the stage, and would forever be remembered, and unfortunately typecast as Dracula; the British Hammer Films releases of the 70s, which starred Christopher Lee as a sexier, and far more violent vampire.  While there were others in between, one of the most interesting, although flawed adaptation, of Dracula was Francis Ford Coppola's 1992 release, "Bram Stoker's Dracula".  Coppola's version is noteworthy for it's inclusion of the "Order of the Dracul", which cleverly interwove the fictional vampire with the historical figure.
382685
It would be awesome if it did exist, but they would have to keep it secret. For some reason, anything that we don't understand, we have to attack. To combine science/technology with the marvel of magic - sigh. How incredible. Hey, we can dream, can't we?  Try reading the Southern Vampire books by Charlaine Harris - they have a different view on a "what if" like your question - only this deals with vampires! Or Terry Brooks Landover series, beginning with Magic Kingdom for Sale: Sold!  Great "what if" books!!! Enjoy - & keep dreaming & asking questions, please!!!
638586
I love the novel. The glowing eyes, the 'is it a cat or Erik' mystery, the house on the lake, the torture chamber, the rat catcher, all of it.\n\nIt's a great novel, especially when begun with Gaston Leroux's sworn statement that the whole thing is true.
1106923
this house where some relatives of mine lived in England was up for sale, and they took pictures of the garden and the house for the brochure. it was an old house. they got the pictures developed, but didn't put some of them, which were the best pictures, in the brochure. wanna know why? well, in one picture there was a ghostly white figure standing under a tree. it was not there in reality. And in a picture of the back of the house there was a window. and in that window there was a face. you could sat that someone just chose a bad moment to look out the window, and it was caught in the picture, but no, because in reality there WAS no window to look out! \n\nThis is all true, no joke, I have seen the pictures, and it looks bloody convincing to me! they were quite old and it was before all those computer graphic things, so it had to be real. no joke.\nhonest.
411112
The stories say it is haunted.  I have been there several times and  I took lots of photos.  Nothing showed up on the photos (no orbs, mists, lights, etc.) and nothing unusual happened while I was there.  They do give special flashlight tours every Friday the 13th and at Halloween.  Sometimes they have ghost hunters come in a group.  No one has come up with anything definitive or all that unusual.  But, hey, you might get to the be the  lucky one!
239048
because its BEAUTIFUL, and very historic!
828364
Because it is human nature to be curious and want to know what is going on in the world especially ones own small little world like your work environment or you school environment. They also have the need for information as that is how we learn and grow.  Like for instance I heard a story on the news about some human remains that had been discovered in a wooded area near where I live.  I wanted more info about this story so I dug (no pun intended) for some more info about it on the Internet. As humans we want to learn as much as we can so if somebody has something interesting to tell us we listen and if it is really good, really interesting then we pass it on and that is how gossip gets started. Just my thoughts on it! Hope this is helpful. *hugs* JAC<
51218
The Slavs (from around the year 300) believed that vampires were afraid of silver (but couldn't be killed with it) and that one could kill them by cutting their head off and placing it between their legs, or by stabbing them with a wooden stake in the heart. During the Middle Ages, the myth transformed a bit. People used holy water, wooden stake, and cross to kill a vampire (we can see the influence of the Christianity here). If people suspected that a dead person has turned into a vampire, they would dig them out and stick a stake into the heart. This wasn't meant to kill the vampire but to bind it to the grave. Serbs believed that every single drop of blood had to be destroyed or else the vampire would still be "alive" (they were more or less living corpses, but you get my point) so they used to burn the vampire after that. Then butterflies would fly out of the vampire and people had to kill each one of them. \nGarlic can only scare the vampire because of its strong and unpleasant smell. In order to stop the vampire's visits at night, people would hang garlic near every hole in the house (for example keyhole, chimney, windows..., because people believed that the vampire could enter the house even through the smallest hole). One could also throw some seeds before the vampire, since they had to stop and count them all. \nI'm not really sure how they used to capture them. I know vampires could be captured by stealing that cloth they had over them in the grave, but I have seen this only in vampire stories. But in reality, people were just killing them and they were probably too scared to just capture them (that'd be pointless, wouldn't it). Although in Asia there were some kinds of vampires which people used to capture and then keep them in wooden cages and feed them eggs :P I haven't heard of any captured werewolves either. If you want to investigate a bit, try reading some legends and old beliefs from the Balkans; I promise you'll find it very interesting!
826838
I found this:\n\nThe castle was built for the Buiel family in the second half of the 15th century. This was a family that had distinguished itself in The Hundred Years War and now was seeking a home befitting there new rank in society. The family did not stay long however for Antoine De Buiel, the husband of Louis VII’s daughter, sold the castle in 1485 to Charles Espinay who set about making many improvements and is known for having the famous chapel built on the grounds. The Espinays served as chamberlains to many of the royalty and kings of their time. This castle has changed hands many times. \n\nCompared to the other castles of the Loire Valley, the Usse has a very tranquil history. It was built on the foundation of an 11th century fortress. Because of its combination of beauty and fortress like appearance, it is believed that Perrault wrote his famous story, “Sleeping Beauty,” based on Usse. Of the structure Perrault wrote, “Chateau de la Belle au bois dormant.” This is one of eleven fairytales he wrote in a collection called, “Les Contes de ma mere l’Oye.” \n\nThe castle played another part in history when it stood as a model for the design of Disney’s famous Cinderella’s Castle in Disney World. Designers used this and other castles of the Loire Valley. Looking at a picture of the two, it is easy to see the similarities between the them.
246563
Dracula, or the concept of Dracula, was based on a real man. He was prince over Wallachia, which today is Romania, northernmost of the Balkan countries. He was also known as Vlad the Impaler...this name given because he would impale his victims (said to be between 60,000 to 100,000 people of both sexes and all ages). He also was rumored to have drunk the blood of his victims. \nThus is how the concept of "Dracula" or vampires was created. I think it was Bram Stoker who furthered the idea of vampires (good movie by the way). \n"How did he come to be called Dracula? It was a sobriquet, an unofficial title derived from the simple fact that his father was called Dracul. 'Drac' means 'devil' in Romanian. It also means 'dragon.' 'Ul' is a suffix denoting the fefinite article 'the.' La is a diminutive ending meaning 'son of.' Dracula, therefore, son of Dracul, was also Son of the Devil or Son of the Dragon." (Page 7)\n\nVampires DO exist, just not in the ways we are used to through TV or movies. They are still people with severe mental illnesses...there's quite a few terms for them and different levels or stages. Some have actual "covenants" where they drink each other's blood. Some people have their teeth filed, and some take it the the extreme by never going outside during the day (for fear they will die).\n\nHope the info has been helpful.