Essays and Such
Irish Cultural Society
of San Antonio Texas
Promoting Awareness of Irish Culture
Dracula is Irish
by Bob Slattery
Dracula lore began in Ireland
Dracula lore began in Ireland
Bram Stoker, the author of the world's most famous vampire book, "Dracula, was born in Clontraf, Dublin, Ireland, in 1847, during the terrible years of the Great Famine. He was born in the month of November, traditionally the Month of the Dead! He did not walk until he was age seven and was often confined to his bedroom. He constantly begged his mother to tell, and retell, stories of ancient Irish myths and legends. To these she blithely added accounts of the 1832 cholera epidemic in her native Sligo. They were filled with such memories as hearing the banshee's cry when her mother died. She related how some drank blood extracted from the veins of cattle to ward off the cholera. There were accounts of coffin makers going door to door and hurried burials resulting in speculation that some were buried alive - hardly a normal bedtime story formula but grist for the mill of an impressionable boy's imagination. Superstition, history, folk tales and blood became part of Stoker's lifetime mental file system. Such stories were to inspire several of his eighteen novels, none of which equaled "Dracula." For Stoker, the highlight of any stay in Paris was always a visit to the morgue, open to the public at that time! There is speculation that Stoker would also have been familiar with the Celtic word dhroc, f hole meaning " of bad blood," and pronounced "druc ulla." A strange coincidence with the name "Dracula."