Dracula's castle: Spanish vampire Count's Costa Brava haunt
Monday, October 24, 2022 @ 7:48 PM
BRAM Stoker's terrifying fictional Count from Transylvania might not have been the first undead human parasite in popular culture, but is certainly the most famous worldwide – and is credited with having started a genre that continues to generate blockbuster films and bestselling novels today. Without the daylight-avoiding, coffin-sleeping Dracula, Brad Pitt would not have had his huge rôle in Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire, Buffy wouldn't have had any creatures to slay in the cult TV series, and Stephanie Meyer's Twilight trilogy would not be avidly devoured by young adult readers in the 21st century.
Llers Castle, reputedly home to a 12th-century vampire who wreaked terror over the village (photo: Albert Sarola Juanola/Wikimedia Commons)
But Spain's very own Count Dracula is believed to have lived centuries before his counterpart in Stoker's gothic masterpiece.
He resided in a castle close to the Costa Brava, and it was his own fault he became a blood-sucking immortal. If he hadn't been involved in burning witches, he would have been resting in peace for the last 800 years.
Mediaeval powerpoint: Almost intact 1,000 years on
This year, the national holiday on November 1 – All Saints' Day – falls on a Tuesday (remember to do your shopping the day before, as a bank holiday means everywhere is shut), so many Spanish residents will have booked the Monday off work to make a long weekend of it.
And if you're one of these, and planning a Hallowe'en road trip, you could make it authentic by heading to one of Spain's notorious 'haunted' sites or, given that temperatures on the Mediterranean are still expected to be in the low to mid-20ºCs around then, take in the Costa Brava and combine it with a visit to the village of Llers.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com