Mythology - Celtic Cultural Impact: Dracula and other vampires Image Credits: Dmitry Burmak (@devburmak on instagram) Abhartach was a dwarf warlord with magical powers who enjoyed inflicting cruelties upon the people under his rule. Tired of his tyranny, his subjects pleaded to a neighboring chieftain, Cathain, for help. Cathain came to their aid and managed to kill Abhartach with ease. As was custom for Celtic rulers, Abhartach was buried standing up in a grave. But the next day, Abhartach broke out of his tomb, more powerful and evil than ever. He’d developed a taste for blood, demanding bowls of it from the wrist of his subjects to sustain his undead corpse. Baffled by this, Cathain consulted a christian priest, who advised to kill Abhartach with a sword made of yew wood. The priest also warned that unless Abhartach was buried upside down underneath a massive stone, the undead vampire would rise again. Cathain took the priest’s advice and managed to kill Abhartach for good, burying him under a massive stone next to a tree. This grave can still be found in the town of Slaughtaverty in Northern Ireland (Shown in the second image) Bram Stoker, the author of Dracula, was born in Ireland and said to have been inspired by Abhartach’s character. This theory is still up for debate as another theory links Dracula to a Romanian ruler known as Vlad the Impaler. For more posts about mythological figures and folklore, please check out my instagram channel, runesofhistory Link: https://www.instagram.com/runesofhistory/ More on reddit.com

Hi Everyone, I hope its okay to post here what I have found on Bram Stoker and his novel Dracula. For context I am an Irish folklorist and I studied the original text in university. The most famous connection to Dracula is Vlad Tepes, or Vlad the Impaler. This idea was introduced by Basil Kirtley in 1958. It was widely accepted after the publishing of "In Search of Dracula" by Raymond McNally and Radu Florescu in 1972. However they later moved back from this position after finding Bram's notes in Rosenbach Museum, Philadelphia the same year. The notes had been sold by Bram's wife when he died in 1912 and remained put of reach to academics until they resurfaced. The only note Bram made about the name in his notes reads "DRACULA in Wallachian language means DEVIL" and he did highlight both words. The only Dracula he mentions crossed the Danube to attack Turkish troops. There is no connection to Vlad Tepes. However there are many interesting Irish connections. Bram may have been inspired by the Great Famine in Ireland, which he witnessed as a young child. He was a sickly youth and his uncle, a doctor, used leaches to clean his blood. His mother also told him stories about Sligo, where she had witnessed a cholera epidemic wipe out approx 20% of the town population. As for the setting, the first 101 pages of the original manuscript were removed as the publisher did not want to make the story linked too closely to London as it was only a short time after the Jack the Ripper murders. For gothic fiction of the time, Transylvania was seen as an exotic location for fiction so Bram's choice of setting was consistent with that trend. Finally, Irish folklore. There is a vampire in Irish Mythology called Abhartach. He was a lord who terrorised his people, drank their blood and rose from the dead. He could only be killed by a wooden sword through the heart and buried upside down. Bram studied in Trinity College Dublin in the 1860s and at this time there was a book in the library titled "Abhartach, Dreach-Fhoula" (Irish Words you would pronounce Drac-ula in english). This translates to mean bad or tainted blood. Abhartach is said to be buried in a wedge Tomb in Derry, Northern Ireland. Dreach-Fhoula also connects to Irish mythology as in the south, in the Kerry Mountains there is a place called Dun Dreach-Fhoula which is said to be the residence of a race of blood-drinking Fairies. There is no doubt that Bram Stoker took inspiration from many many more sources than the ones I listed here. But I feel there is a compelling argument for their inclusion. I have linked a video I made, partially filming inside the field where the Abhartach lies. We actually had enormous difficulty locating the field in the dark as a heavy fog came down as we approached. None of the work is commercial or for profit under Balor Otherworld . I share it only so you have a reference for the information I included in the post. More on reddit.com