Blog Post #4 — Writing 2
I’ve decided to do my research on the real life religious and occult origins of the supernatural elements in Dracula.
“This is a terrible thought, for if so, what does it mean that he could control the wolves, as he did, by only holding up his hand for silence? How was it that all the people at Bistritz and on the coach had some terrible fear for me? What meant the giving of the crucifix, of the garlic, of the wild rose, of the mountain ash? Bless that good, good woman who hung the crucifix round my neck! For it is a comfort and a strength to me whenever I touch it. It is odd that a thing which I have been taught to regard with disfavour and as idolatrous should in a time of loneliness and trouble be of help. Is it that there is something in the essence of the thing itself, or that it is a medium, a tangible help, in conveying memories of sympathy and comfort? Some time, if it may be, I must examine this matter and try to make up my mind about it.“
I chose this passage since it contains several ways of warding off supernatural beings like Dracula. I want to analyze where those ideas come from and what else they have been applied to. To do this I was thinking I’d look for where the country of Transylvania is supposed to be in our world and see what religious cultures are prevalent around there. Then I’d look at the specific practices of the people and see where they originated from. It seems interesting to me to see what is actually practiced and what was just made up for the story.
In the story itself, these elements of “magic” are used to both ward off evil and as tools of evil as well. This functions in the story so far as a source of power that up to this point Dracula seems to have a lot of. I wonder where he got his powers from or whether he was the original vampire and the rest are descended from him. I find the connection to Christianity especially interesting. The only other times I’ve seen crucifixes used this way is when a priest is doing an exorcism. Does this imply that Dracula is a demon or some other creature with ties to hell itself? There’s a lot to find out and I’m excited to pursue this endeavor.
