In this workshop we will deal with the Romanian myths and folk tales Bram Stoker studied while writing Dracula. These will include information Stoker derived from well-known sources, such as Emily Gerard's article in The Nineteenth Century; even more exciting would be to present sources and stories that have not been discussed before with regard to Dracula. The workshop will also deal with the lives and deeds of the Drăculeștis: the descendants of Vlad II Dracul, who ruled Wallachia during nearly 160 years, alternating with the Dăneștis.

Possible topics (without limitation) could be:

• Emily Gerard's article (Transylvanian Myths and Superstitions, 1885) and her later book (The Land beyond the Forest, 1888): How can we be sure that Stoker read the first but not the latter?
• The legend of the Scholomance and the Solomonari; the myth of Solomon's Rock: did Emily Gerard mix anything up
• The true location of the Scholomance
• The origins of the word "vampire" and its Romanian equivalents
• How did the vampire acquire an erotic appeal: the vampire and the zburătorul
• The historical Dracula family: From Vlad II Dracula till Michael the Brave. Ancestry, life and character.
• Descendants of the Dracula family living in the Szekler region in the 19th century?
• The lifetime-identity of the Count: the end of the McNally & Florescu vs. Miller debate