History, Myth, Folklore & Fun

Written by D.C. Thomas

Clarksville, TN – Happy All Hallows, y'all!

Throughout every spirited October, we rejoice in all activities, food, fashion, candy in bulk and décor that lead to the culmination of the most fang-tastic of all holidays: Halloween night.

As we indulge in Halloween-themed events and treats, we also return to literary and cinematic favorites: Bram Stoker's Dracula, Walt Disney's Hocus Pocus, Tim Burton's Beetlejuice and Wednesday (Netflix TV Series), Alice Hoffman's Practical Magic, Universal Pictures' Dracula Untold, Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles, J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series and many more.

During this season, Halloween's fictional universe is at the center of a multi-billion-dollar industry, on a global scale, sparked by history, myth and folklore that shaped many cultures for thousands of years: mummies, ghosts, zmeu, balaur, witches, vampires, ghouls, the Kraken, the Gorgons, werewolves, zombies, banshees, goblins, etc.

Quickly, what's the first thing you associate with Halloween? For me, it's Dracula: all the cultural spin-offs and the historical character, the Prince of Wallachia, on which many vampiric figures were based and developed in popular culture, besides the Moroi (Strigoi). You see, being raised in Romania – ground zero for our beloved fanged master of all monsters – I became acquainted with Vlad Dracula (aka Vlad the Impaler, Draculea, Vlad III, Vlad Tepes) early in my life while studying the history of my maternal country.

In my Media and Culture class at the University (APSU), a classmate reacted with amazement during our conversation: "Dracula is real?" she asked. I nodded then clarified that historically speaking Vlad Dracula was a Voivode of Wallachia (a prince of Southern Romania) and not Count of Transylvania with immortal fangs, an edgy cape and parched for human blood.

I like to think that he loved red wine as many Romanians do. Also, there is no historical record suggesting that Vlad the Impaler would mutter the phrase "Bleh, bleh-bleh!" as Count Dracula in the Hotel Transylvania animated film does.

As funny as this Count is in Hotel Transylvania and as well as Count Chocula® cereals (General Mills) mix with milk, Vlad the Impaler's reputation for cruelty is a significant part of his legacy; this is tied to his dreadful acts of impaling his enemies and traitors. Do take it with a grain of salt when you read about his acts. Or hold onto a garlic braid.

His contemporaries exaggerated numerous stories and poems to damage his image and weaken his stance in the world, yet he's considered a national hero by many Romanians as the core of his entire rule was to protect his people against the Ottoman Empire.

In the overall Halloween scheme, Count Dracula is accompanied by bats, other vampires and acolytes who operate in a world whose background sounds are provided by werewolves riled up by a full moon, spine-chilling gales and wraith-like cries.

Romania's ancient land was occupied by many throughout the millennia of mankind's existence. In the richness of its geography – the Carpathian Mountains, leafy hills striated by rivers and over 12,000 caves – many mysteries and beliefs have been passed on from one generation to another. Fun fact, Vlad Dracul's name was received when he became a member of the Order of the Dragon. In addition, Dracula's existence preceded Stoker's fiction (maybe detrimental to Romanian history) with the etymology of this ancient word being rooted in Greco-Latin words meaning dragon (drakon, draco). Hence, Vlad the Dragon.

Bram Stoker's Gothic horror novel added weight to the usage of the word drac (meaning devil) in the Modern Romanian language and established Vlad Dracula as more of a demonic presence in the world's pop culture – the quintessential vampire.

Here, I am leading you to another insight into Romania's vast history where myth and ancient beliefs were placed in the military standard known as the Dacian Draco. This wolf-headed serpent is depicted on Trajan's Column in Rome, Italy, in the Romano-Dacian war scenes. This "heavenly dragon" was carried into battle by Dacians, people inhabiting the ancient lands of today's Romania known as Dacia or the Dacian Kingdom, during a time when they believed in Zamolxis.

All Hallows' Eve is a universal celebration of many cultures merging paths in the same land. During my time spent in Clarksville these past eleven years, I've had many opportunities to see how people here celebrate Halloween and embrace figures from various sources. The diversity of each year's Halloween celebration stands out during the trick-or-treating tradition that starts after sunset. Honoring this tradition, children and adults who are in pursuit of sweet treats and fun, wear costumes inspired by supernatural characters, historical figures, myths, pop culture villains, heroes and contemporary mashups that are difficult to categorize.

But it doesn't all need to be macabre and scary.

Many of the cutest outfits one could see roaming the streets for candy during these dark hours, lit by bright carved pumpkins, can also be costumes depicting bumblebees, angels, animals, royalty, jobs from various industries and more. We want to have fun and celebrate the cultures of this world.

Halloween is part of a global web of well-known and obscure traditions; for example, the Day of the Dead, Samhain, Allantide, Luminatia (Romania's Day of the Dead) – these holidays are rooted in ancient celebrations of cultures that continue to merge in today's world. Whether rooted in pagan practices or Christian observances, Halloween may be an ever-growing fun precursor and opportunity for many diverse communities to gather and share joy.

Our annual Fright on Franklin does that successfully in Historic Downtown Clarksville. It is in the November 1st–6th interval of each year (depending on each community) that we see the culmination of people's veneration of the dead, visiting the cemeteries, lighting candles and honoring the departed as they align with All Saints' Day or All Souls' Day. Going back to the fun activities for the night of October 31st, Halloween – a holiday that's celebrated worldwide – is an opportunity for people in many countries to celebrate in the ways they relate to it through their costume choices and how they observe its customs and traditions, either old or new.

In towns on hills, where forest change their leaves, Jack lit the porches and the wind has many voices. Verses by D.C. Thomas

Even though many Halloween products nowadays prevail from marketing strategies and a strong spirit of entrepreneurship, Monster Cereals® and media content like Count Chocula® and Tim Burton's Wednesday appeal to my inner child, as the former was inspired by Vlad Dracula and the latter was filmed in Romania.