Some say Hunedoara is the most frightening castle in Europe. Not just now, but also before the legend of Vlad the Impaler was born. Most castles in the area were destroyed, not Castle Hunedoara though. Invaders through history never came near it.
Some believe this is because of the castle imposing size, but others believe there was a dark presence emanating from the castle, an evil that nobody wanted to come face to face with. This is the reason why Hunyad castle is still in such a good shape. With good shape, I mean relatively speaking as the castle is long due for a renovation. Renovations did start, but none were ever finished. The last workgroup to try, packed up and ran like screaming schoolgirls after seeing bloodstains appear which couldn’t be removed…
Even without lightning striking in the background- it looks damn creepy!
Over 13 storeys high, Hunedorea Castle is not just an intimidating construction, it’s also a place were some very disturbing events took place. When entering the castle yard you will immediately notice a well that is over 30 meter deep. According to the legend, this fountain was dug by twelve Turkish prisoners to whom liberty was promised if they reached water. After 15 years they completed the well, but their captors did not keep their promise and chopped of their heads instead. It is said that the inscription on a wall of the well means “you have water, but no soul”.
It is also the place were the legendary warlord Vladimir the Impaler learned his sadistic hobby. Thousands of people were impaled in the castle and after being imprisoned by János Hunyadi, the crazed warlord couldn’t stop his sadistic urge, as he started impaling the rats in his prison cell instead. Yes Vladimir was pure evil incarnated and by drinking the blood of his victims he sought to harness the power of the devil itself. Did that work out for him? Some believe so…
Only the prince of darkness could sleep in a bed like this…
When you think about how short Vlad the Impaler must have been to fit through the doors, he seems less scary.
The Legend of Dracula
The superstitious people of Transylvania strongly believe in supernatural creatures they call “Strigoi”. Strigoi are the troubled souls of the dead rising from the grave. They can be living people with certain magical properties. Some of these properties include: the ability to transform into an animal, invisibility, and the ability to drain the vitality of victims via blood loss.
The residents of Transylvania are known to take extra good care of their weakening relatives. They would never put demented granny into a nursery home. Why? Because they are convinced that if they do- and granny doesn’t like the food or you didn’t visit as much as she wanted, she will be coming back from the grave as a Vampire or a freaking Werewolf to chew your face off. For most of us that seems a little far-fetched, but for them it’s so serious that it’s an accepted tradition to visit the cemetery and drive a stake through your deceased relatives as a preventive. The goal is to drive the nail all the way through the coffin into the ground as according to legend, the corpse has to be nailed in the earth to lift the curse.
Not everyone is susceptible to turning into a Strigori but mythology states; a person who lived a life of sin is cursed to wander the earth as an undead creature of the night. Of course that would make Vladimir a pretty good candidate. As you can imagine, people have tried to stake him before he could return from the dead. Problem however was that his grave was empty, except for some animal bones. His body has never been discovered…
Some say that Strigoi always return to the place where they have their best memories -and taking into account his bizarre pleasure from impaling people, they are convinced that Hunyad Castle is now the home of Dracul’s spirit. Mediums say there is an extremely powerful evil presence that resides here and which has manifested itself in every nook and cranny of the Castle. Numerous exorcist rituals have taken place here- but the dark powers of the castle are too strong to banish- or even do battle with, according to Gypsy witches who took place in these rituals. Yup… definitely a place, I don’t want to spend the night.
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