Transylvanian Society of Dracula

The Transylvanian Society of Dracula emerged at the end of the 1990s as the largest vampire -interest organization in the world. It was founded in the early 1990s by a group of writers, Romanian scholars, tourist experts, and others interested in Dracula and vampire folklore in Romania and initially announced its existence through the sponsorship of the World Dracula Congress in 1995. Taking the lead was Nicolae Paduraru, formerly with the Romanian Ministry of Tourism. During that conference both an American and a Canadian chapter were established by J. Gordon Melton and Elizabeth Miller respectively, and a short time later an Italian chapter was founded by Massimo Introvigne. Each is a scholar in vampire studies and the author of multiple titles in the field.

The Canadian and American chapters joined with the Count Dracula Fan Club to sponsor Dracula 97, the centennial celebration of the publication of the novel Dracula, that brought some 100 scholars and more than 600 participants to Los Angeles, California, August 14-17, 1997. For three years, the two chapters cosponsored The Transylvanian Journal (1996-98). Currently, the Canadian chapter issues a newsletter,The Borgo Post, and an annual Journal of Dracula Studies. It has an extensive Internet site at http://www.ucs.mun.ca/~emiller/. The American chapter has issued a set of monographs including a detailed bibliography of the English-language editions of Dracula. The Italian chapter has an Internet site (in Italian) at http://www.cesnur.org/dracula.htm.

The Romanian chapter sponsors an annual symposium in the Borgo Pass in May of each year. The original novel Dracula opens in May as Jonathan Harker travels to Borgo Pass to meet the Count. In May 2000, the society is sponsoring a much larger event, Dracula 2000, which will include a number of international scholars in Dracula and vampire studies.

The international headquarters of the Transylvanian Society of Dracula is at 47 Primaverii Blvd., Bucharest 1, Romania. The Canadian chapter is at P.O. Box 23240, Churchill P.O., St. John's, NF, Canada A1B 4J9; the American chapter at P.O. Box 91611, Santa Barbara, CA 93190-1611; and the Italian chapter at Via Bertola 86, 10122 Torino, Italy.

Sources:

Introvigne, Massimo. La stripe de Dracula: Indagine sul vampirismpo dall'antichita ai nostro giorni. Milan: Arnoldo Mondadari Editore, 1997.

Melton, J. Gordon. The Vampire Book: The Encyclopedia of the Undead. 2nd ed. Detroit: Visible Ink Press, 1999.

——. The Vampire Gallery. Detroit: Visible Ink Press, 1998.

——. VideoHound's Vampires on Video. Detroit: Visible Ink Press, 1996.

Miller, Elizabeth. Dracula: Sense and Nonsense. Westcliff-on-Sea, UK: Desert Island Books, 1998.

——. Dracula: The Shade and the Shadow. Westcliff-on-Sea, UK: Desert Island Books, 1998.

——. Reflection on Dracula: Ten Essays. White Rock, B.C.: Transylvanian Press, 1997.