Real Stories of Vampires from Transylvania

// video added May 08, 2009 // 17 comments // // Embed video:
trelk
Two American filmmakers go to Transylvania to collect stories of vampires (strigoi in Romanian), werewolves and ghosts. They find that belief in these creatures still exist in the small villages of the Carpathian mountains. This pod showcases interviews with Romanian villagers who share their experiences about vampires.
  1. groups:
    Culture,   VC2 Top Contenders US,   vampires
  2. tags:
    Culture Current TV VC2 Top Contenders US VC2 top contenders 5 more
  3. credits:
    trelk Filmmaker, Sir_Basil Filmmaker

17 comments // Real Stories of Vampires from Transylvania // Video

  • SamuraiDave
    • 0
      SamuraiDave  
    • Image...
    • Greenlight! very interesting pod! It's an interesting look into rural Romania.

      I know Transylvania is in many people's mind a kind of grand central station for all things supernatural but what's interesting is that in the 17th Century, Transylvania was very liberal and progressive particularly in religious tolerance. It was their southern neighbor Wallachia where incidentally Vlad Tepes spent most of his time that was seen as a superstitious backwater.

    • 8 months ago
  • Coren
    • 0
      Coren  
    • Brilliant! I could listen to these stories to no end. Thank you for taking up this voyage and capturing such haunting tales. No work of fiction could compare to the genuine emotion these subjects convey.

    • 8 months ago
  • IronMug
  • bettyfriendly
  • dunno420
    • 0
      dunno420  
    • Excellent work.. My family originates from sicilly and I have heard stories as such. I would like to see a story on warewolfs as well.

    • 9 months ago
  • trelk
  • mikemoz
  • selleroyale
    • 0
      selleroyale  
    • I kept expecting a scene where some thing would jump out from behind a hay bail wavin' it's arms and grunting "I'm a scary vampire," but it never came.

      What these people speak of, and how sincerely, is far scarier. Long live the oral tradition.

    • 9 months ago
  • laurakaybarron
  • saskia
    • 0
      saskia  
    • i really enjoyed this pod- it has a nice feel of being an ethnography and deals with a sensationalist subject with tact. the only thing i would recommend is more b-roll of the area- to set some context.

    • 9 months ago
  • jablair
    • 0
      jablair  
    • This is very interesting to me because of the approach. Instead of sensationalizing the experiences of these people, it was like listening to stories from a grandmother. It makes me very happy, coming from an anthropoligcal background, to see the preservation of stories. This is what binds us all. Thank you guys for capturing it so beautifully.

    • 9 months ago
  • Tevron
  • doublebird
    • 0
      doublebird  
    • Good stuff, well shot and edited. It left me wanting more, I hope to see the full version when it's released. It did have an eerie feel to it. And while i don't really believe in anything supernatural, the sincerity of the town folk really made me forget that it's just folklore (or is it?) I'm sure you can explain their experiences through a more logical explanation (insert more skeptical remarks here)...Good luck to you guys, and keep sending out the links as you release more!

      Ernesto Burnbaum
      www.doublebirdfilms.com

    • 9 months ago
  • jasonkluytman
    • 0
      jasonkluytman  
    • Fascinating, not only because the villagers are sincere in their beliefs, but in how the difference in social class affects the beliefs/experiences of the Romanian people. Brilliantly captured, this is a shining example for the subjectivity of supernatural phenomena.

      And I got the willies from it.

    • 9 months ago
  • telegrammsamm
    • 0
      telegrammsamm  
    • These filmmakers have done a great service to both folklorists and to the Romanian people as a whole; stifled under Communist rule and largely dismissed by post-EU youth, these beliefs and their firsthand accounts are in danger of being forgotten forever. It's nice to see a document to preserve them before they disappear completely.

    • 9 months ago
  • catnrolly
  • ohlmsdl

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