Slightly Used Castle for Sale

For Sale: Dracula's Castle

Bran Castle, Romania

A one-of-its-kind property is available for buyers looking for a big stake in the Transylvanian property market: the castle that once housed the inspiration for Bram Stoker's Dracula. Bran Castle, long one of Romania's top tourist attractions, has been owned by everybody from Teutonic knights to Communist governments over the years, and the elderly archduke who now owns it is ready to sell, the Telegraph reports. Vlad the Impaler, whose sadistic rule was the source of many vampire legends, operated in the area in the 15th century and is believed to have been imprisoned in the castle at one point, reports the Daily Mail.

Vlad Tepes is one of histories greatest bad asses, although it's likely his dread reputation was enhanced by unfriendly propagandists long before he became the arch-typical vampire in the writings of Bram Stoker (and many others later):

Even during his lifetime, Vlad III Țepeș became famous as a tyrant taking sadistic pleasure in torturing and killing. He is shown in crypto-portraits made during his lifetime in the role of cruel rulers or executioners. After Vlad's death, his cruel deeds were reported with macabre gusto in popular pamphlets in Germany, reprinted from the 1480s until the 1560s, and to a lesser extent in Tsarist Russia. As an example of how Vlad Țepeș soon became iconic for all horrors unimaginable. A typical German pamphlet from 1521 gives numerous examples of lurid incidents, such as the following:

He roasted children, whom he fed to their mothers. And (he) cut off the breasts of women, and forced their husbands to eat them. After that, he had them all impaled.

Estimates of the number of his victims range from 40,000 to 100,000. According to the German stories the number of victims he had killed was at least 80,000. In addition to the 80,000 victims mentioned he also had whole villages and fortresses destroyed and burned to the ground.

Back to the castle.  Sounds like a cool place, but I'll bet heating and cooling would be a killer, and upkeep would be

The agent handling the sale says the right owner could make a killing by refurbishing the castle and turning it into "the kind of place people will stay for two or three days." The castle "is the real thing," he says. "We don’t need men going around dressed up in old-fashioned costumes; the place speaks for itself."

On the other hand, it might help to have some women dressing up as vampires, vampire victims, or vampire hunters perched around the property.  And bats, lots of well trained bats. . .

 Wombat-socho has the "Rule 5 Sunday: Armed Forces Day Edition" megapost up at The Other McCain.  Thanks, Kevin!