1 00:00:03,279 --> 00:00:05,640 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of 2 00:00:05,640 --> 00:00:10,280 Speaker 1: I Heart Radio. Hi, my name is Robert Lamb And 3 00:00:10,320 --> 00:00:13,840 Speaker 1: this is the Monster Fact, a short form series from 4 00:00:13,880 --> 00:00:18,120 Speaker 1: Stuff to Blow Your Mind focusing on mythical creatures, ideas 5 00:00:18,160 --> 00:00:27,000 Speaker 1: and monsters. In time, Count Dracula was Irish, or at 6 00:00:27,120 --> 00:00:30,960 Speaker 1: least that's the case made by various historians and folklore's 7 00:00:31,960 --> 00:00:36,879 Speaker 1: now Certainly to be sure, the novel Dracula places the 8 00:00:37,000 --> 00:00:41,400 Speaker 1: character's origins firmly in Transylvania and famously draws on the 9 00:00:41,520 --> 00:00:45,840 Speaker 1: legacy of historical fifteenth century Wallachian ruler Vlad the Impaler. 10 00:00:46,720 --> 00:00:50,760 Speaker 1: But on the other hand, Dracula's author, Bram Stoker, was 11 00:00:50,840 --> 00:00:54,920 Speaker 1: himself an Irishman. As pointed out by Celtic historian Bob 12 00:00:55,000 --> 00:00:58,720 Speaker 1: Curran in was Dracula and Irishman, published in the Journal 13 00:00:58,800 --> 00:01:02,960 Speaker 1: History Ireland in two thousand. Stoker never visited Eastern Europe, 14 00:01:03,320 --> 00:01:06,240 Speaker 1: but he certainly would have been exposed to various Irish 15 00:01:06,319 --> 00:01:11,200 Speaker 1: legends of evil, blood drinking kings and chieftains, including tales 16 00:01:11,280 --> 00:01:15,399 Speaker 1: of Irish vampire king Our Tuck. As is often the 17 00:01:15,400 --> 00:01:18,520 Speaker 1: case with such tales, the details of Our TuS evil 18 00:01:18,680 --> 00:01:21,880 Speaker 1: varies from telling to telling, it may be more accurate 19 00:01:21,920 --> 00:01:24,080 Speaker 1: to think of him as a tribal chieftain rather than 20 00:01:24,120 --> 00:01:26,640 Speaker 1: a king. He would have reigned in the fifth or 21 00:01:26,760 --> 00:01:31,360 Speaker 1: sixth century CE in the district of Glenuland in northern Ireland. 22 00:01:31,720 --> 00:01:34,560 Speaker 1: He is often described as a dwarf, or as possessing 23 00:01:34,560 --> 00:01:37,400 Speaker 1: a physical deformity that sets him apart from other men. 24 00:01:38,120 --> 00:01:41,680 Speaker 1: He was also a powerful and evil wizard, so when 25 00:01:41,760 --> 00:01:45,880 Speaker 1: life finally managed to kill him, undeath was the natural 26 00:01:46,000 --> 00:01:50,200 Speaker 1: next step. Some accounts say that our Tech fell to 27 00:01:50,400 --> 00:01:53,640 Speaker 1: his death while jealously creeping about the ledges of his 28 00:01:53,760 --> 00:01:57,360 Speaker 1: castle's towers, trying to spy on his own wife. In 29 00:01:57,400 --> 00:02:01,120 Speaker 1: other accounts, his people were so terrified hide of the 30 00:02:01,200 --> 00:02:06,120 Speaker 1: chieftain's evil that they convinced or hired a rival chieftain, Kathan, 31 00:02:06,480 --> 00:02:11,480 Speaker 1: to assassinate him. Either way, Once dead, his people buried 32 00:02:11,639 --> 00:02:15,600 Speaker 1: Our Tuck upright in his grave, as was befitting a 33 00:02:15,639 --> 00:02:19,440 Speaker 1: man of his rank. But you know what happened next. 34 00:02:19,840 --> 00:02:23,000 Speaker 1: Our Tuck returned from the grave, and with a thirst 35 00:02:23,120 --> 00:02:26,600 Speaker 1: for blood, he demanded his people bleed for him, filling 36 00:02:26,600 --> 00:02:31,120 Speaker 1: a great drinking bowl. Horrified by his return, Our Tucks 37 00:02:31,240 --> 00:02:34,720 Speaker 1: people had him murdered or re murdered, depending on the 38 00:02:34,760 --> 00:02:39,560 Speaker 1: telling by a hero, rival or assassin. They buried him, 39 00:02:39,600 --> 00:02:44,600 Speaker 1: and once more he returned for blood. This cycle repeated itself, 40 00:02:45,280 --> 00:02:49,040 Speaker 1: and finally the would be slayer consulted with a local 41 00:02:49,160 --> 00:02:52,880 Speaker 1: druid or priest and learned the secret of what must 42 00:02:52,880 --> 00:02:57,960 Speaker 1: be done to keep our tuck dead. First skewer the 43 00:02:58,080 --> 00:03:02,480 Speaker 1: undead creature's heart with a would sword, then bury them 44 00:03:02,560 --> 00:03:06,400 Speaker 1: upside down in the grave, head toward hell, and cap 45 00:03:06,480 --> 00:03:10,280 Speaker 1: the grave with thorns, ash twigs, and a great stone. 46 00:03:11,080 --> 00:03:13,760 Speaker 1: And so it was done. But if the stone were 47 00:03:13,760 --> 00:03:17,560 Speaker 1: ever removed, we are told this blood drinking dwarf more 48 00:03:17,600 --> 00:03:21,400 Speaker 1: than a millennium dead, would once more rise to quench 49 00:03:21,639 --> 00:03:25,560 Speaker 1: his evil thirst. As Karen explains in his article, there 50 00:03:25,560 --> 00:03:29,200 Speaker 1: are other tales of Irish vampires, and several standout tales 51 00:03:29,480 --> 00:03:34,560 Speaker 1: involve blood drinking nobles. Uniquely Irish spins on the global 52 00:03:34,639 --> 00:03:38,480 Speaker 1: vampire myth often entail the mixture of blood and oats, 53 00:03:38,520 --> 00:03:42,480 Speaker 1: a reference to famine ara recipes, as well as traditional 54 00:03:42,640 --> 00:03:46,640 Speaker 1: Celtic venerations of the dead. These various tales would have 55 00:03:46,720 --> 00:03:50,800 Speaker 1: likely been known to brohm Stoker, infusing his iconic vampire 56 00:03:50,920 --> 00:03:54,840 Speaker 1: Lord with Irish traditions of the undead. Even the name 57 00:03:54,920 --> 00:03:59,960 Speaker 1: Dracula calls to mind the Irish word dracola, which means 58 00:04:00,120 --> 00:04:05,680 Speaker 1: bad or tainted blood. Tune in for additional episodes of 59 00:04:05,720 --> 00:04:08,920 Speaker 1: The Monster Fact or The Artifact each week. As always, 60 00:04:08,960 --> 00:04:11,760 Speaker 1: you can email us at contact at stuff to Blow 61 00:04:11,800 --> 00:04:22,440 Speaker 1: your Mind dot com. Stuff to Blow Your Mind is 62 00:04:22,440 --> 00:04:25,080 Speaker 1: a production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts for 63 00:04:25,120 --> 00:04:28,160 Speaker 1: my heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 64 00:04:28,240 --> 00:04:30,040 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.