Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, May 26, 1995                   TAG: 9505260075
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-13   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: ALISON MUTLER ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: BRAN, ROMANIA                                LENGTH: Medium

COUNT DRACULA MYTH DRAWING SOME LIFEBLOOD INTO ROMANIA

Romania for decades shrugged off its reputation as the land of vampires, and foreigners drawn by tales of Count Dracula and his cohorts found only a dank, medieval castle and homemade Dracula sweaters.

Now, a lifeless state tourism industry is trying to infuse new blood into the Dracula trade, and on Thursday opened the world's first Dracula congress.

``If tourists want hands rising out of coffins ... we'll give it to them,'' said tourism minister Dan Matei.

Under communism, Romania tried to distance itself from one of the world's most enduring myths, and dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, who saw his country as a modern industrial powerhouse, went so far as to ban the Bram Stoker book that created the Dracula legend.

The efforts never quite succeeded in putting an end to people's curiosity, and Romania is taking a fresh stab at promoting the vampire legend.

Its Dracula congress opened in Bucharest, the capital, with about 25 academics and scores of foreign journalists debating subjects ranging from the arcane - ``Dracula's Role in Gothic Literature'' - to the bizarre - ``Psychic Vampire: America's First Vampire Holiday.''

Then, it's off to Transylvania for a mock witch trial and a masked ball at Bistrita Castle, an eerie structure 200 miles northwest of Bucharest where Stoker set his novels.

``I think it's a great idea to get the myth, the man and Stoker all together,'' said Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, a novelist from Berkeley, Calif., who has written nine books about a character based on an 18th century French count. But efforts to revive the Dracula legend for tourists are new, and visitors to Transylvania today still may find their vampire fantasies disappointed.

``We came to see Dracula, reputed for his love of blood, who slept during the day and roamed at night,'' said James Mitchell, a retired Scottish policeman who visited Bran castle, falsely reputed to be Dracula's castle.

Within sight of the castle's gothic turrets, women wearing scarves and thick wool stockings sell hand-knit sweaters with Bran castle and the words, ``Dracula Romania'' for $15 apiece - the only available souvenirs.

``We're a wee bit disappointed,'' confessed Mitchell's wife, May.