Magyar News, 1997. szeptember-1998. augusztus (8. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1997-11-01 / 3. szám
High schools use many different teaching aids. One of them is a magazine designed for students who have difficulty studying the regular books. For these there is a publication that is smaller than a book, more colorful, more exciting in appearance and in subject matter. It stimulates the interest of the students and hopefully sneaks in education, This magazine is called SCOPE. This past issue dealt with Dracula and left us with a few points that have to be cleared up. A fiction that was written a hundred years ago by Bram Stoker, is about vampires, specially about Dracula. Researchers follow an original belief back five hundred years. Around that time the Turks were not just a threat but were a dangerous occupying force in southern and central Europe with their eyes on all Europe. Hungary was in their path fortunately, and eventually put a stop to the Turkish advancement. As most of you know the result was a hundred and fifty year occupation of two thirds of Hungary. South of Hungary, really at the gate to the Carpathian basin were the Serbs and the Walachians. Walachia was bordered by the Danube in the south, and on the west and north by the Transylvanian Alps. Originally it was dominated by Hungary, prior to that it was occupied by many different nations. In 1859 joined by Moldavia it became a principality that named itself Romania. But let us get back to the time when Ottoman was charging Europe with the Turkish forces. This was the time when trouble started with the Dracula family. It was never known where the Walachians stood. They played their game under the premise of survival. At times they were supporting the Turks, other times they were massacering them. Dracul at a decisive moment abandoned Hunyadi, and later on even captured him and imprisoned Hunyadi. Under pressure they had to let Hunyadi free. To get the family tree straight, Vlad Dracul (translated: Vlad the Devil) was the father of Vlad Dracula (translated: Son of the Devil). Dracula was also called Vlad the Impaler, Prince of Walachia. He found joy in torturing people. In six years Dracula put 20,000 people to death. When the Turkish forces were leaving Transylvania with 70,000 prisoners, Dracula captured Turkish soldiers and impaled them. Dracula met his fate, he was captured by the Turks and beheaded. To the left a frame from the Dracula movie with Bela Lugosi. Below is a commemorative stamp issued by the US Postal Service in the Classic Movie Monsters series As far as Transylvania is concerned, Dracula never set foot there, nor has he ever been to Hungary. Though his successor, Michael the Brave with the support of Roman Emperor Rudolf II, was able to penetrate into Transylvania for a short period of time. The rumor that Dracula was imprisoned by the Hungarian king and with a romantic twist married the king’s daughter, is Hollywood. Talking about Hollywood, we have to straighten out some other misinformation. In the movies Bela Lugosi played the character of Dracula. The magazine refers to him as a Romanian actor. Well his stage name doesn’t sound Romanian, neither his original name that was Bela Blasko. Also if he was bom in Transylvania, and that was in 1882, that area for a thousand years was always Hungary. Quoting the encyclopedia, Lugosi was a respected Hungarian stage actor, made a hit in Hollywood as the Transylvanian vampire Dracula, and because of his imperfect English, he became type caste in horror films. We Hungarians take Bela Lugosi over Romanian Dracula. HUNGARIAN COMMUNITY CLUB 147 Ward St., Wallingford, CT. Tel:(203)238-4781; P.O. Box 1816 Available for cultural and social events. Hall v kitchen, bar, stage,and parking. , _______Contact Kati Kovács.________ Page 3
