Kickstarter: Vampfest

The folks of Vampfest sent me a press release for the 2018 Vampfest and asked me to share it. The festival has been running a couple of years and takes place in Sighisoara, a beautiful town. I thought the easiest thing to do would be to post the press release in full. As well as selling tickets there is a kickstarter this year to raise funds to make the festival even bigegr. Note that neither I, nor TMtV, are associated with the festival and, as with all kickstarters, the post is presented for information only.

A vampire festival in Transylvania is offering a once-in-a-deathtime opportunity to sleep in a coffin in Dracula’s hometown.

Sighisoara

Vampfest takes place in the ancient walled citadel of Sighisoara in Transylvania, which is the hometown (Ed. Birthplace) of the real Vlad Dracula who inspired (Ed. lent his name to) the character of the bloodthirsty vampire count.

Now festival-goers can buy a chance to sleep like the dead and spend the night in a luxury coffin, just like Dracula did in Bram Stoker’s novel (Ed. Dracula slept in crates of earth in the novel), in an otherwise deserted medieval catacomb under the hilltop town.

Festival organiser Craig Hooper said: “It might sound like a bit of a gimmick but sleeping in a coffin down beneath the citadel will actually be quite a scary experience.

“This town is so old you can feel the history seeping from the stones around you, not least the history around it’s most famous and most bloodthirsty son, Vlad Dracula, and the vampire myth that has existed in this part of the world for centuries.

“The coffins will be comfortable but I think you’ve got to be brave – or at least make sure your imagination doesn’t run away with you in those dark hours – otherwise you won’t sleep at all.”

If you think you’ve got what it takes, you can support the festival on the crowdfunding site Kickstarter where you can buy the night in the coffin – alone or with a partner – as a reward for backing the festival.

If you’re too spooked to spend the night in a coffin, the festival is offering other exclusive rewards, including an exclusive after-dark ‘Banquet of Blood’ in Dracula’s castle at Bran (Ed. the castle is marvelous but the association with Dracula is a tourist association and the castle is not connected with the historic or fictional character), in the heart of the Transylvanian mountains.

Craig and colleague Peter Phillips, both from south Wales, have been running the International Vampire Film and Arts Festival – also known as Vampfest – in Transylvania in Romania since 2016.

This year, the pair want to make the festival even bigger, better and bloodier than before. They’re looking to raise £10,000 to make the already well-established festival into the most talked-about horror event of the year.

The four-day-festival runs from June 7th – 10th and includes screenings of original and classic vampire films, trips to Dracula’s fortresses, live bands and lots of vampire themed parties. It also hosts the Vampire Academic Conference, run by US university Seton Hill, where the keynote speaker will be bestselling Buffy The Vampire Slayer author Christopher Golden.

Other special guests include Bram Stoker’s direct descendent Dacre Stoker and Buffy actress Juliet Landau, with more to be announced.

For more information about the festival and how to make a pledge, visit www.vampfest.net or go to Vampfest on Kickstarter.