“Nestled in the Carpathian mountains, high in the heart of Transylvania, lies the home of the most chilling tale of the nineteenth century. Are you brave enough to test the myth?” This is a direct challenge from Airbnb and the family of Dracula author Bram Stoker. Together they are giving away a free one-night stay for 2 at the iconic Transylvania castle in Romania made famous by Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula.
“A horse-drawn carriage carries you swiftly through Transylvania as the sun sets towards the horizon, heralding the hours of swooping bats and howling wolves,” reads the contest description. “When you come around the final bend on the tree-lined road, you’ll catch a glimpse of Bran Castle. This misty mountain-top manor is home for the night. The chill that suddenly fills the carriage is not the evening mist, it’s a fear older than the forests now grown up around the castle rock. This is the lair of vampires, and you cannot leave until dawn.”
“Dacre Stoker, Bram Stoker’s great grandnephew, will answer your knock on the castle’s imposing wooden doors. He will be your host for the night, and resident expert on Transylvanian lore. Enter the castle and explore the labyrinth of lamp-lit corridors, creepy nooks, and squeaky staircases while there is still light in the sky. You may traipse through all fifty-seven rooms, from lofty tower lookouts to deep dark crypts, and even enjoy an incomparable view of the Carpathians from the terrace as the sun makes its final descent. But once darkness comes, retreat inside. Unexpected guests have been known to come knocking in the moonlit hours. A secret passage on the first floor leads to the grand dining room where an intimate candlelit dinner will await, prepared exactly as described in Bram Stoker’s novel. Following the hearty, blood-enriching meal, you will be left to sleep in luxurious velvet-trimmed coffins in the seclusion of the Count’s crypt. Fall asleep to the creaks and whispers of the Transylvanian night, and the sound of wolves roaming outside the castle walls.”
“Your dark imagination and deep knowledge of vampires will prepare you well to answer this simple question: What would you say to the Count if you were to come face-to-fang with him in his own castle? Show us your vampiric wit by 11:59 p.m. CET on 26th October 2016 and you could be sleeping in his crypt as the witching hour approaches. Not a local in Transylvania? No worries. Winners will be flown in from anywhere in the world.”
To enter to win a night stay at Dracula’s castle in Transylvania simply head over to the contest’s home page at Airbnb and click on the red “Enter to Win” button. (Photos by Andreea Alexandru/AP)
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