If you still haven’t decided what to do this Halloween, you couldn’t have a better chance of experiencing anything more haunting than Airbnb’s latest episode of their magical ‘Night At’ promotion. The company has listed the famous Bran Castle in Romania, also familiar as ‘Dracula’s Castle’, on its website for the night of October 31st and it’s running a competition that will leave a couple win a sleepover of their dreams – or in this case rather nightmares.
The lair of vampires nestled high within the centre of Transylvania, the Carpathian Mountains, will welcome two brave souls who will be taken in the setting of Bram Stoker’s 19th century chilling tale about the legend of count Dracula. A horse-drawn carriage will carry the winners swiftly through an area of swooping bats and howling wolves, only to be welcomed by Bram Stoker’s great grandnephew himself, Dacre Stoker.
The well-respected vampire expert and passionate advocate of his great uncle’s novel will be the one answering their knock on the castle’s imposing doors and will also be their host for the night. The guests will be wined and dined, then left alone to lie down in red velvet-trimmed coffins just as Dracula did, without leaving the medieval mountain-top manor until dawn.
Dacre Stoker explained that: “Bran Castle is where the legend of Dracula was born and I am thrilled to welcome and guide the winners through the dark passages of the castle for a private unveiling of its many mysteries.”
There are also several obvious house rules the first guests staying in the Transylvanian fortress since 1948 must follow: There are no garlic or garlic-scented items allowed. You are kindly requested to leave your silver jewellery at home. The couple should also not cross the cutlery; in fact, they should refrain from placing anything in a cross formation and also beware of the bats in the castle tower. The visitors who wish to meet the count shall also close all curtains before sunrise and understand that the count is not a fan of mirror selfies.
On previous occasions Airbnb took its customer to quite spectacular locations, as it transformed iconic spaces into home just for one night. Four friends could enjoy the ultimate skin-in, ski-out experience, after spending their night at a luxury suite suspended 9,000 feet (2,7 km) above the slopes. Two couples enjoyed a once-in-lifetime stay at the very top of an Olympic ski jump Holmenkollbakken, the home of Norwegian ski jumping in Oslo, Norway. The couples had a 15-course meal and the evening ended with an engagement proposal. One of the winners, an 80-year-old Chicago Bulls fan, actually couldn’t fall asleep, after a birthday surprise of a layup session from Scottie Pippen and a night spent in a VIP suite overlooking home court of the famous basketball team.
Let’s wait how the winners will do at the Dracula’s Castle. Tell us in the comments, if you would dare to close your eyes and sleep in such a place.
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Photos: Airbnb & AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru