DUBLIN City will celebrate all things ghoulish at the ‘fangtastic’ second annual Bram Stoker Festival this month, running October 26-28.
Taking the legacy of Dublin horror novelist Bram Stoker and his gothic novel
‘Dracula’ as inspiration, the festival spreads across Dublin City Centre and will celebrate all things macabre, strange and supernatural mixed with some good-old fashioned Halloween fun.
The Bram Stoker Festival is an initiative of Dublin City Council and is part of the local authority’s year-round calendar of family-friendly events.
The streets will come alive (or dead!) with free pop-up performances of spine-chilling street theatre and sinister sounds. The festival will also have a city-wide vampire hunt for groups with a special mini hunt for families and youngsters.
There will be spooky movies in the open-air, blood curdling literary happenings, gory live graffiti projects, terrifying theatre, and haunted walks and talks.
To top it off, a very special happening will take over the spectacular gothic courtyards of Dublin Castle.
The festival literary programme is filled with luminaries in locations from the sublime to the seedy. Best-selling author John Boyne (
‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’) and acclaimed gothic writer Diane Setterfield will be discussing the allure of the ghost story and their exciting new novels.
Like today’s
’50 Shades of Grey’ and the
‘Twilight’ saga,
‘Dracula’ was a bestseller in its day.
Journalist and author Martina Devlin will discuss
‘The Pleasures of Dracula’ with Dr Jarlath Killeen, author Caroline McCall and crime writer Jane Casey.
Celebrated fiction author Darren Shan will delve into why vampires still have a massive popular appeal in modern literature.
‘Dracula in the Cathedral’ will provide an atmospheric evening of gothic readings and music by candlelight with actors Laurence Foster, Michael James Ford alongside the choral group Crux Ensemble in the majestic surrounds of St Patrick’s Cathedral.
‘Stoker on the Square’ will see film lovers treated to an exciting series of outdoor screenings of Dracula classics in Meeting House Square.
Speaking in advance of the festival, Dublin’s Lord Mayor OisÃn Quinn said: “The city prides itself on its literary stars, Bram Stoker among them. The uniqueness of this festival creates an intense, thrilling and fun atmosphere in the city for all the family, young and old.
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Dacre Stoker, from the Bram Stoker Estate and great grandnephew of Bram Stoker, said:
“The Bram Stoker Estate is thrilled with the calibre of the programme and how much the festival has grown this year. We are really looking forward to seeing the pages from
‘Dracula’ come to life in the city.
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For more information regarding tickets, times and booking for the Bram Stoker Festival, visit www.
bramstokerfestival.com. Most events are free but advance booking is essential.