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Bram Stoker Festival 2019 kicks off on 25 October, and sounds like something you can REALLY sink your teeth into...
Ireland has produced some of the finest writers the world has ever seen, but the work of Bram Stoker has to be amongst the most influential. Dracula is a story that has been told time and time again, and its titular character has been the mould for some of Hollywood's best villains.
To celebrate the man behind the myth, Bram Stoker Festival 2019 will feature four days of "deadly adventures" in the writer's home town of Dublin. Starting on
Friday, 25 October, it'll involve everything from spooky stories in the dark to horror-comedy screenings in the Botanic Gardens.
Regardless of whether you've read the books (you really should), watched the movies or simply have a soft spot for vampires, there's a lot going on here. The fact that it's taking place on a Bank Holiday in different venues throughout the city make it even more ideal for anyone looking to make a long weekend of it.
Bram Stoker Festival schedule highlights
Each of the four days offer something different, but the "
Insta Horror," taking place every day starting from the Friday is particularly unique. Basically an online-only horror story told entirely on Instagram, this is the first time something like this has ever taken place in Ireland.
The
Stokerland pop-up Victorian fun park will be taking over the grounds of St Patrick's Cathedral on the Saturday and Sunday. Complete with a food village (genuine vampires not catered for), old school fun fair rides and a performance theatre, it'll be a great place to bring kids of all ages, even the ones old enough to own a mortgage...
Set in the very halls where Stoker once sat and read through books,
Spooky Stories at Marsh's is free for all to attend. Definitely one to mark in the diary for anyone with an interest in ghost stories!
Another event that looks particularly special is
Dracula's Disco on the Monday. We're sure you can imagine what it entails, but this free event will be a great way to wrap up what promises to be a fantastic weekend.
This is only the tip of the iceberg though. If you want to see what else is taking place (spoiler: there's a lot), take a look at the full schedule
here.
Planning your trip to Dublin
There's never a bad time to visit Dublin, but it gets that bit better when there's something like this taking place. While you're in the mood for something spooky in the capital, we highly recommend the iconic
Ghostbus Tour, for an evening that is almost as funny as it is spooky.
If you're looking for somewhere to stay while you're at the Bram Stoker Festival, what would be more fitting than
Clontarf Castle? Not only in the sense that Count Dracula would be proud, but it's a gorgeous hotel in the very town Stoker himself was born!
As for food, we highly recommend
The Church on Jervis Street. Once again we're going to make it clear that having a vampire's diet is downright not cool, we have heard the Clonakilty Black Pudding starter is popular with Bram Stoker fans...
A festival makes your break, so head to head to our Discover Ireland festivals hub to discover even more options to make your break in Ireland something magical.
Brought to you by Discover Ireland 
