The Count and I - Part II

The summer after my parents succeeded in terrifying R. and I by seeing the play Dracula, we went back to Scotland for the entire summer [like good little immigrants]. For a couple of weeks of that trip, my oldest brother hung out in Scotland with two of my aunts, while R. and I travelled around England with my parents visiting old friends of theirs.

One night we went to stay in some town. When we got to the inn, the innkeeper told us that it was full, and redirected us to a tiny, tiny town which had a few houses, a pub, and another inn with a few available rooms. It was one of those foggy English nights and was already dark by the time we reached the old inn. The inn had a grand staircase leading up to the cold, drafty rooms. My brother R. and I immediately realized that the first [and more modern] inn had not in fact been full, but that the innkeeper had just resent us to Dracula's castle because Dracula needed to feed. After all, there was a cemetery right behind the inn. Dracula was just waiting to rise from his grave once we were in bed.

We were at the foot of the grand staircase, scared out of our minds. My brother asked my parents if they had some garlic. My father, sensitive soul that he is, asked my mother: What the hell's wrong with them?

When my mother informed him that we were convinced that we were staying at Dracula's castle, my father just thought that was the most hilarious thing he'd ever heard. No sympathy there. To make matters worse, unlike modern North American motels/hotels we were used to, this inn was freezing cold and there were no adjoining rooms. Instead my brother and I were sharing a room down the hall from our parents. Our fear was mounting with every second.

Oddly enough, according to my brother R., I fell asleep within minutes of us climbing into the one bed in that isolated room, leaving him to stay awake as long as possible to protect us both. Somehow I don't recall that. What I do know is that although the Count decided to spare us that night, the evening only served to increase our fear/fascination with vampires.