Rationale in the Golden Age

Every time period has its own fads, music, and superstitions. The Elizabethan era was no different, with it's own unique and obscure myths and ideas. In the 15, 16, and 1700's, religion was a major influence in everyones lives. Politics was dependent on it, and so was livelyhood. This is why many of the folk tales and superstitions revolved around god and hell. Some of the superstitions are the basis from which many modern phrases and thoughts stem from. Here is a list of superstitions collected from the Elizabethan era.

1. Sneezing with your mouth open allows the devil to enter, and provokes harmful behavior.

 (We say "bless you" today, because in older times, people thought it countered the devil because demons cannot stay in holy places)

2. Stirring a pot of food clock wise is bad luck for whoever eats it

3. During times of plague, people walked around with scented flowers in their pockets, and burned scented firewood to drive out the disease (this balance of "good" and "evil" was very important)

4. The 7th son of the 7th son is believed to have super natural powers

5. Running water, fire, and iron were said to be lucky charms

6. Retention of the female sperm caused violent sickness (promotion of promiscuity?)

 7. Touching a man before he is executed, spitting on a fire, And having a cow breath on you would give you good luck

8. People believed in the existence of witches, and blamed everything that went wrong on them (this belief in witches relates to the witch trials that happened in the United States in the 1700's)

9. Sudden hair loss was bad luck

10. Sailers always carried gold hoops on them for it was believed that if a ship sunk, they could pay their way through to the underworld with their gold hoops

 As one can see, there are many superstitions regarding god, the afterlife, and luck. These are recurring ideologies throughout most of history, and only in recent times has the power of religion dwindled to the point where the majority of people are not scared by it.

Once upon a time...

There was a man named Vlad the Impaler, but even that name was too soft for this wicked man. Prince Vlad was a high member of the Romanian court in the 1400's and was known for his cruel and wicked ways; so much so, that the people of Romania began calling him "Dracula" which means Son of The Dragon. He ruled Southern Romania with a bloody iron fist, killing mass amounts of people during his tenure. To add to his reign of terror, he also created a forest of spikes surrounding his castle, to scare off people.

There are many similarities between Bram Stoker's novel Dracula and the life of Vlad the Impaler. The similarities include: reference to military campaigns, places, and aquintences Prince Vlad had experienced.

As one can see, the Nightmarish tales we are still scared of today, started centuries ago with a man named Vlad.