Dracula Let Down

I went to the Rosenbach museum here in Philly to go take a look at (among other things) Bram Stoker's notes on Dracula which are housed there. I expected such a high profile thing to be on permanent display, but I guess not! They are being prepared for display in October, when (the museum staff member casually explained) they have a Dracula festival.


What?!?


Yes, starting October 1st, the Rosenbach museum has its annual Dracula Festival! They're putting out the Stoker notes, but other Dracula themed items as well. The "hands-on" tour of the notes isn't until the 22nd, but there is a month-long reading group called "Victorian Dracula and His modern Descendants." A kids Dracula festival in Fitler Square, and a DIY Dracula craft event.

Nuts! I'm not doing all of it, but I love the idea of looking through the papers on a guided tour rather than just seeing parts of the collection displayed behind glass.

While I was at the museum, I did buy a reproduction of an old German pamphlet about Dracula, one of the earliest descriptions of his reign (he was a real guy, not a vampire...supposedly). I also, quite randomly, received in the mail a birthday gift: In Search of Dracula, The History of Dracula and Vampires Completely Revised, with beautiful Edward Gorey cover art.

Random, I guess, only applies if you aren't a vampire freak like me. I mean, of course those two events could happen in the same week. To me, anyway.


Other cool things were at the Rosenbach museum, like an exhibit of Maurice Sendak's illustrations of Grimm's fairy tales called "Dreadful Things Happen," which is pretty much the summary of all of the Grimm brothers' stories. I actually had just listened to a podcast about the brothers Grimm that discussed their fairy tales and other works. I have been totally hooked on these mini history lessons from the podcast "Stuff You Missed in History Class." Not only are the two ladies who do most of the more recent podcasts very good, but the topics are really interesting and they aren't very long. Longer ones are 20 minutes, short ones can be 10 minutes. It's much better than radio and I always have a podcast on when I'm doing crafty things now.

Anyway, back to the Rosenbach, there was also a "Westward Ho" exhibit. This one wasn't as cool for me, since I've pretty much had my fill of the Old West, but I did like the original dime novels on display! So cool to see so many of them at once. There were only three galleries open, so I didn't stay long enough to catch the tour of the museum, which guides you through the Rosenbach mansion and all their art, but the nice staff member gave me a complimentary pass for the next time I show up, so I have an excuse to go again anyway.

I look forward so much to the fall, when leaves start changing color here, and coats and scarves come out. I also love boots and hot chocolate and being able to walk in the crisp cool air. I think October is going to be really nice all the way around. Now, here's the dilemma. Should I have a Halloween party (get-together really, since we don't know that many people), or should we just get dressed up and go bar hopping?