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Book My Place!
from Issue #8 April 2004
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As winter starts to release her icy grip, most of us yearn for the sunny warm climes of summer and our thoughts will eventually travel around to thinking about vacation.
If you share the same Gothic theology as myself and the thought of any package holiday leaves you running for the barf bag, you will be seeking an alternative location where the attractions are stimulating, bordering on the extreme, and themed to be different.
Little did I realize that such an attraction was right here in my native Ireland and in the capital city of Dublin. I should have realized there was a cult following here but I didn't. I should have realized because Bram Stoker was of Irish heredity and the novel he wrote planted the seeds that would later blossom into vampire lore. However, I could never have twisted my mind around to conceive the idea of a Stoker Dracula summer school! Now, that really fascinated me and twigged my interest. I wanted to jam my fingers into the dial straight away to reserve my place!
Acrimony, I am delighted to say, will be reporting back on the venue which is all happening on the 15th through 18th of July 2004 at the 14th International Summer School in Dublin. As of yet I am undecided as to whether my overnight case should include a vine of garlic bulbs or a few of the original Van Helsing stakes considering that last years school had over 2,000 people in attendance from around the world! Rumour on the gothic grapevine says the latest technology is a laser gun that shoots its lethal light in the shape of little Celtic crosses! A bit more visionary than old-fashioned conventional methods! So eat your heart out Van Helsing!
The highlight of the school for me will be in meeting Bram Stoker's family. They fly into Dublin especially for the occasion. Their entrance is marked by screams of sheer terror that emanate from the lecture theatre as school commences. A visit to the Stoker Dracula center at Clontarf Road by guided interactive experience takes you on a heart-pounding journey through Castle Dracula, creating the spine-chilling story of Count Dracula and his victims. That will just about leave the hairs on your spine riveted upwards. Your toes curled inwards at the thought of meeting the Count himself!
If any of our readers are interested in attending this summer's holiday with a difference, please contact me at pam@acrimony.org and I will mail you further details. I know this little Gothling cannot wait for school to commence, so watch this space and roll on summer!
Announcement from The Stoker Dracula Organization
To further commemorate and honour Bram Stoker, and to promote gothic writing, we hereby announce a Gothic writing competition and invite entries in short story, drama or poetic form.
Entries must be in English, typed and double-spaced on one side of white A4 paper. Entries must be of no more than 2000 words in length and must have a Gothic theme. Your entry must be your own original unpublished work and must not have a won a prize in another competition. Include your name and contact details on a separate page, not on the manuscript.
Entry fee is 12 Euros, $14 or sterling £9 per entry. The closing date for receipt of entries is June1st, 2004 and manuscripts will not be returned. There are substantial prizes which will be announced in Stoker Dracula Organization newsletter and which Acrimony will print in a forthcoming edition. The results of the competition will be revealed at the July 2004 International Summer School.
If you are interested in entering the above competition please contact pam@acrimony.org for further information. Acrimony does not take any responsibility or liability for the above competition.
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