Hello to you. Hope this finds you well. Today I had something happen that really stuck with me. I was taking a nap and had a vivid dream. It started out with me putting a rolled up poster that had the words Dracula, Wallachia and other things I can’t remember into a small coffin made of wood. Then my vision blurred and I could barely make out a face through the blurr. A voice that sounded like my deceased Dad said “It’s Dad” and I startled awake. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a dream like this! They say dreams are a way we can communicate with lost loved ones and I believe it.

I looked up a little history of Wallachia and wouldn’t you know Vlad the Impaler, Dracula is from this region. My Dad used to tease me a lot about my interest in spooky things so the stuff in this dream makes sense:

Wallachia is a historical and geographical region of southern Romania, bordered by the Danube River to the south and the Southern Carpathians to the north. As the birthplace of modern Romania and the traditional heartland containing the capital city of Bucharest, it consists of two main areas: Muntenia (Greater Wallachia) and Oltenia (Lesser Wallachia). [1, 2]

History and Legacy

Wallachia emerged as an independent principality in the 14th century after breaking away from the Kingdom of Hungary. For centuries, it acted as a vital buffer state balancing between European powers and the Ottoman Empire. [1]

The region’s most famous and fiercely independent ruler was Vlad III (Vlad the Impaler). Known for defending his territory against the Ottomans using brutal psychological warfare—such as a notorious forest of thousands of impaled Ottoman prisoners—he served as the primary historical inspiration for Bram Stoker’s Dracula. In 1859, Wallachia united with Moldavia, a historic step that laid the foundation for the creation of the modern Romanian state. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Spin of the Prayer Wheel:

Since death alone is certain,
and the time of death uncertain,
what should I do?

meditation on death – stephen batchelor