Life Begins at 50


At the age of 50, Mina had a life altering experience. Already a mother of three, and a devoted wife, she now found herself having to come to terms with what had just happened. 


She awoke from a long sleep and went to the bathroom; she looked in the mirror and saw the same old Mina staring back, but her life was never going to be the same again. 


Mina and her husband, Jake, had a lot to talk about. He had just saved her life, or had he imprisoned her in a world of misery and pain? Should Mina be grateful or disgusted at what Jake had done to her? She was so confused. 


After what seemed like days of talking, Jake had opened up on his history; he spoke of his upbringing, his parents, his first kill and his love for his wife and his children. Mina had a million questions but just listened. Jake had a gentle but authoritative way about him and being old fashioned, she loved and obeyed her husband. 


They both had the opportunity to live mortal lives, which previously, Jake had vowed to himself that he would do. However, now Mina was embedded into his world, they could choose immortality together. Jake didn’t want to live without Mina, but now he didn’t have to. 


Jake trained his wife, like his parents taught him. A rigorous exercise which ensured Mina was able to learn all there was to know about being a creature of the night, a blood sucking

moroaica. It went against Mina’s good nature, but she could feel herself changing. Her desires had changed and her thirst for fresh blood was an itch that needed scratching. 


Her first kill was moments away, she was nervous. Mina had crept into an orphanage, it was late and children were asleep. She floated past their beds, careful not to step on any noisy floorboards. She didn’t want to wake the precious children, she wanted her kill to be silent. 


Jake had done his homework on the orphanage and discovered that Nun Lessa had a reputation for torturing the poor parentless little ones. She would throw their food on the floor, beat them and make their lives a miserable nightmare. She was perfect for the taking, nobody would miss her. 


As Jake had taught her; she used chloroform to make sure Nun Lessa was unconscious, she then made an incision with a razor blade and drank the fresh metallic liquid for one minute. Enough for a meal but not enough to leave a suspicious scene. The razor blade was left and the (forced) suicide was complete. Mina was a natural, it made her feel alive, completely invincible. 


Her second kill didn’t run like clockwork. Firstly, the target had miraculously died all on their own; they had a heart attack. The third kill went well, or so she thought. Her intended target had been drinking alcohol all day, and as a non drinking person, Mina felt the effects on her way home and almost got lost. Each feed was a learning curve and she eventually perfected it. 


If it could be possible, the marriage was even stronger and Jake no longer had to operate behind Mina’s back, or so he thought he was. They could be honest and were able to talk about every single thing. 


At Mina’s reawakening when Jake brought her into this world, she announced the words; 

“I knew, I always knew you fool”.


The late night disappearing acts from Jake were poorly executed, and the blood splatter on his clothing was enough to make this loyal wife question his motives. After a while the cunning Mina was able to link together her husband’s movements with a string of suicides in the region. 


Was she shocked? 

Of course she was, but after she researched the history of the region with the help of an old man at the library , she understood. The old stranger knew a lot about the night walker’s. Mina didn’t have any hard evidence but had strong suspicions he was a vampire. 


Mina became ambitious; much more ambitious than Jake and wanted to rebuild the castle that belonged to her husband’s family in Hunedoara, a city in the region of Transylvania. Jake was convinced by Mina and they organised the construction of his ancestral home. 


The castle was originally built in the 15th century by a Prince called Vlad III, also known as Vlad the Impaler, also known as Vlad Dracula. Famed for dipping his bread into the blood of his impaled victims. 


It took four years of hard work before this historical piece of architecture was finally completed. Jake and Mina Dracul moved into their new abode. They were now Lord and Lady of Hunedoara. They took their rightful title and were treated like royalty, but they were concerned of how their flamboyant lifestyle looked. 


Spending years in various parts of Europe was the only way they could continue their lifestyle and not draw attention to their gruesome lifestyle. They had houses in Prague, Budapest, London and Paris, but their home was always in Transylvania. 


Everything was perfect until Michel their son knocked on their door…..


Michel had followed in his parent’s footsteps, however he was less successful and less subtle. Michel had moved to Finland, he liked the cold weather but there was something he enjoyed more. 


Notoriety.


Michel loved the attention his moniker was receiving but he took it too far. 

He was called the “Perkele”, which means “evil spirit’, in Finnish. Michel had developed a taste for the nobility. He claimed their blood tasted sweeter. 


After years of picking off hundreds of the aristocracy and becoming a folk law horror story to the local children, the powers to be suspected the flamboyant Michel was to blame. He denied any wrongdoing, however he was run out of the country. So naturally, he ran home to his parents. 


Finnish headhunters followed Michel to Romania. This was incredibly bad news for subtle and generous Jake and Mina, they now found themselves in the firing line. They reprimanded their son but couldn’t give him up to the authorities. They had to protect their son at any cost. 


The friendly old man from the library all of those years ago came to see the family at their castle. He introduced himself as “The Fly Man”, also known as Renfield. He explained that for many years he had served the family. For the last century he was just watching from afar, but now he sensed their perilous position. 


They hatched a plan to leave the country, and disappear for many years by travelling through Russia. In such a huge country, they would be able to hide in plain sight. The date was set and Renfield was going to stay and look after the castle. 


Unfortunately, before they could leave, the castle was surrounded by law enforcement and locals. They wanted revenge and wanted to destroy the castle and everything in it. 


The first thing they did was smash the windows and threw petrol bombs in. The smoke pushed the family upstairs as the mob was attempting to force the huge front door. The fire gained traction and began spreading like a pandemic. Parts of the castle began collapsing and the family began to panic. They attempted to fly away but the smoke made it impossible. There was only one place to go. 


They fought their way through the fire into the basement, where they had a crypt. They bundled themselves in just as the castle completely collapsed like a pack of cards. They were buried under hundreds of tons of rubble and debris. Escape looked impossible. 


The mob searched for the family’s carcasses to no avail. The locals believed the whole family had perished so they fled the scene. The Dracul family became a myth, a legend to the rest of Europe. A scary story for a scout leader to tell around the camp fire. 


One morning a scout leader went to have a shave, but couldn’t because his razor blade had vanished…..