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The Abhartach: Ireland’s Ancient Vampire Legend

Mysteries of Mythology

125,908 views

Bram Stoker’s Dracula is often linked to Vlad the Impaler, but the evidence is far less certain than popular culture suggests.
Could an Irish revenant called Abhartach offer another clue to the origins of the world’s most famous vampire?

Dracula’s origins are more complicated than the familiar story of Vlad III of Wallachia inspiring Bram Stoker’s Count. Stoker certainly encountered the name “Dracula”, yet his surviving research notes reveal surprisingly little interest in Vlad the Impaler himself. That leaves room for other influences, including Gothic fiction, European vampire folklore and a disturbing Irish legend from County Derry. Abhartach was described by Patrick Weston Joyce as a tyrannical dwarf and magician who repeatedly returned from his grave until he was buried upside down. Later retellings transformed him into something even closer to a vampire, demanding blood from the living and becoming associated with the neamh-mairbh, or walking dead. Folklorist Bob Curran argued that Stoker might have encountered the tale through Ireland’s literary and folklore circles. But how much of that connection can actually be proved?

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⏳ CHAPTERS:
00:00 Who is Abhartach
00:42 The Story Everyone Knows
04:19 An Irish Alternative
06:15 The Tyrant Who Wouldn't Stay Dead
08:38 Abhartach the Vampire?
10:08 Could Stoker Have Known This Story?
11:38 The Legend That Refused to Stay Buried
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📚 SOURCES & CREDITS:
• Bram Stoker, Dracula – https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/345
• Patrick Weston Joyce, The Origin and History of Irish Names of Places – https://archive.org/details/originhis...
• Bram Stoker Notes for Dracula, Rosenbach Museum – https://rosenbach.org/collection/bram...
• Elizabeth Miller, Dracula: Sense & Nonsense – https://books.google.com/books?id=qsH...
• Radu Florescu and Raymond T. McNally, In Search of Dracula – https://archive.org/details/insearcho...
• National Library of Ireland, Bram Stoker collection – https://www.nli.ie/
• Dúchas, National Folklore Collection – https://www.duchas.ie/en
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#Abhartach #Dracula #BramStoker #IrishMythology #CelticMythology #Vampires #Mythology #MysteriesOfMythology

20 Comments

@rvaviima 3 weeks ago

I've spent countless hours with vampire-related popular culture, RPGs, and even a number of academic works made on the topic, but this is the first time I hear about the Irish folkloric beings. Thanks for the introduction!

@seamusesparza1943 3 weeks ago (edited)

In Indo-European folklore, the unsettled undead- draugr, revenant, wraith- go way back, the idea that angry dead with unresolved this coming back hungry used to be more prevalent. They gave the zombie, the vampire, and the werewolf their base traits.

@emilysigmund1255 2 weeks ago

Medieval undead were HORRIFIC.
They're kind of refreshing though after growing up with the victorian era versions

@ChrisLovesMusic-I-IV-V-I 2 weeks ago (edited)

8:44 That should be "revenant". Well made video. Thank you.

@MysteriesOfMythology Creator 3 weeks ago

Do you think the similarities between Abhartach and Dracula suggest a genuine influence on Bram Stoker, or are they more likely the result of later retellings turning an Irish revenant into a vampire?

@DungeonBricks 3 weeks ago

Wow, that's really deep into the mythology. So interesting.

@voss6 3 weeks ago

Awesome video! How are you making the images move? Looks great

@Shatterverse 3 weeks ago

Warhammer has a vampire named Abhorash. Learning about this Abhartach makes me wonder if somebody, back in the old days when GW didn't suck, was inspired by this character.

@thegeekqwerty 2 weeks ago

Great video. I've been following this channel for a while and am glad that it exists.

@stevegreenwood4011 3 weeks ago

I personally much prefer your real voice 🙏
Amazing channel 🙌

@office-zombie-UK 3 weeks ago

I'm a werewolf kinda guy, but this is great!

@simwnwn 13 days ago (edited)

I honestly think it’s most likely a mix of both or even a third legend because in the book Dracula is described to date back to the 15th century, he talked about war and fights he contributed to. I think he talks about the Turks too and his name, his appearance really looks like the historical man. But, Dracula is described to tourment and haunt a village close to his castle, like Abhartach. Thank you for this video! I’m a huge Dracula fan and I always love to learn about Stoker and the story of his novel :)))