Halloween nights don’t get much spookier than this. 
 
 Earlier this month, Airbnb announced that Bran Castle in Romania, also known as “Dracula’s Castle”, would be listed on its website for the night of October 31. 
 
 Two brave souls had the chance to spend Halloween in the imposing medieval fortress, which is located in the Carpathian mountains of Transylvania. 
 
 Airbnb ran a global competition to win the spooky stay. To enter, would-be vampire hunters were invited to write a short passage on what they would say if they came “face-to-fang” with Count Dracula. The winners were siblings Tami and Robin, hailing from Ottawa, Canada. 
 
 Credit: Robert Harding Images / Airbnb 
 
 They convinced Airbnb’s judges that they were worthy of the spooky stay by explaining that their grandfather “was the world’s leading expert in Gothic Literature, and was considered to be an expert in Dracula." 
 
 Bram Stoker's 1897 Gothic horror novel tells the story of a bloodthirsty Transylvanian count's attempt to find new blood in England Credit: PETER GUENZEL/ Airbnb 
 
 "We would do just about anything to stay as a guest with the original vampire who inspired him,” they added. 
 
 Guests can expect deathly silence while they sleep Credit: Airbnb 
 
 The winners were invited to recreate the story of Stoker’s protagonist Jonathan Harker, arriving at their destination by horse-drawn carriage before dining on a “blood-enriching meal” and bedding down for the night in “luxurious velvet trimmed Dracula coffins.” 
 
 Guests will dine on a protein-rich meal Credit: Airbnb 
 
 This year’s competition winners were subject to a series of rules which banned any garlic or “garlic-scented items” from the residence, as well as silver jewellery and holy symbols. The guests were also advised to close all curtains and warned that, “the count is not a fan of mirror selfies.” 
 
 Bram Stoker, the author of the 19th century classic, was said to have based Dracula’s residence on Bran Castle – though he only ever read about the monument and never actually visited Romania. 
 
 The guests were hosted by Dacre Stoker, the Irish author’s great nephew who is, Airbnb says, “a well-respected vampire expert and passionate advocate of his great uncle’s novel.” 
 
 Stoker’s infamous count is partially based on 15th-century Wallachian prince Vlad Dracul, also known as Vlad Tepes (Vlad The Impaler in English) due to his rather gruesome penchant for ramming a spike through his enemies and leaving them to die. Tepes never resided in Bran Castle, though some historians believe he may have been imprisoned there for a short spell. 
 
 Last Halloween, Airbnb hosted guests in Paris’s subterranean catacombs, also known as the ‘Empire of the Dead’. 
 
 If you fancy a more modern alternative, we’ve got a guide to a Bucharest city break here. 

 In this picture taken Oct. 9, 2016, two coffins are lit before a photo shoot in Bran Castle, in Bran, Romania. Airbnb has launched a contest to find two people to stay overnight in the castle on Halloween,... (Associated Press) 
 
 BRAN CASTLE, Romania (AP) — Dracula's castle will have overnight guests on Halloween, marking the first time since 1948 that anyone has slept in the Transylvanian fortress. 
 
 The site's actual name is Bran Castle, and two people will get to sleep there Oct. 31 thanks to a promotion by Airbnb. The guests will be wined and dined, then left alone to lie down in red velvet-trimmed coffins just as Dracula did in the Bram Stoker horror novel that popularized the legend. 
 
 The castle is famous for its connection to Vlad the Impaler, a real-life prince who stayed there in the 15th century and had a cruel habit of using stakes to impale his victims. Vlad inspired Stoker's story of Count Dracula. 
 
 The Airbnb contest to find guests for the night launched Monday. Applicants were asked to use their "vampiric wit" to imagine what they'd say to Count Dracula if they met him. Winners will be flown to Romania and then taken to the castle set dramatically in the Carpathian Mountains. If they're too spooked to sleep in the coffins, beds are on hand. 
 
 The castle is one of Romania's top tourist attractions, with more than 630,000 visitors a year. Hosting the one-off Airbnb event is a descendant of Bram Stoker, Dacre Stoker. 
 
 "I want to make it both realistic and show the legend in the wonderful country that birthed the whole thing," Stoker said in a telephone interview. He'll play the role of Jonathan Harker, a character from the novel who encounters Dracula at the castle. When the winners arrive in a horse-drawn carriage, he plans to greet them using the same words Dracula used in his ancestor's story: "Welcome to my house! Enter freely. Go safely, and leave something of the happiness you bring!" 
 
 Stoker added that staging "Halloween night in Dracula castle" was a way of "re-creating the book, and giving people a good experience and a good scare." 
 
 The winning pair will tour the castle, then be treated to a candlelight dinner of chicken paprikash, the same meal described in the novel. Airbnb's rules for the night are simple: no garlic or silver jewelry — both believed to ward off vampires — and this reminder: "The count is not a fan of mirror selfies." (According to legend, a vampire's image cannot be seen in mirrors.) 
 
 Bran Castle was originally a military fortress, strategically set on a highway that links Transylvania to southern Romania. Vlad the Impaler did not own the castle, but is believed to have used it briefly during his incursions in Transylvania. He is also believed to have been imprisoned in the castle for two months in 1462 when he was captured by a rival Hungarian king. 
 
 Vlad impaled his victims as punishment for wrongdoing. His victims reputedly included all the elderly residents of one community to avenge the deaths of his father and brother. 
 
 Following World War I, the castle was given to Queen Marie in gratitude for her role in unifying Transylvania with the rest of Romania. She bequeathed it to her youngest daughter Princess Ileana. In 1948, the Communists seized it from Ileana. 
 
 In 2006, years after communism ended, the castle was returned to Ileana's son Dominic Hapsburg, a retired New York architect. His sisters spent their childhood there. A Romanian company manages the castle which is rented for weddings, soirees and corporate events. Hapsburg plays an active role in the site, but nobody has stayed overnight there since Hapsburg and his family were exiled from Romania. 
 
 The castle is very popular with tourists. "We just love Halloween, so what drew us to Romania was Transylvania," said Gina Ricciardi of Boca Raton, Florida, visiting with her husband and friends. "We wanted to see Dracula's castle and just experience the whole Dracula." 
 
 Might Count Dracula himself show up on Oct. 31? 
 
 "Did he really die at end of the novel when he was stabbed with knife? Bram leaves the question ambiguous," Stoker said. "But if he's still floating around, he would make an appearance." 
 
 _______ 
 
 Competition: https://www.airbnb.com/night-at/dracula 
 
 Castle Website: http://www.bran-castle.com
– You could spend a night in Dracula’s Transylvanian castle—but sleep is no guarantee. Airbnb is offering two guests an overnight stay at Bran Castle in the mountains of Transylvania, fittingly, on Halloween night. The great grandnephew of Bram Stoker, who based his 19th-century novel on the very place, will host the person with the best explanation of what they would say to Dracula in a "face-to-fang" meeting, along with a guest, per the Telegraph. Whisked away in a horse-drawn carriage, the pair can explore all 57 rooms of the castle where Vlad the Impaler, the inspiration for Count Dracula, was once believed to have been imprisoned. Should they find a secret passage, it'll take them to a dining room where they'll enjoy a "blood-enriching" meal "prepared exactly as described" in Stoker's novel, Airbnb says. Later, they'll have the option to get some shut-eye in two velvet-lined coffins in a crypt, though beds are also available, per the AP. Though the castle receives more than 630,000 visitors a year, Halloween night will mark the first time anyone has slept in the castle since 1948. But "this is the lair of vampires, and you cannot leave until dawn," Airbnb says. It also notes "the count is not a fan of mirror selfies" and you'll have to leave your garlic, "garlic-scented items," silver jewelry, and holy symbols at home. Stoker's nephew Dacre Stoker, who will play the role of Dracula protagonist Jonathan Harker during the visit, says he hopes to give people "a good experience and a good scare." Feeling brave? You can enter the competition at this link until Oct. 26. (Someone just spent a night at Abbey Road Studios.)