Abhartach - The Irish Vampire King

         Many moons ago, I wrote a couple of blog posts titled “Dracula’s Influences.” About a year ago, I discovered another one. A creature of much more ancient origins and from Bram Stoker’s native Ireland. Let’s meet the Abhartach (ah-BART-tig).  

    He is first mentioned in 1869 by an Irish historian named Patrick Weston Joyce in his book The Origin and History of Irish Names of Places. There are three legends. The first one begins in the parish of Slaghtaverty in County Derry. According to Joyce, Abhartach means dwarf and it was the nickname of a cruel creature who possessed powerful magics. The Abhartach’s tomb can be found in Slaghtaverty. 

        A local chieftain, some say it was the legendary hero Finn McCool, killed and buried him. The reference to Finn McCool tells us this story took place a few thousand years ago. Anyway, the locals thought they were saved – but the very next day the Abhartach rose from the grave and was said to be twice as evil and twice as powerful as he was before. 
The chieftain/McCool killed and buried the Abhartach a second time – only to have it rise from the dead a third time and go on a rampage all over Ireland. The chieftain/McCool was determined to stop him. Only this time, before setting out in pursuit of the Abhartach, he consulted a local Druid first, who told him to bury the Abhartach upside down after killing it. I imagine, if the Abhartach came back to life again, it would be disoriented and dig deeper into the earth than toward the surface. 

        There are a couple more spins on the legend that link the Abhartach even more with the modern vampire. In one, when the Abhartach escapes from the grave, it goes in search of fresh blood to drink. This time, the chieftain goes by the name, Cathain, and instead of going to a Druid for help, he goes to a Catholic Saint, who tells him the only way to kill the Abhartach is to stab him through the heart with a sword made of Yew wood. Yew is well-known in Irish lore for its magical properties. The Abhartach would then need to be buried upside down with a great stone buried on top of him to keep him buried for good. 

        The final version of the Abhartach’s legend was told by a man named Bob Curran, a lecturer in Celtic history and folklore at the University of Ulster. He is still alive and remains an expert in his field. Anyway, according to Curran, the real “Castle Dracula” can be found between the towns of Garvagh and Dungiven, where a small hill now stands. Curran says that there was a fortress there during the 5th or 6th century A.D. where the Abhartach lived. 
        

        He was a tyrant with great magic powers, who was killed by another local chieftain, much like in the first version. In this version, the chieftain went to a Druid for help, who advised him to use a sword made of Yew wood – combining details from the first two versions. In Curran’s version, the Abhartach, fresh from the dead, demanded a bowl of blood from the local villagers. 

        We can draw a lot of parallels between the Abhartach and Dracula, along with the other influences I mentioned in previous posts, Lord Ruthven and Varney the Vampyre. Let’s not forget the most obvious influence – Lord Dracul aka Vlad the Impaler. I’m thinking the Abhartach, in his original glory, will make a great antagonist in a future story.