Transylvania and literature as a land of mystery and magic. For example, in Paulo Coelho's novel "The Witch of Portobello", the main character, Sherine Khalil, is described as a Transylvanian orphan with a Romani mother, in an effort to add to the character's exotic mystique. The so-called Transylvanian trilogy of historical novels by Miklos Banffy, "The Writing on the Wall", is an extended treatment of the 19th- and early 20th-century social and political history of the country. Among the first actors to portray Dracula in film was Bela Lugosi, who was born in Banat, in present-day Romania. Transylvania Transylvania is a
1848–49 massacres in Transylvania 1848–49 massacres in Transylvania The 1848–1849 massacres in Transylvania were committed in the Hungarian Revolution of 1848. According to Egyed Ákos, 14,000 to 15,000 civilians were massacred in Transylvania in this period. The victims were composed of 7,500–8,500 Hungarians, 4,400–6,000 Romanians, and about 500 Saxons, Armenians, Jews, and members of other groups. Throughout 1848 and 1849, the Hungarians in Transylvania became exposed to the oppositions and repressions of Romanians and Transylvanian Saxons. The Romanian massacres were justified as revenge for the Szekely offensive over the Romanian communities. On 18 October 1848, Romanians attacked and murdered the inhabitants of the village