Nosferatu Festival offers a vampire, spooky experience in Austin this weekend

Erica Pauda
·4 min read

AUSTIN (KXAN) — If you are fascinated by the Nosferatu Vampire, also known as Count Orlock, or if you just have a passion for everything vampire, there is a spooky festival happening this weekend in Austin.

The fifth annual Nosferatu Festival kicked off Friday in Austin to celebrate the 102nd anniversary of Nosferatu — the first vampire to grace the movie screen.

Organizer for the festival, Mitch Rafter, said Nosferatu is based on Bram Stoker’s Dracula. However, the film was done without Stoker’s permission, so Nosferatu wasn’t able to be shown on the big screen for a while, Rafter said.

The Nosferatu Festival is a way to celebrate Nosferatu and also a way to embrace all things vampire for a weekend-long vampire party, according to the Nosferatu Festival website.

If people aren’t familiar with how Nosferatu originated, Rafter said they may know him by another reference from an episode of Spongebob Squarepants.

For those who have not seen the reference in the episode, Spongebob asks who is flickering the lights while working the night shift at the Krusty Krab, and then it shows Nosferatu flickering them. Then, everyone at the same time yells “Nosferatu!”

  • Nosferatu coins made for Nosferatu Festival | Courtesy Nosferatu Festival organizer
    Nosferatu coins made for Nosferatu Festival | Courtesy Nosferatu Festival organizer
  • Nosferatu event planners with Tomb of Nick Cage- a band from Louisiana | Courtesy Outsider Visuals
    Nosferatu event planners with Tomb of Nick Cage- a band from Louisiana | Courtesy Outsider Visuals
  • Garlic eating contest at Nosferatu Festival | Courtesy Outsider Visuals
    Garlic eating contest at Nosferatu Festival | Courtesy Outsider Visuals
  • The Immortalz playing at Nosferatu Festival | Courtesy Sebastian Gnolfo
    The Immortalz playing at Nosferatu Festival | Courtesy Sebastian Gnolfo
  • Velvet Spade at Nosferatu Festival | Courtesy Ally Boobior
    Velvet Spade at Nosferatu Festival | Courtesy Ally Boobior
  • Rezurex at Nosferatu Festival | Courtesy Ally Boobior
    Rezurex at Nosferatu Festival | Courtesy Ally Boobior

Inspiration for the festival

Rafter said he has been into spooky stuff his entire life, and his parents brought him up with it.

“I was kind of digging into, kind of like, Nosferatu, like the lore and stuff like that,” he said.

The first time the movie was shown was in Germany, and Rafter said it was pretty much called Nosferatu Festival.

“Of course, it’s in German,” he said. “But I was like, oh, that sounds kind of cool. I had been doing events for my magazine, which is like a horror magazine. So I wanted to do something vampire-themed.”

Rafter said he thought, with Austin being the city of bats, the festival would be a good fit for the area.

About Nosferatu Festival

Rafter said he first got the inspiration to do the festival in 2018 for the 100th anniversary of Nosferatu premiering. The festival didn’t officially kick off until 2019.

The event is a way to bring like-minded individuals together who embrace the spooky, the website said.

The weekend of festivities includes live music, performances, screenings, food, beer, photo ops, garlic-eating contests and more, the website said.

The festival, which is happening all weekend, is split up into Daywalker and Nightstalker festivities.

For the Daywalker festivities, around 27 local vendors will display their art, Rafter said. He said the artists like coming together to showcase their spooky art.

Nightwalker festivities take place at Kick Butt Coffee, where burlesque, drag and band performances all take place on the stage.

Rafter said this is a way to keep Austin spooky, as well as “keep Austin weird.” That’s why he strives to bring in local artists.

There’s a little something for everyone

The Daywalker festivities are a way for people to come out and check out local vendors for $5, Rafter said.

Daywalker festivities will be available Saturday and Sunday starting at noon.

Nightstalker events will kick off the festival on Friday, starting at 8 p.m. at Kick Butt Coffee, 5775 Airport Blvd Suite 725. There will be merch, adult beverages, live music and other entertainment, according to the website.

Daywalker events kick off from noon to 6 p.m. at Come and Take It Live, 2015 E Riverside Drive, on Saturday, the website said. The Nightwalker festivities kick off at 8 p.m. at Kick Butt Coffee.

Daywalker events for Sunday are from noon to 5 p.m. at Come and Take It Live, with the last Nightwalker event of the weekend starting at 8 p.m. at Kick Butt Coffee, the website said.

Nightwalker festivalgoers can have the chance to play what Rafter calls splatter glories, which is a horror game show where contestants can answer questions. If they lose, he said they might get a little messy.

Friday Nightwalker schedule:

  • 8 p.m.-midnight at Kick Butt Coffee

Saturday Daywalker and Nightstalker schedule:

  • Noon- 6 p.m., Come and Take It Live

  • 8 p.m.-midnight Kick Butt Coffee

Sunday Daywalker and Nightstalker schedule:

  • Noon-5 p.m., Come and Take It Live

  • 8 p.m.-midnight, Kick Butt Coffee

Visit the Nosferatu Festival website to purchase tickets and see more details on Daywalker and Nightsalker festivities

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