How can a land of such beauty, with a people who honor art and literature, be synonymous with horror around the world?

Un reportaj super realist al unui sejur in Romania:

"HALLOWEEN HAUNTED HAUNTS
A visit to Dracula's castle in Romania
In a land of such vast beauty, darkness can come in shades of gray. Also explore the Queen Mary and five haunted spots in California.
By Laura Elliott, Special to the Los Angeles TimesOctober 29, 2007
...
My first encounter with real Romanian monsters happened a few days after I arrived. As a friend and I walked in Revolutionary Square in Bucharest I heard faint whispers. I glanced from side to side. A bunch of children, none more than 8 years old, had gathered around me. I bent down to hear them better. They wanted money. More children crowded around me. I felt a tug on my small backpack.
As I turned around to face the mob, a boy unzipped the backpack. My cellphone flew into the air, a football going to the best player. As the boys ran away with my phone, I knew the real monsters were not the children but the adults demanding that the boys meet begging quotas in exchange for food and housing..."