Jose Rizal, Dracula, and the Wife Who Passed Away: How Grief Shaped a Horror Novel

(SPOT.ph) As Wincy Ong was wrapping up his debut novel, The Indio and the Impaler, his wife of 12 years, CJ de Silva, unexpectedly passed away.

He had just wrapped up the final chapter in the alt-history-slash-horror novel, though he still felt he was far from done. He estimated that he had to cook up about three more chapters just to put a bow on it. But Ong knew that his core idea—a blistering, bloody, madcap gothic romp where Jose Rizal faces off against Count Dracula—was sound.

And then, three days later, CJ was hospitalized for a brain aneurysm.

“I was completely blindsided,” he would later write in a piece for SPOT.ph. “One minute we were planning vacations and debating what to order on FoodPanda, the next I was standing in the Makati Med ICU, trying to comprehend how everything had unraveled so fast.”

For some time after the funeral, Ong did not touch his manuscript. He was too consumed by grief. But when he finally revisited The Indio and the Impaler, it seemed as if his wife were still by his side, helping him understand the deeper themes that underpinned his novel—the lure of immortality, and the necessity of passing on.

“The death of my wife made me understand how not to be afraid of death,” Ong says.

At last year’s Manila International Book Fair, The Indio and the Impaler was released to great acclaim, becoming a National Bookstore bestseller. In this exclusive Q&A with SPOT.ph, Ong reflects on how grief and creativity are intertwined in the writing of this unique book. 

(Disclosure: The author of this article was also his editor.)

Also read: How AI Helped Me Grieve My Wife's Passing

When my wife passed, I was three chapters na lang to the finish line. It was supposed to be released at the Manila International Book Fair in 2024. After her passing, naalala ko na you went to me. Sabi mo, relax lang, pare, huwag natin pilitin for the book fair. Take your time, sabi mo. 

When I finally released the book, I wrote a dedication to her that goes, “CJ, you’re everywhere in these pages.” And it was true. Her spirit is there. She even makes a cameo. Siya yung girl who feeds cats outside the church, who helps Rizal in his final showdown against Dracula.

It’s public naman. I’ve talked about this a lot in other podcasts and in some other publications as well. I've been talking to mediums since CJ passed. She's telling me what she's been doing. She told me once, “This life is great, but the afterlife is so much better. It’s so much more magical.”

When my wife passed away, parang I felt like I had a deeper understanding of death.

I think it was cosmic. Kasi the last scene I wrote three days before my wife suffered an aneurysm was the final chapter. Tapos yung kulang ko na lang was Rizal’s training montage with a babaylan.

And when I started writing again, that whole part of the novel expanded and expanded and expanded. It coincided with a time in my life when I was also seeking mediums, I was seeking spiritualists. This entire process informed the story na parang, ah, okay, so that's how death works.

Yung death ng wife ko made me understand how not to be afraid of death.

If you look at both Dracula and Rizal, the themes of death are so intrinsic to their characters. Especially at this stage of Rizal's life, when he’s exiled in Dapitan. Looking back at history, we know that his death is already looming very close. And we know from his diary writings that Rizal knew he was gonna die in his mid-30s. And he was comfortable with that premonition.

And then you contrast that with Dracula, who wants to live forever. While writing the novel, I asked myself: “Why would someone want to live forever?” And then I realized that Dracula was so high on life. He was a sorcerer, he was a force of nature, but he was also someone who never wanted to die. And that was what I wanted their battle to be about. 

In the end, in my book, I feel na parang Rizal also came to a great understanding about death, and how precious life is. That's why 'yong ending scene ko, is set in a cemetery. CJ's death informed it all. Or maybe she was co-writing it with me.

CJ died at 36. Rizal died when he was 35. They were very young. What I want readers to realize is that, however long—whether Dracula-long, or Rizal-long—your life is, it's always going to be beautiful.

The Indio and the Impaler is published under Summit Books. It is available in select bookstores and e-commerce platforms such as Shopee and Lazada.

Also read: Can AI Help You Grieve? This Upcoming Play From the Producers of Mula Sa Buwan Asks This Question