Was Dracula a real person? - Ask History Ask History June 17, 2015 By History.com Staff Share this: Was Dracula a real person? Author Was Dracula a real person? URL Google Published in 1897, Bram Stoker’s Gothic novel “Dracula” launched an entire genre of literature and film about vampires, those sinister figures who use their supernatural powers to hunt humans and drink their blood. To create his immortal antihero, Count Dracula, Stoker certainly drew on popular Central European folktales about the nosferatu (“undead”), but he also seems to have been inspired by historical accounts of the 15th-century Romanian prince Vlad Tepes, or Vlad the Impaler. Born in Transylvania as the second son of the nobleman Vlad II Dracul, he took the name Dracula, meaning “son of Dracul,” when he was initiated into a secret order of Christian knights known as the Order of the Dragon. (In Romanian, Dracul means “dragon.”) As the ruler of Walachia (now part of Romania), Vlad Tepes became notorious for the brutal tactics he employed against his enemies, including torture, mutilation and mass murder.

Though he didn’t shy away from disembowelment, decapitation or boiling or skinning his victims alive, his preferred method was impalement, or driving a wooden stake through their bodies and leaving them to die of exposure. During his campaign against Ottoman invaders in 1462, Vlad reportedly had as many as 20,000 victims impaled on the banks of the Danube. Captured by Hungarian forces and imprisoned, he was finally able to regain his seat in 1476, only to be killed in battle the same year. Some particularly gruesome accounts claimed that Vlad liked to dine among the impaled bodies of his victims, and would even dip his bread into their blood. These gory details, as well as his legally adopted name (Dracula) and his birthplace of Transylvania, have convinced many scholars that Vlad the Impaler provided partial inspiration for Stoker’s famous vampire. Tags Who was the real Count Dracula? | HowStuffWorks Who was the real Count Dracula?

CBS Photo Archive via Getty Images It wasn't until he came across documents during his research at the British Museum that novelist Bram Stoker found the man who would serve as the perfect foundation for his classic gothic horror character, Count Dracula [source: Kent State University ]. Vlad Tepes (pronounced te'-pish), a 15th-century prince from the dark, forested mountains of Eastern Europe was his inspiration. ­Accounts of Vlad Tepes' cruelty have been distorted throughout history, and Stoker's adaption seemed to help perpetrate these distortions. The prince was bestowed with the surname "Tepes" ("Impaler") based on his fondness for impaling victims. It was his father from whom he proudly took the name "Dracula" ("Son of the Dragon"). Tepes was no vampire , although one historic account details how he drank a victim's blood [source: West Grey Times ]. And Tepes certainly wasn't immortal (it's unclear how he died), as Stoker's count is. Up Next How Bats Work But Stoker wasn't just inspired by the prince's name. Tepes' reign was a cruel and bloody one.

When investigating sensational history, it's easy to find grossly exaggerated tales that obscure the facts. In the rare case of Vlad Tepes, little exaggeration is needed. Tens of thousands of people were tortured , maimed or died by his hand or command [source: University of Louisiana ]. This isn't in dispute -- it's accounts of Tepes' motives where distortion tends to emerge. As the prince of Wallachia, a region in Romania , and a defender of Christianity against the Muslim Turks, Tepes made many powerful enemies. His enemies spread propaganda about the ruler, which inadvertently assured Tepes' place in history. Tepes' deeds and atrocities made such an impression, in fact, that an unflattering epic poem about him was published on the Gutenberg printing press just eight years after the same moveable type was used to print the first Bible [source: Mundorf and Mundorf ]. Had his detractors not campaigned against him, generating publications that survive today, Tepes' legacy may have been lost. So who was this man ? Was Tepes as bloodthirsty in real life as his fictional counterpart is in movies and books? The short answer is yes -- even more so.

Read about the real Dracula on the next page. 1 The Real Dracula: Vlad the Impaler The Real Dracula: Vlad the Impaler By Marc Lallanilla, Live Science Contributor | October 24, 2014 04:10pm ET MORE This portrait of Vlad III, painted in the early 16th century, hangs in the museum at Castle Ambras in Innsbruck, Austria. Credit: Public domain Few names have cast more terror into the human heart than Dracula. The legendary vampire, created by author Bram Stoker in his 1897 novel of the same name, has inspired countless horror movies, television shows and other bloodcurdling tales of vampires. Though Dracula is a purely fictional creation, Stoker named his infamous character after a real person who happened to have a taste for blood: Vlad III, Prince of Wallachia or — as he is better known — Vlad the Impaler. The morbid nickname is a testament to the Wallachian prince's favorite way of dispensing with his enemies.

But other than having the same name, the two Draculas don't really have much in common, according to historians who have studied the link between Stoker's vampire count and Vlad III. The real Dracula By most accounts, Vlad III was born in 1431 in what is now Transylvania , the central region of modern-day Romania. However, the link between Vlad the Impaler and Transylvania is tenuous, according to Florin Curta, a professor of medieval history and archaeology at the University of Florida. "[Stoker's] Dracula is linked to Transylvania, but the real, historic Dracula — Vlad III — never owned anything in Transylvania," Curta told Live Science. Bran Castle, a modern-day tourist attraction in Transylvania that is often referred to as Dracula's castle, was never the residence of the Wallachian prince, he added. "Because the castle is in the mountains in this foggy area and it looks spooky, it's what one would expect of Dracula's castle," Curta said. "But he [Vlad III] never lived there.

He never even stepped foot there." Vlad III's father, Vlad II, did own a residence in Sighişoara, Transylvania, but it is not certain that Vlad III was born there, according to Curta. It's also possible, he said, that Vlad the Impaler was born in Târgovişte, which was at that time the royal seat of the principality of Wallachia, where his father was a "voivode," or ruler. In 1431, King Sigismund of Hungary, who would later become the Holy Roman Emperor, inducted the elder Vlad into a knightly order, the Order of the Dragon. This designation earned Vlad II a new surname: Dracul. The name came from the old Romanian word for dragon, "drac." His son, Vlad III, would later be known as the "son of Dracul" or, in old Romanian, Drăculea, hence Dracula. In modern Romanian, the word "drac" refers to another feared creature — the devil, Curta said.

[ 8 Grisly Archaeological Discoveries ] The Order of the Dragon was devoted to a singular task: the defeat of the Turkish, or Ottoman Empire. Situated between Christian Europe and the Muslim lands of the Ottoman Empire, Vlad II's (and later Vlad III's) home principality of Wallachia was frequently the scene of bloody battles as Ottoman forces pushed westward into Europe, and Christian forces repulsed the invaders. This painting, "Vlad the Impaler and the Turkish Envoys," by Theodor Aman (1831-1891), allegedly depicts a scene in which Vlad III nails the turbans of these Ottoman diplomats to their heads. Credit: Public domain Years of captivity When Vlad II was called to a diplomatic meeting in 1442 with Sultan Murad II, he brought his young sons Vlad III and Radu along. But the meeting was actually a trap: All three were arrested and held hostage. The elder Vlad was released under the condition that he leave his sons behind.

"The sultan held Vlad and his brother as hostages to ensure that their father, Vlad II, behaved himself in the ongoing war between Turkey and Hungary," said Elizabeth Miller, a research historian and professor emeritus at Memorial University of Newfoundland in Canada. Under the Ottomans, Vlad and his younger brother were tutored in science, philosophy and the arts. Vlad also became a skilled horseman and warrior , according to Radu Florescu and Raymond McNally, former professors of history at Boston College, who wrote several books about Vlad III — as well as his alleged connection to Stoker's Dracula — in the 1970s and 1980s. "They were treated reasonably well by the current standards of the time," Miller said. "Still, [captivity] irked Vlad, whereas his brother sort of acquiesced and went over on the Turkish side. But Vlad held enmity, and I think it was one of his motivating factors for fighting the Turks: to get even with them for having held him captive." Vlad the Prince While Vlad and Radu were in Ottoman hands, Vlad's father was fighting to keep his place as voivode of Wallachia, a fight he would eventually lose.

In 1447, Vlad II was ousted as ruler of Wallachia by local noblemen (boyars) and was killed in the swamps near Bălteni, half way between Târgovişte and Bucharest in present-day Romania. Vlad's older half-brother, Mircea, was killed alongside his father. [ 7 Strange Ways Humans Act Like Vampires ] Not long after these harrowing events, in 1448, Vlad embarked on a campaign to regain his father's seat from the new ruler, Vladislav II. His first attempt at the throne relied on the military support of the Ottoman governors of the cities along the Danube River in northern Bulgaria, according to Curta. Vlad also took advantage of the fact that Vladislav was absent at the time, having gone to the Balkans to fight the Ottomans for the governor of Hungary at the time, John Hunyadi. Vlad won back his father's seat, but his time as ruler of Wallachia was short-lived.

He was deposed after only two months, when Vladislav II returned and took back the throne of Wallachia with the assistance of Hunyadi, according to Curta. Little is known about Vlad III's whereabouts between 1448 and 1456. But it is known that he switched sides in the Ottoman-Hungarian conflict, giving up his ties with the Ottoman governors of the Danube cities and obtaining military support from King Ladislaus V of Hungary, who happened to dislike Vlad's rival — Vladislav II of Wallachia — according to Curta. Vlad III’s political and military tack truly came to the forefront amid the fall of Constantinople in 1453. After the fall, the Ottomans were in a position to invade all of Europe. Vlad, who had already solidified his anti-Ottoman position, was proclaimed voivode of Wallachia in 1456. One of his first orders of business in his new role was to stop paying an annual tribute to the Ottoman sultan — a measure that had formerly ensured peace between Wallachia and the Ottomans.

A woodcut from a 1499 pamphlet depicts Vlad III dining among the impaled corpses of his victims. Credit: Public domain Vlad the Impaler To consolidate his power as voivode, Vlad needed to quell the incessant conflicts that had historically taken place between Wallachia's boyars. According to legends that circulated after his death, Vlad invited hundreds of these boyars to a banquet and — knowing they would challenge his authority — had his guests stabbed and their still-twitching bodies impaled on spikes. This is just one of many gruesome events that earned Vlad his posthumous nickname Vlad the Impaler. This story — and others like it — is documented in printed material from around the time of Vlad III's rule, according to Miller. "In the 1460s and 1470s, just after the invention of the printing press, a lot of these stories about Vlad were circulating orally, and then they were put together by different individuals in pamphlets and printed," Miller said. Whether or not these stories are wholly true or significantly embellished is debatable, Miller added. After all, many of those printing the pamphlets were hostile to Vlad III.

But some of the pamphlets from this time tell almost the exact same gruesome stories about Vlad, leading Miller to believe that the tales are at least partially historically accurate. Some of these legends were also collected and published in a book, "The Tale of Dracula," in 1490, by a monk who presented Vlad III as a fierce, but just ruler. Vlad is credited with impaling dozens of Saxon merchants in Kronstadt (present-day Braşov, Romania), who were once allied with the boyars, in 1456. Around the same time, a group of Ottoman envoys allegedly had an audience with Vlad but declined to remove their turbans, citing a religious custom. Commending them on their religious devotion, Vlad ensured that their turbans would forever remain on their heads by reportedly having the head coverings nailed to their skulls. "After Mehmet II — the one who conquered Constantinople — invaded Wallachia in 1462, he actually was able to go all the way to Wallachia's capital city of Târgoviște but found it deserted.

And in front of the capital he found the bodies of the Ottoman prisoners of war that Vlad had taken — all impaled," Curta said. Vlad's victories over the invading Ottomans were celebrated throughout Wallachia, Transylvania and the rest of Europe — even Pope Pius II was impressed. "The reason he's a positive character in Romania is because he is reputed to have been a just, though a very harsh, ruler," Curta said. Vlad's death Not long after the impalement of Ottoman prisoners of war, in August 1462, Vlad was forced into exile in Hungary, unable to defeat his much more powerful adversary, Mehmet II. Vlad was imprisoned for a number of years during his exile, though during that same time he married and had two children. Vlad's younger brother, Radu, who had sided with the Ottomans during the ongoing military campaigns, took over governance of Wallachia after his brother's imprisonment. But after Radu's death in 1475, local boyars, as well as the rulers of several nearby principalities, favored Vlad’s return to power.

In 1476, with the support of the voivode of Moldavia, Stephen III the Great (1457-1504), Vlad made one last effort to reclaim his seat as ruler of Wallachia. He successfully stole back the throne, but his triumph was short-lived. Later that year, while marching to yet another battle with the Ottomans, Vlad and a small vanguard of soldiers were ambushed, and Vlad was killed. There is much controversy over the location of Vlad III's tomb. It is said he was buried in the monastery church in Snagov, on the northern edge of the modern city of Bucharest, in accordance with the traditions of his time. But recently, historians have questioned whether Vlad might actually be buried at the Monastery of Comana, between Bucharest and the Danube, which is close to the presumed location of the battle in which Vlad was killed, according to Curta. One thing is for certain, however: unlike Stoker's Count Dracula, Vlad III most definitely did die. Only the harrowing tales of his years as ruler of Wallachia remain to haunt the modern world. Follow Elizabeth Palermo @ techEpalermo .

Follow Live Science @livescience , Facebook & Google+ . Original article on Live Science. Additional resources Elizabeth Miller is an internationally recognized expert on Dracula — the novel and the folklore. Her website, Dracula's Homepage , is a treasure trove of information. Was Dracula a Real Person ? Was Dracula a Real Person ? I've seen a lot of people recently are trying to find if Dracula was real. Was he a real person or just a legend ? Well, to make things clear here are the facts: Vlad III Dracula was a ruler of Wallachia (Southern part of the current Romania) that lived in the 15th century. He was born in Sighişoara in 1431 and took the throne for the first time when he was 17. Here is a detailed presentation of his life. He died killed in a battle in 1476. Count Dracula, as people knows him, is a fictional character of Bram Stoker, inspired by the 15-th century bloody ruler. Bram Stoker's novel inspired a long series of movies, and you can see part of the Dracula movies here . That's about all.

The Real Dracula Vlad the Impaler Eastern Europe Travel Expert By Kerry Kubilius Vlad the Impaler did not resemble the stereotypical Dracula character we think of today. Having lived from 1431 to 1476, Vlad the Impaler was a ruler of Wallachia, a region of Romania . Vlad the Impaler was also known as Vlad III and Vlad Tepes . He was a prince known for his cruelty and propensity to impale anyone who got in his way. In Romania, the real Dracula is known as a patriotic figure who was victorious against his enemies and who fought for his country. Dracula Sites in Romania The Making of a Real Dracula Raised in Targoviste , Vlad and his brother Radu were sent away as hostages. It is during this time as a captive that Vlad is thought to have formed his bloodthirsty tendencies. Vlad returned to Wallachia to be crowned at the Princely Court in Targoviste in the year 1456. Here the real Dracula sought retribution for his captivity by impaling Turks invited to dine with him on Easter Sunday.

Vlad the Impaler Word of Vlad's merciless cruelty spread around Europe due to the use of the printing press. continue reading below our video Tipping Etiquette Around the World The real Dracula used the impaling technique on his enemies, to scare his enemies, to enforce the laws, and to eliminate complaints. It is said that he would wander among the common people in disguise and test the honesty of the merchants by tempting them with overcompensation. While Vlad ruled from Targoviste, which was the capital of Wallachia at this time, Vlad declared war on the Turks, but reportedly frightened off their invasion by displaying a field of some 20,000 impaled captives from Turkey and Bulgaria. The Real Dracula's Demise The demise of the real Dracula can perhaps be attributed to his brother Radu, who wanted to form an alliance with the Turks once more. They turned on Vlad, and, it is said, sent his head to the Sultan as a gift. His body is supposedly buried in Snagov in an unmarked tomb at Snagov Monastery.

Bram Stoker's Dracula Bram's Stoker was inspired by a heightened interest in vampirism at the end of the 19th century. He researched Romania thoroughly, as well as their folklore about vampires, and developed the character "Count Dracula." While Vlad the Impaler is referred to as the real Dracula, it is of note that Vlad the Impaler's father was called Vlad Dracul. It is said that Bran Castle was Stoker's inspiration for Dracula's castle, but no evidence exists to prove this theory. The Folklore of Vampirism The folklore of vampirism is still alive in Romania today. Usually identified by a body that refuses to decay, vampires are undead corpses who haunt the living. Feasting on a victim's blood is not necessary in Romanian folklore for vampires to infect their victims--it is thought that the stare or touch of a vampire is enough to make someone else a vampire.

More Articles about Dracula around About: 10 Fascinating Facts About The Real Dracula - Listverse 10 Fascinating Facts About The Real Dracula Bram Stoker’s version of Dracula is one of the most timeless monsters in literature, and one of the first examples of a “classic vampire”—elegant, brooding, and with a thirst for human blood. But despite all the innocent women Dracula seduced and drained of blood, he can’t even hold the stub of a candle to his real-life namesake: Vlad III, or Vlad the Impaler, Prince of Wallachia (now Romania). Here’s why: 10 Dracula Dipped His Bread in Buckets of Blood The real-life Dracula might not have sucked blood out of his victims’ necks, but he still drank it in a different way: by dipping chunks of bread into buckets of blood drained from the people he killed. The fifteenth century manuscript The Story of a Bloodthirsty Madman Called Dracula of Wallachia , by Michel Beheim, describes how Vlad III would invite a few guests to his mansion, provide them with a feast, and then have them immediately impaled right there at the dinner table.

With the bodies still draped over the stakes, he would leisurely finish his own dinner and then dip his bread into the blood collecting below the bodies. 9 He Avenged His Father By Murdering Hundreds He didn’t just murder them—he had them all excruciatingly killed by slowly driving blunt stakes through their abdomens. See, Vlad III had spent much of his early life in a Turkish prison, and when he was released he discovered that his father had been betrayed by his people and buried alive by Hungarian troops. He knew that many of the noblemen that had served under his father were involved in the betrayal; but since he didn’t know specifically which ones, he invited all of them—about five hundred in total—to a feast at his house. Once the feast was finished, Dracula’s soldiers rushed into the room and impaled every single nobleman present. Dracula went on to use that tactic countless times. He would lure people to his house with a feast, and then kill them. Eventually people knew what it meant to be invited to one of Dracula’s feasts, but they showed up anyway—because if they refused, they’d be killed on the spot. That’s what some call a lose-lose situation.

8 “Dracula” Means “Son of the Dragon” The word Dracula wasn’t something that Bram Stoker made up for his book; Vlad III actually preferred to be called that. His father, Vlad II, was a member of a secret society known as the Order of the Dragon. He was so proud to be a member that he had his name changed to “Dracul,” Romanian for “Dragon.” Vlad III also got involved in the Order as a child, which prompted him to change his own name to Dracula, or “Son of the Dragon.” (Although now it means something closer to “Son of the Devil”). Either way, it was a pretty frightening name at the time, especially since the guy had the reputation of, you know, killing everybody he met. 7 He Had A Sense of Humor Life for Dracula wasn’t all work, work, impale, work. Nope—according to most sources at the time, he thoroughly enjoyed all that impaling and skinning and boiling alive. In fact, you could even go so far as to say he had a sense of humor—at least, he was known to make some incredibly morbid jokes about his victims as they died.

For example, one account in the book In Search of Dracula describes how people would often twitch around “like frogs” as they died via impalement. Vlad III would watch and casually remark, “Oh, what great gracefulness they exhibit!” Another time a visitor came to his house, only to find it filled with rotting corpses. Vlad asked him, “Do you mind the stink?” When the man said “Yes,” Vlad impaled him and hung him from the ceiling, where the smell wasn’t quite so bad. 6 Impalement Was the Only Punishment It’s easy to think of Dracula as a solitary madman, just running around killing people, but that’s not how it was. The man just so happened to be the Prince of Wallachia, and many of his “murders” were his own twisted form of law and order. The thing is, impalement was pretty much the only punishment—whether you stole a loaf of bread or committed murder. Of course, there were exceptions. One account describes a gypsy who stole something while traveling through Dracula’s lands. The Prince had the man boiled, and then forced the other gypsies to eat him.

5 He Got Rid of All the Sick and Poor—By Burning Them Alive In an attempt to clean up the streets of the city of Tirgoviste (the capital of Wallachia), Dracula once invited all the sick, vagrants, and beggars over to one of his homes, under the pretext of a feast (you know where this is going). After they had eaten their fill, Dracula politely excused himself and had the entire court boarded up, then burned the whole building to the ground while everybody was still inside. According to the report, not a single person survived. Evidently Dracula did this quite a bit, sometimes burning whole villages within his province for no apparent reason. 4 The Golden Cup One result of all the killing was that Vlad III effectively had complete control over his people—and he definitely knew it. To prove how much his citizens feared him, Vlad III placed a cup made out of solid gold in the middle of the town square of Tirgoviste. The rule was that anybody could drink out of it, but it could not leave the square under any circumstances.

It’s believed that during this time about 60,000 people lived in the town—yet during his entire reign, the priceless cup was never touched, even though it was in full view of thousands of people living in poverty. 3 He Poisoned His Own Wells To Spite Turkish Invaders In the 1400s, the region of Wallachia was under constant threat from its neighbors, the Turks. Vlad III, who didn’t like being pushed into a corner, sent an army to push the Turks out of his land. Eventually, though, the Turks forced Vlad into a retreat—but Dracula was not done. As he retreated, he burned down his own villages along the way so that the Turkish army would have nowhere to rest. He even went so far as poisoning his own wells and murdering thousands of his own villagers, just so that the incoming Turkish army wouldn’t have the satisfaction. 2 Dracula Killed Up to 100,000 People In Total Historians put the deaths at the hands of Dracula at somewhere between 40,000 and 100,000. The man breathed death and then (literally) ate it for dinner.

When the Turkish army got to Targoviste, they found the infamous “Forest of the Impaled”—20,000 Turkish bodies displayed on stakes. This single paragraph from In Search of Dracula could probably sum up most of the stories: “Also as the day came, early in the morning, all those whom he had taken captive, men and women, young and old, he had impaled on the hill by the chapel and all around the hill, and under them he proceeded to eat at a table and get his joy in this way.” 1 Dracula’s Body Disappeared Dracula died on the battlefield fighting against an invasion of Turks. His reputation finally caught up with him in a bad way: his army was outnumbered by Turks, so most of his soldiers just switched sides after seeing that the impalement ratio in the other army was significantly lower. His head was chopped off—possibly by his own troops, which would not be surprising—and the head was sent to the Turkish Sultan, who impaled it on a spear and hung it outside his palace. Reports state that Dracula’s body was then buried at a cemetery in the Snagov Monastery, outside Bucharest.

But there are conflicting reports; some that his body has never actually been found there, while others say that his possible remains were indeed found, but then disappeared . It’s pretty likely that his body was just robbed at some point; as royalty, he would likely have been buried with treasure, making his grave a good target for grave robbers. And then there’s the other theory about why his body was never found: because he’s Dracula. Eli Nixon is the author of Pretty Bird: A Sci-Fi Novella on Amazon. More Great Lists Count Dracula's Legend and the history of Vlad the Impaler » Who was Vlad Dracula ? "We Draculs have a right to be proud… I am the last of my kind" – Dracula, from Bram Stoker's Dracula Some say that Transylvania sits on one of Earth's strongest magnetic fields and its people have extra-sensory perception. Vampires are believed to hang around crossroads on St. George's Day, April 23, and the eve of St. Andrew, November 29.

The area is also home to Bram Stoker's Dracula, and it's easy to get caught up in the tale while driving along winding roads through dense, dark, ancient forests and over mountain passes. Dracula is literally translated in Gaelic as Drac Ullah meaning bad blood. Tales of the supernatural had been circulating in Romanian folklore for centuries when Irish writer Bram Stoker picked up the thread and spun it into a golden tale of ghoulishness that has never been out of print since its first publication in 1897. To research his immortal tale, Stoker immersed himself in the history, lore and legends of Transylvania, which he called a "whirlpool for the imagination." Bram Stoker's Dracula novel was published in Romanian for the first time in 1990. Count Dracula, a fictional character in the Dracula novel, was inspired by one of the best-known figures of Romanian history, Vlad Dracula, nicknamed Vlad Tepes (Vlad the Impaler), who was the ruler of Walachia at various times from 1456-1462.

Born in 1431 in Sighisoara, he resided all his adult life in Walachia, except for periods of imprisonment at Pest and Visegrad (in Hungary). For more information about Bram Stocker's Dracula Novel please visit Tracking Dracula Travel Journal: "In the Footsteps of Dracula." Although he never traveled to Romania, Stoker crammed his book with descriptions of many real locations that can still be visited in present-day Romania. They include the most important historical places associated with Vlad Tepes, such as the 14th century town of Sighisoara where you can visit the house in which Vlad was born (now hosting a restaurant and a small museum of medieval weapons). Other Dracula sites include: the Old Princely Court (Palatul Curtea Veche) in Bucharest, Snagov Monastery, where, according to legend, Vlad's remains were buried; the ruins of the Poenari Fortress (considered to be the authentic Dracula's Castle); the village of Arefu where Dracula legends are still told, the city of Brasov where Vlad led raids against the Saxons merchants, and, of course, Bran Castle.

A Halloween Themed Infographic Some tours also cover the folkloric aspects of the fictional Dracula. For instance, visitors can eat the exact meal Jonathan Harker ate at The Golden Crown in Bistrita and sleep at Castle Dracula Hotel, built no so long ago on the Borgo Pass at the approximate site of the fictional Count's castle. Places to explore Bistrita (Borgo Pass) Bucharest Known for its wide, tree-lined boulevards, glorious Belle Époque buildings and a reputation for the high life (which in the 1900s earned its nickname of "Little Paris"), Bucharest, Romania's largest city and capital, is today a bustling metropolis. Bucharest is laden with historical charm – from the streets of the Old City Center, which are slowly being restored, to the grand architecture of the Royal Palace and the lush green of Cismigiu Park. The city also claims a large number of museums, art galleries, exquisite Orthodox churches and unique architectural sites (find out more about Bucharest) . Old Princely Court (Palatul Curtea Veche) Address: Strada Franceza 25-31 Museum open: Tue. – Sun.

10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.; Closed Mon. Admission charge At the center of the historic area in Bucharest are the remains of the Old Princely Court, built in the 15th century by Vlad Tepes. According to local lore, Vlad kept his prisoners in dungeons which commenced beneath the Old Princely Court and extended under the city. All that remains today are a few walls, arches, tombstones and a Corinthian column. The Old Court Museum was established in 1972 when an archaeological dig revealed the remains of the fortress, along with Dacian pottery and Roman coins, evidence of Bucharest's earliest inhabitants. The oldest document attesting to the city's origin under the name of Bucuresti was discovered here. It was issued on September 20, 1459 and signed by Prince Vlad Tepes. Next to the palace stands the Old Court Church (Biserica Curtea Veche), dating from 1559 and considered the oldest in Bucharest. For two centuries, the church served as coronation ground for Romanian princes. Some of the original 16th century frescoes have been preserved.

Snagov Monastery Where: 25 miles north of Bucharest Nearest train station: Bucuresti Nord Nearest bus stop: Snagov / Silistea Snagovului In 1458 - more than one hundred years after the church was built (1364) - Romanian prince Vlad Tepes (Vlad the Impaler) added thick defending walls and a dungeon. A plaque on the floor inside the church marks the grave with the presumed remains of the world-known count. The monastery is located on an island on lake Snagov, and can be accessed on a pedestrian bridge or by boat. Targoviste – Princely Court (Curtea Domneasca) Where: 64 miles northwest of Bucharest Nearest train station: Targoviste Open: Tue. – Sun. 9:00 a.m. – 7 p.m.; Closed Mon. Admission fee In Targoviste, tour the 14th century Princely Court and Chindiei Watchtower (Turnul Chindiei). The Princely Court served as the capital of Walachia, where Vlad ruled.

It was here that the Prince impaled a great many disloyal court members (the boyars) after inviting them to a celebratory feast. Chindiei Watchtower now houses an exhibition illustrating Vlad's life. Poenari Fortress (Cetatea Poenari) Where: 108 miles northwest of Bucharest Nearby large town: Curtea de Arges (15 miles north) Nearest train station: Curtea de Arges Nearest bus stop: Arefu Open: Mon. - Sun. 9:00 am - 6:00 pm (summer time) Admission charge: adults 5 lei ($1.75) The ruins of Poienari Fortress stand high on a cliff overlooking the Arges River, at the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains. Built at the beginning of the 13th century by the first Walachian rulers, the castle changed names and residents a few times over the decades; eventually, it was abandoned and left in ruins. Vlad recognized the potential of the location and upon taking over the throne, he ordered that the structure be repaired and consolidated, turning it into one of his main fortresses.

When the Turks attacked and captured the castle in 1462, Vlad escaped via a secret passageway leading north through the mountains. Although the castle was used for many years after Vlad's death in 1476, it was eventually abandoned again in the first half of the 16th century and left to the ravages of time and weather. In 1888, a major landslide brought down a portion of the castle which crashed into the river far below. The castle underwent repairs and the remnants of its walls and towers stand to this day. You will need stamina to climb the 1,462 steps to reach the castle ruins, perched high above the surrounding area like an eagle's nest. Arefu Where: 104 miles northwest of Bucharest / 11 miles north of Curtea de Arges Note: access by car only Next visit Arefu, where many of the villagers trace their ancestry back to the loyal minions of Vlad Tepes himself (in the movies, these are the ones who are always busy loading up Dracula's coffins with Transylvanian earth).

Legend has it that when the Turks attacked and took over the Poenari Castle in 1462, it was the villagers of Arefu who helped Vlad escape. Spend the night with the locals camping around a fire and listening to centuries-old folk tales. Homestays and B&Bs are available in Arefu and nearby villages. Brasov Where: 100 north of Bucharest Nearest train station: Brasov Fringed by the peaks of the Southern Carpathian Mountains and resplendent with gothic, baroque and renaissance architecture, as well as a wealth of historical attractions, Brasov is one of the most visited places in Romania. (find out more about Brasov) Founded by Teutonic Knights in 1211 on an ancient Dacian site and settled by the Saxons as one of their seven walled citadels*, Brasov exudes a distinct medieval ambiance and has been used as a backdrop in many recent period films.

Bran Castle Where: 170 northwest of Bucharest Nearest train station: Sighisoara Founded by Transylvanian Saxons during the 12th century, Sighisoara still stands as one of the most beautiful and best-preserved medieval towns in Europe. Designated as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, this perfectly intact 16th century gem with nine towers, cobbled streets, burgher houses and ornate churches rivals the historic streets of Old Prague or Vienna for atmospheric magic. It is the birthplace of Vlad Tepes (Vlad the Impaler), ruler of the province of Walachia from 1456 to 1462 Vlad Dracul's House (Casa Dracula) Address: Str. Cositorarilor 5 Tel: 0265 771.108 Open: Tue. – Sun. 10:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.; Closed Mon. The Vlad Dracul House is located in Sighisoara's Citadel Square, close to the Clock Tower.

This ocher-colored house is the place where Vlad Tepes, the inspiration for Bram Stoker's famous Dracula, was born in 1431 and lived with his father, Vlad Dracul (read more about the story of the Dracul name) , until 1435 when they moved to Targoviste. A wrought-iron dragon hangs above the entrance. The ground floor of the house serves as a restaurant, while the first floor is home to the Museum of Weapons. Bistrita Where: 265 miles northwest of Bucharest Nearest train station: Bistrita Located at the foot of the Bargau Mountains, not far from the Borgo Pass (Pasul Tihuta in Romanian) which connects the provinces of Transylvania and Moldavia, the town of Bistrita is one of the oldest in the region. Archeological findings indicate that the area has been inhabited since the Neolithic age, long before Bram Stocker chose it as the setting of his fictional Dracula's castle.

In Bram Stoker's novel, Dracula, a young Englishman, Jonathan Harker, visits Bistrita and spends a night at the Golden Krone Hotel (Hotelul Coroana de Aur) on the eve of St. George's Day before continuing his journey east to Count Dracula's castle. Although no such hotel existed when the novel was written, a hotel with the same name has since been constructed for visitors. Saxon colonists, who settled here in 1206, helped develop the town into a flourishing medieval trading post. First mentioned in 1264 as Villa Bistiche, the name was later changed to Civitas Bysterce. Soon enough, Bistritz, as it was known to its German inhabitants, became one of Transylvania's most important Saxon citadels (Siebenbürgens*). Today, the old town's quaint 15th and 16th century merchants' houses, the remains of the 13th century fortress walls and a generally unhurried pace have preserved some of Bistrita's medieval atmosphere ( find out more about Bistrita ).

Borgo Pass (Pasul Tihuta) Where: 277 miles northwest of Bucharest / 12 miles northeast of Bistrita Note: Access by car only Borgo Pass (Bargau in Romanian), made famous in the opening chapter of Bram Stoker's Dracula, is an oft-trod passageway through the Carpathian Mountains in northern Transylvania. Located near the small township of Tihuta, the pass peaks at 3,840 feet. The Bargau Valley encompasses some of the most beautiful unspoiled mountain scenery in the Carpathians with picturesque traditional villages located in valleys and on hillsides, ideal bases for hiking, riding or discovering their vivid tapestry of old customs, handicrafts and folklore. Here, you will step into a realm that the fictional Mina Harker described in her diary as "a lovely county; full of beauties of all imaginable kinds, and the people are brave, and strong, and simple, and seem full of nice qualities." Dracula – Beyond the Legend Bram Stoker's inspiration Vlad Tepes was born in 1428 in the fortress city of Sighisoara.

His father, Vlad Dacul, was the military governor of Transylvania and had become a member of the Order of the Dragon a year before. The Order, similar to the Order of the Teutonic Knights, was a semi-military and religious organization established in 1387 in Rome in order to promote Catholic interests and crusades. The Order is relevant for the legend, mainly because it explains the name of Dracula. Benefiting from the friendship of the Hungarian king, Sigismund I of Luxembourg, Vlad II Dracul, the father of Vlad Tepes, spent his youth at the royal court and later distinguished himself as a brave knight in the fight against the Ottoman Empire. For his deeds, the Order of the Dragon was bestowed upon him, hence the title Dracul (the Latin word for dragon is draco). While in medieval lure dragons served as symbols of independence, leadership, strength and wisdom, the biblical association of the devil with the serpent that tempted Adam and Eve gave the snake-like dragon connotations of evil. Thus, the Romanian word Dracul stands in English for both dragon and devil. Dracula, the title of Vlad Tepes,translates as Son of Dracul.

Moreover, the ceremonial uniform of the Order – black cloak over red accouterment – was Bram Stocker' source of inspiration for Count Dracula's look. But how did Bram Stoker's story turn into a myth? A partial explanation is provided by the circumstances under which the book was written and received. A genuine epidemic of "vampirism" had hit Eastern Europe at the end of the 17th century and continued throughout the 18th century. The number of reported cases soared dramatically, especially in the Balkans. Then, the epidemic traveled west to Germany, Italy, France, England and Spain. Travelers returning from the East would tell stories about the undead, which helped keep the interest in vampires alive. Western philosophers and artists tackled the issue ever more often. Bram Stoker's novel came as the pinnacle of a long series of works based on tales coming from the East. Back then, most readers were certain that the novel had been inspired by real facts and that its story was perhaps just a bit romanticized. Who was Vlad Dracula?

An Intriguing Figure in The Fifteenth Century by Benjamin Hugo Leblanc - EPHE-Sorbonne (Paris) & Laval University (Quebec) Count Dracula is more than 100 years old and still alive! Of course, almost everybody has heard about this Nosferatu: through movies featuring Max Schreck, Bela Lugosi, Christopher Lee or Gary Oldman; in several books, including the recent Vampire Chronicles of Anne Rice, or even in bedtime stories told to us in our childhood. We all have an idea of who or what the Count is. However, on the other hand, Vlad Tepes (Dracula), the historical figure who inspired Bram Stoker's novel, is definitely less well-known. Vlad Tepes was born in December 1431 in the fortress of Sighisoara, Romania. Vlad's father, governor of Transylvania, had been inducted into the Order of the Dragon about one year before. The order — which could be compared to the Knights of the Hospital of St.

John or even to the Teutonic Order of Knights — was a semi-military and religious society, originally created in 1387 by the Holy Roman Emperor and his second wife, Barbara Cilli. The main goal of such a secret fraternal order of knights was to protect the interests of Christianity and to crusade against the Turks. The boyars of Romania associated the dragon with the Devil and decided to call Vlad's father "Dracul," which in the Romanian language means "Devil;" "Dracula" is a diminutive, meaning "the son of the Devil." In the winter of 1436-1437, Dracul became prince of Walachia (one of the three Romanian provinces) and took up residence at the palace of Targoviste, the princely capital. Vlad followed his father and lived six years at the princely court. In 1442, in order to keep the Turks at bay, Dracul sent his son, Vlad, and his younger brother, Radu, to Constantinople (today Istanbul) as hostages of the Sultan Murad II. Vlad was held there until 1448.

This Turkish captivity surely played an important role in Dracula's upbringing; it must be at this period that he adopted a very pessimistic view of life and learned the Turkish method of impalement on stakes. The Turks set Vlad free after informing him of his father's assassination in 1447. He also learned about his older brother's death and how he had been tortured and buried alive by the boyars of Targoviste. When he was 17 years old, Vlad Tepes (Dracula), supported by a force of Turkish cavalry and a contingent of troops lent to him by Pasha Mustafa Hassan, made his first major move toward seizing the Walachian throne. Vlad became the ruler of Walachia in July of 1456. During his six-year reign, he committed many cruelties, hence establishing his controversial reputation. His first major act of revenge was aimed at the boyars of Targoviste for not being loyal to his father. On Easter Sunday of what we believe to be 1459, he arrested all the boyar families who had participated at the princely feast.

He impaled the older ones on stakes while forcing the others to march from the capital to the town of Poenari. This fifty-mile trek was quite grueling and no one was permitted to rest until they reached their destination. Dracula then ordered the boyars to build him a fortress on the ruins of an older outpost overlooking the Arges River. Many died in the process. Dracula, therefore, succeeded in creating a new nobility and obtaining a fortress for future emergencies. What is left of the building today is identified as Poenari Fortress (Cetatea Poenari). Vlad Tepes adopted the method of impaling criminals and enemies and raising them aloft in the town square for all to see. Almost any crime, from lying and stealing to killing, could be punished by impalement. Being so confident in the effectiveness of his law, Dracula placed a golden cup on display in the central square of Targoviste. The cup could be used by thirsty travelers, but had to remain on the square. According to the available historical sources, it was never stolen and remained entirely unmolested throughout Vlad's reign.

Crime and corruption ceased; commerce and culture thrived, and many Romanians to this day view Vlad Tepes as a hero for his fierce insistence on honesty and order. It's worth mentioning that most written sources regarding his reign are based on the numerous propagandistic pamphlets spread by the Germans with the help of their new invention, the printing press. In the beginning of 1462, Vlad launched a campaign against the Turks along the Danube River. It was quite risky, the military force of Sultan Mehmed II being by far more powerful than the Walachian army. However, during the winter of 1462, Vlad was very successful and managed to gain several victories. To punish Dracula, the Sultan decided to launch a full-scale invasion of Walachia. His other goal was to transform this land into a Turkish province. He entered Walachia with an army three times larger than Dracula's. Finding himself without allies and forced to retreat towards Targoviste, Vlad burned his own villages and poisoned the wells along the way, so that the Turkish army would find nothing to eat or drink.

Moreover, when the Sultan, exhausted, finally reached the capital city, he was confronted by a most gruesome sight: hundreds of stakes held the remaining carcasses of Turkish captives, a horror scene which was ultimately nicknamed the "Forest of the Impaled." This terror tactic, deliberately stage-managed by Dracula, was definitely successful. The scene had a strong effect on Mehmed's most stout-hearted officers, and the Sultan, tired and hungry, decided to withdraw (it is worth mentioning that even Victor Hugo, in his Legende des Siecles, recalls this particular incident). Nevertheless, following his retreat from Walachian territory, Mehmed encouraged and supported Vlad's younger brother, Radu, to take the Walachian throne. At the head of a Turkish army and joined by Vlad's detractors, Radu pursued his brother to Poenari Castle on the Arges River. According to legend, this is when Dracula's wife, in order to escape capture, committed suicide by hurling herself from the upper battlements, her body falling down the precipice into the river below, a scene exploited by Francis Ford Coppola's production.

Vlad, who was definitely not the kind of man to kill himself, managed to escape the siege of his fortress by using a secret passage into the mountain. He was, however, assassinated toward the end of December 1476. The only real link between the historical Dracula (1431-1476) and the modern literary myth of the vampire is the 1897 novel. Bram Stoker built his fictional character solely based on the research that he conducted in libraries in London. Political detractors and Saxon merchants, unhappy with the new trade regulations imposed by Vlad, did everything they could to blacken his reputation. They produced and disseminated throughout Western Europe exaggerated stories and illustrations about Vlad's cruelty. Vlad Tepes' reign was, however, presented in a different way in chronicles written in other parts of Europe. (Excerpts from a feature published in Issue #5 of Journal of the Dark, by Benjamin Leblanc). More about Dracula:

Question: Count Dracula was based on which real-life person?
Answer: Vlad the Impaler