The Bible was the first global bestseller, so it’s fitting that Bram Stoker’s unholy Dracula would become the second. The 19th century novel held particular appeal in its time because of its roots in real life. Vampirism was more than a myth in Europe and there really was a true-life, bloodthirsty Dracula in Transylvania during the 15th century. With Halloween upon us, I set my sights on Romania to learn more about the lore and legend that is Vlad Dracula.
All Aboard the Undead Express
First stop on the Undead Express is the Bran Castle (as seen in the photo above), the palace commonly referred to as Dracula’s Castle, located on the border of Transylvania and Wallachia. No one knows if Stoker knew about this castle (he probably didn’t), but local legend says it was his inspiration for the Count’s fictional home. Interestingly, the actual Vlad Dracula never owned the one-time royal residence, though he did stay there for a short time. Nevertheless, the spooky palace — originally built as a wooden castle by the Teutonic Knights — certainly fits the bill as the structure with the most similarities to the residence Stoker describes in the book.
Will the Real Count Dracula Please Stand Up
In the end, there are any number of gothic palaces and chateaus that Stoker could have had in mind when he described the literary castle, but as far as places Dracula actually stayed, Bran probably fits the bill best. Still, the larger question remains, “Who is Vlad Dracula?”
Vlad III is the second child of Vlad Dracul, who received his name after joining the Order of the Dragon. The son was thus called Dracula, meaning “Son of the Dragon.” Ironically, the Latin word means something entirely different in Romanian: devil. It’s not surprising, then, that is how many outsiders came to view the future Prince of Wallachia.
The years that followed were even more chaotic. In 1447, the Hungarian-backed boyars killed Dracul and then blinded his eldest son with a hot iron before burying him alive. The Ottomans didn’t want the territory falling into Hungarian hands, so they sent Vlad Dracula to take control. That rule was short-lived, forcing Dracula to flee and eventually land in Hungary. Though the Hungarians were ultimately responsible for driving him out, they soon realized the young prince disliked the Ottomans as well, and with Constantinople ready to fall and the Ottoman Empire set to expand, it made sense to let Dracula reconquer Wallachia. After taking over the region, the prince killed many of the boyars and nobles and surprisingly filled several government offices with regular people, including free peasants.
The Legend Lives On
Dracula remains such an engaging character because he’s taken on such different images in our minds. Many people, mostly the Turks and wealthy Germans he tormented, see him as a monster that nailed hats to heads, burned people alive and impaled by the tens of thousands, often leaving the corpses to hang for months. Dracula turned the rich into peasants, making them rebuild the Poienari Castle and working many of them to death. There’s even talk at the time that he tortured small animals and, naturally, ate his enemies’ flesh and drank their blood.
Long Live the Vampire
You know what’s funny? It’s said that Stoker found the name “Dracula” in a book of Romanian rulers, and while he knew some of the man’s reputation, he may not have realized exactly how similar the two Counts actually were.
Another interesting link between the book and real life has to do with vampirism. In centuries past, when a hunter killed an animal, they saw the rudimentary connection between loss of life and loss of blood. Many thought blood must be a life force and some thought they could capture that force by drinking it. The most famous “vampire” of all was the 16th century Hungarian countess Elizabeth Bathory who murdered hundreds of young girls to drink and bathe in their blood believing it might keep her young. By the late 17th century, vampirism was supposedly an epidemic in parts of Europe.
