“Blood is spilled, hearts are scatter
His children prey into the night shatter
Beast of prey who feed on fear
Will hunt and pillage with their spear,
To feast in honour of their King
Nothingness but death will bring.”

Liviu C.

Vlad the Impaler

The character Vlad Dracula is loosely based on Vlas Tepes or Vlad III. For ease of this blog, we’ll be addressing him as Vlad III or Vlad the Impaler. Vlad III was born in 1431 while his father Vlad II. Later on, Vlad II was the king of Wallachia. So, Vlad III was the prince of Wallachia. He was born in Transylvania, which is now known as Romania. And there is one question that comes roaming around in our minds? Where did Dracula live? While the fictional Dracula lived in his fortress over the mountain, there are no written elements that show where Vlad III used to live. One thing is certain though, he was never associated with Transylvania. The reason why people think that Vlad III is the Dracula Bram stoker wanted to portray is his nature of vengefulness and brutality. He wanted blood just as Vlad Dracula, but not for drinking. The atrocities performed by Vlad III is the reason behind his nickname, Vlad the Impaler. Both of the characters are driven by forces that cannot be tamed. Either you let go, or you destroy everything.

Horror of Wallachia

The actions of Vlad III have made him hard to forget even after all these centuries. People are still terrorized by the actions that went into the wars by him. Let’s take a look at some of the examples of his brutal nature. During his reign, Wallachia had to be on high alert all the time because no schedule was being maintained by the Ottoman and the Hungarian Army. Once, the Ottoman armies were retreating. Vlad the Impaler took the bodies of his own citizens and the enemies and impaled them on spikes across the country. Hence, the name Vlad the Impaler was born.

Another story would be the death of many boyars of Wallachia who were all stabbed at the same time. Boyars had a questionable relationship with the Vlads for a very long time. So, when Vlad the Impaler rose to power, he did what he does best. He killed them all and put their bodies on spikes immediately. Literally, with the bodies twitching.

A very intriguing story that goes around a lot would be the Saxon merchants. They had an audience while Vlad III was in power and was doing their religious ritual where a turban is a must. Dracula made sure that the turbans were never removed. He nailed the turbans with the
heads of the merchants.

All of these facts could not stop Vlad III from becoming one of the most popular rulers of Wallachia from that era.

Vlad the Impaler at Castle Bran

Though many myths have been connected to Vlad III in connection with the Dracula myth, most historians agree that Vlad III Dracula never set foot in Castle Bran. The castle was connected to Vlad III for a number of reasons. Castle Bran was neither a friendly place for Vlad III to visit, nor was it under his rule. His connection to the castle had long been one linked to his imprisonment after he was captured by the Hungarians in 1462. It was believed that he was imprisoned in Castle Bran, but historians now conclude that Vlad III was actually imprisoned in a fortress in Budapest. It is said by historians that Castle Bran was chosen to be the colloquial location of Vlad III’s imprisonment as it is a more haunting and dramatic looking structure than other castles of the region. Historians and scholars alike have concluded that Vlad III likely never set foot in the castle. However, as there is a lack of written historical accounts from the region at that time, the idea cannot be completely discredited.

Source: http://www.bran-castle.com/dracula.html, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bran_Castle.