Is Dracula real?
Vlad Dracula was kind of like the Marilyn Manson of historic Romania. He was pretty twisted, but not nearly as twisted as the widely circulated rumors about him suggested, and, of course, he was considered a hero by many – even today (despite poor record sales).
Nevertheless, the fifteenth-century Wallachian prince’s reputation was still frightening enough to be used as a model for Dracula, the toothy vampire starring in the horror story of the same name, penned in 1897 by Bram Stoker.
While many Romanians happily cash in on the tourism fueled by Stoker’s artistic license, some argue that Vlad’s good name, an undeniably significant figure in their history, has been tainted by his literary doppelganger. Vlad is still considered by many Romanians to be a hero. He was voted one of “100 Greatest Romanians” in the Mari Romani television show in 2006.
If you want to learn more about one of medieval Europe’s most intriguing rulers, I invite you to buy my memoir and deep dive history on Dracula’s life, Backpacking with Dracula.
So, the answer to the question “Is Dracula real?” is a resounding yes! The real Vlad Dracula was born in 1431 in the Transylvanian town of Sighisoara. Somewhat counter-intuitive to his enduring fame, he only ruled Wallachia for a mere eight cumulative years (1448, 1456-1462 and 1476). His father, Prince Vlad II, was called Vlad Dracul (from the Latin “draco,” meaning “dragon”) after the chivalric Order of the Dragon accredited to him by Sigismund of Luxembourg in 1431. The Romanian name Draculea – literally “son of Dracul” – was bestowed on Tepes by his father. Bram Stoker chose to adopt an alternative meaning of the word draco, which, conveniently, was “devil.”
Vlad Dracula had a pretty awful childhood
Vlad’s childhood was rather brutal. He spent many years in a Turkish prison, where he was allegedly raped by members of the Turkish court. He returned to Wallachia, unsurprisingly, a very angry young man, though he was soon able to vent that anger in a productive fashion. Notorious for his brutal punishment methods, ranging from decapitation to boiling and burying alive, he gained the post-mortem name “Tepes” (“impaler”) after his favorite form of pre-death torture. A wooden stake was carefully driven through the victim’s anus, to emerge from the body just below the shoulder in such a way as to not pierce any vital organs. This ensured at least 48 hours of unimaginable suffering before death. Tepes legendarily enjoyed eating a full meal (rare, one presumes) while watching his Turkish and Greek prisoners writhe on stakes in front of him. It doesn’t take a PhD in psychology to make the connection of how his years in that Turkish prison might have contributed to this affinity.
There’s no denying that skewering defeated enemies was extravagantly cruel, but to be fair to poor Vlad, this was not, in fact, an unusual form of torture in medieval Europe. Tepes’ first cousin, Stefan cel Mare (Stephen the Great), the much celebrated Prince of Moldavia, is said to have “impaled by the navel, diagonally, one on top of each other” 2300 Turkish prisoners in 1473. And that guy ended up being sainted!
Bram Stoker’s fictional, bloodsucking Dracula, of course, was a lavish exaggeration, recast as an undead corpse reliant on the blood of the living to sustain his immortality. Though he never actually stepped foot in Romania, had he made the journey, Stoker would have had no shortage of additional vampire material to work with, being that vampires formed an integral part of traditional folklore. The seventh-born child was said to be particularly susceptible to this affliction, identifiable by a hoof as a foot or a tail at the end of its spine.
Vlad Tepes died in 1476, and Stoker in 1912, yet Count Dracula lives on in an extraordinary subculture of fiction and film. The original “Dracula” has never been out of print.
So, now that we’ve straightened that out, wanna do some real Dracula chasing? To get you started, can you guess which is the real Dracula’s castle?
Two comments, for the new LP lottery :)
1. Where did you learn about Vlad Tepes being raped in Turkish prisons? I can’t recall any medieval documentation on this. Can you please name any source for this. I will assume there is one which I don’t know of.
2. This seems of interest to foreign tourists, so I’ll add the information here:
– Impalement was not uncommon in Medieval Europe, from Scottland to Greece. However the Turks where the ones to vastly use it in the Balkan peninsula, in order to inflict terror in population (and later Tartars in Eastern Europe)
– Vlad Tepes documented impalements amount to barely 30. They where primarily directed against the Turks and their aristocratic acolytes, as a payback measure, with the same type of currency. It is how he got the nickname, as he was one of the first local princes to use this “pagan way” as a method of punishment.
– The real revenge Vlad Tepes took on the Turks was against the battle with Mehmed the 2nd. Just as the Turks used to hang and impale dead corpses of their victims, Tepes arranged a forest of impaled Turkish corpses from the first series of battles.
PS: It’s a pity Romania doesn’t cash more on Vlad Tepes. The “Dracula park” near Sighisoara wasn’t that idiotic idea. But it may work only if things improve overall.
Wow interesting stuff! I always think it’s really fascinating and important to learn the truth behind popular folklore.
Funny how Sighisoara, one of the most charming (and sunny, while I was there) medieval cities one can visit, is the birthplace of a man whose mere name conjures up images of darkness and torture. Quite the dichotomy.
@Baiat Mare – Sounds like you’ve done some homework! :) You know, the comment about Vlad *allegedly* being raped while in prison is straight out of the LP, written by a former author and fact checked by I don’t know who. I’m afraid I don’t know the original source. That he impaled anywhere from 30 to 3000 (or whatever) prisoners during his campaign is probably a fact lost in time. And I have to disagree about Dracula Park. It would have sadly cheapened Sighisoara (more so than the already tedious number of souvenir vendors) and building it where they proposed, Breite Ancient Oak Tree Reserve, would have been catastrophic. Maybe if they built is somewhere faaaar outside Sighisoara and provided the necessary tourism infrastructure, I could warm to the idea. Still, I think there are already enough cheap theme parks in Europe.
@Stephanie – Yeah, and Romania has *so much* of that folklore stuff, some if which survives today.
@Katie – True, and, comparatively, they don’t go nearly as far as some non-Dracula sites, trying to sell and promote the connection. Subtlety should never be underestimated as a tourism attribute.
I’m hoping that sometime this month we will get more driving stories from Romania. I definitely want to rent a car if I go, and plan to use your tactics if I get pulled over.
Well, I don’t mind such picaresque or picturesque details, but if it’s not fact checked (I doubt it is, for this information must be an invention), it’s a rather gross metaphor for such a central character of a Romanian travel guide (Tepes being anally raped by some Turkish inmates who traumatized him so much that he started to impale others too lol :-)))). I’m not even sure that the dissociative humor of travel writing justifies it.
Not to mention the typical sensitivities of Romanians which you are familiar with. But the book is not for them anyways.
Nevertheless, maybe you will consider adjusting this part in the next edition, for I doubt there is any source for this.
PS: I forgot to mention – great cover, one the best to be put on a Romanian travel book. The image is just TOO good (although at first glance it may look like a cliche). Funny that few Romanians have actually been there.
question: is this what they mean by getting medieval on somebody’s ass?
p.s. i’m gonna win both books
I love hearing the real story behind some of the perceptions. I’d also love to win a guidebook, I’d love to visit Romania soon.
Hi Leif,
I generally hesitate to discuss Vlad outside Romania as most “foreigners” (one of which I am now myself, as well as my family) only know of him through the Bram Stoker novel. In the interest of full disclosure, I have to say that I am working on a historical novel centered around Vlad. the word “vampire” does not get mentioned:-)
Based on my own research Vlad was actually a political prisoner or rather a guarantee of his father’s good behavior and was not actually imprisoned, but raised at the Ottoman court according to the customs of the era that demanded young heirs to be fostered at the courts of other nobles. Granted, Vlad (and his younger brother Radu) were not raised in a Christian court / family and most certainly he found little to love during his time there, as his constant rebellion against the Porte as an adult can attest. Whether he was raped or not is not something I am aware of, but it is commonly known (at least in Romania) that Radu, named “the handsome” by his contemporaries, was a lover and favorite of Mehmed II, and he accompanied the invading army to Wallachia. Despite facing overwhelming odds and through sheer gumption and ruthlessness, Vlad and his vastly outnumbered army defeated them. Yes, captives were impaled. (Pretty common if horribly brutal at the time in Europe; no worse than Roman crucifixion, or Spanish Inquisition techniques…) Given the disparity in numbers, the Romanians at the time used pretty much all the guerrilla techniques they had acquired over centuries: run to the mountains, poison wells, burn fields, kill prisoners (unless wealthy and thus able to pay ransom) – because you can’t drag prisoners around as you hide in the marshes and forests.
As I am sure you know, Vlad was eventually betrayed and murdered, Radu took the throne and thus ended a chapter in Romanian history. His enduring myth with his countrymen owes much to his fight not only against the Ottomans but also against things like corruption and graft. (Can you imagine, corruption in the Balkans… wait, that has not changed in 600 years. Oh well…) Even Romania’s national poet Eminescu immortalized Vlad’s drive to bring justice and fairness to the country in one of his most famous poems.
Anyway, in closing, a great deal of the stories depicting Vlad as a monster were spread by the equivalent of the tabloid press of the time due to a series of trade disputes with the Transylvanian nobility. Some of these stories continued to travel long after his death and are believed to be Stoker’s original inspiration.
I am taking my Canadian family to finally visit Romania this summer and look forward to sharing some of the beautiful spots with them. (No need to tell them about Vlad – they know how I feel about him!)
I saw a history channel documentary on this process. Very interesting. The show included several doctors who had done research showing that this was in fact possible, based on the diameter of the stake, angle of entry, and shape of the tip. Horrible to think about.
Thanks for all the info Beatrice and, erm, “baiat”. Fascinating stuff.
@Jerod – i’ll have to look for that show. Sounds intersting (and gross).
Well, I don’t really see what made him any more terrible than any other prince of the day. Didn’t the Turks bring one of those methods to Europe?
Loving this series; keep it coming!
Not a Romanian, but American. I view Vlad Tepes a hero and may he return to his Romanian people. I would marry that man in a heart beat.
The problem with the history of Vlad, there is a lot we still don’t know about him, and there is so many stories and myths about his life and that one finding the truth, will have to determine what is factual and what is not. Also a lot of his enemies made stories about him too.
And we don’t know a lot about his child hood. Weither he was rape or not, all I know Ottoman empire were the 15 century Nazi. I never heard Vlad being rape, but I have heard his brother Radu was. Many people will view Vlad as a villan, just for the fact they are looking at his world through modern eyes. In Vlad’s time many rulers did cruel things back then, the 15 century was a cruel place what he did was not out of place. During that time Romania was a mess and so he had to be strict. I don’t know if he impale the poor or not, but I can understand why they were annoying. People must work for what they want and if he had bunch of lazy people, well, sorry he impale you. And impale the kids, well, what got to think back then if you were 13 year of age you were an adult, and if anyone broke the rules, well he do something to that person. I can believe the gold cup story or the Turks that didn’t remove their turbans. The Turks back then thought they rule the place. And it seem in the time of Vlad he was surrounded by stupid people.
I also find Bram’s Dracula fascinating as the real person.
The name Tepes, was never used in his lifetime. The first document that uses the name Tepes to describe Vlad Dracula, was not until May 1550. The name of Dracula was honorable and never meant as evil. In 1462, began the longest and most exaggerated smear campaign in history, which continues to this day.
Mathias Corvinus was given money to help Vlad Dracula in the fight against the Turks, instead he took the money and signed a 3 year armistice with the Turks. Mathias could not get Vlad to step down from the throne, so instead he arrested him and imprisoned him. The papal legate-Modrussa was sent out to question the king on why he arrested Dracula and Why he had the funds. Mathias’ then began the smearing of Dracula’s name.. which lead to the pamphlets, manuscripts, poems and even paintings (one of which in Slovenia shows VLad as Pontius Pilate, judging Christ). these propagandist pamphlets, portraits and poems caused any and all Christians to hear/see the name of Dracula as evil. Of course after 1475, the king retracted his statements to allow Vlad to once again take the throne in 1476, but throughout history has caused many to believe Dracula as evil. We take this to 1890’s and see Bram Stoker take this propagandist information and use it for his vampire novel. … (even though Bram stokers notes show Vlad Dracula was not the inspiration -that is another topic due to his notes showing the original title of his novel to be “Count Wampire”) but this misinterpretation of the name Dracula, throughout the years, mixing of propaganda and Vlad’s history has been distorted to this very day. After 550 years, will the truth be told? The pamphlets, manuscripts and poems can all be dispelled. Impalement was not invented by him, the numbers of impaled are all gross exaggerations and historical documents prove he asked for peace many times. In Dan III’s document states Vlad impaled 41 outside the fortifications of Brasov, this number jumps to thousands. The populations of the village of Amlas was under 6-8 thousand, so how could he impale 30,000?? You don’t need to be a mathematician to understand impaling 100,000 was impossible in his lifetime. When translating documents one has to be VERY CAREFUL. The gypsy rebellion was in 1438-39, in Vlad’s fathers time, NOT Dracula’s. The head gypsy was caught and the followers were made to eat the leaders… but yet the pamphlets have Vlad as the initiator. Recent findings in Italy find Vlad Dracula’s portrait among the elite Medici family. His name should be cleared and the smearing of his history should be corrected.
So in short, we know the whole vampire fiction because a Turk raped a guy in prison and he got full of hate and anger and finally a few hundred years some a writer exagerated his hate and torture. Now we have Twilight vampires
It sounds like this guy was actually a very courageous and good man who was the victim of an elaborate and extensive smear campaign. As a threat to the established system of rule, he obviously had powerful, influential, scheming enemies who would say anything about him to instill fear and hatred in the population. Does anyone know if the 1462 letter to Corvinus was also a forgery (like Corvinus’ other falsified creations)? Is it possible that so many Romanians would regard this man as one of their folk heroes if what he wrote in this letter is true: “I have killed peasants men and women, old and young, who lived at Oblucitza and Novoselo, where the Danube flows into the sea, up to Rahova, which is located near Chilia, from the lower Danube up to such places as Samovit and Ghighen.” He impaled already dead soldiers from battles with the Turks as a brilliant strategy of psychological warfare, but the rest of the accounts seem highly suspect to me.
Hey Leif,
I took time to read more of your posts about Romania and I must say that I am very impressed. You really took the time to discover this country, to learn about its history and you are among the very few ones to write about it in an unbiassed manner. Maybe precisely because you are not a Romanian. Great job! However, I’m somewhat ashamed that a foreigner took the time to promote the beauty of my country and reveal its worthiness to the world. Maybe more of us, Romanians, should have done it long before you … Thanks for a great read.
“Don’t mess with Texas
Or if you do……
The worst stories about me
Will come true for you!
— Vlad Tepes (Dracula)
Indeed, most openly, unapologetic items written or told in defense of, or to set the record straight, about Dracula, the real one, have originated in Texas. So much of this began in three cities — Austin, San Antonio, and Comanche, Texas — whichever one I, along with members of my family, was living in at the time; these efforts started in 1958; I had known, for decades, that so much that had been said about this individual had been misrepresentational or exaggerated. I have lectured and written articles about this matter and it has been well received here in Texas because our own history and that of what is now Romania during Dracula’s time have uncanny similarities; Dracula dealt with terrorists and outlaws in his own territory; the campaign against the Turks was conducted by a ragtag army that was outnumbered and underfinanced; likewise, the Texas army, in the revolution against Mexico, was also sadly outnumbered and underfinanced; the revolution in Romania in December 1989 was conducted in the unseen, fourth dimensional sense, by Dracula and many Texans who concentrated their energies in that direction. Dracula is considered to be a latter-day Texas hero. One of his relatives, Princess Catherine Caradja, spent much time here in the Texas Hill Country. We had the privilege of being able to visit with her in 1991, before she went back home to Bucharest; she left from San Antonio, appropriately enough.
Cheryl B.Montoya