Stardoll's Circles of Hell: Vlad III Dracula

Once again,I'm writing about historical persons.This time I decided to write about Count Dracula.

After a long research,I finally discovered what really hides behind this name.

Vlad the Impaler (1431-1476) 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.

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.

Word of Vlad's merciless cruelty spread around Europe.The real Dracula used the impaling technique on his enemies, to scare his enemies, to enforce the laws, and to eliminate complaints.

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 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.

Origin of the name "Dracula"

King Sigismund of Hungary, who became the Holy Roman Emperor in 1410, founded a secret fraternal order of knights called the Order of the Dragon to uphold Christianity and defend the Empire against the Ottoman Turks. Its emblem was a dragon, wings extended, hanging on a cross. Vlad III’s father (Vlad II) was admitted to the Order around 1431 because of his bravery in fighting the Turks. From 1431 onward Vlad II wore the emblem of the order and later, as ruler of Wallachia, his coinage bore the dragon symbol.

The word for dragon in Romanian is "drac" and "ul" is the definitive article. Vlad III’s father thus came to be known as "Vlad Dracul," or "Vlad the dragon." In Romanian the ending "ulea" means "the son of". Under this interpretation, Vlad III thus became Vlad Dracula, or "the son of the dragon." (The word "drac" also means "devil" in Romanian. The sobriquet thus took on a double meaning for enemies of Vlad Tepes and his father.)

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.

“The last I saw of Count Dracula was his kissing his hand to me, with a red light of triumph in his eyes, and with a smile that Judas in hell might be proud of.”
― Bram Stoker, Dracula.

After Stoker's novel,there was an "explosion" of movies,comics and books about vampires.Here's list of most famous vampire movies.

(Note*This is not top list,these are just,as I already said,most famous vampire movies.I didn't put Twilight saga on the list,because I don't think that they represent real vampires).