The image of a menacing yet somewhat alluring man with canines piercing the neck of an unsuspecting victim has been circulating for more than 100 years, and is believed to have evolved from ancient Romanian folklore.
Count Dracula, a mythical, blood-sucking undead creature, is based on a very real individual who has a unique place in Romanian history. Vlad Dracula, nicknamed “Vlad Tepes” (“Vlad the Impaler”), was the ruler of Wallachia in the mid-1400s. He hailed from Sighisoara in Transylvania, but spent most of his adult life in southern Romania, according to Romania Tourism.
“Dracula” translates to “Son of Dracul,” meaning “dragon” or “devil.” Vlad the Impaler was the second legitimate son of Dracul and is one of the most important rulers in Wallachian history as well as a national hero in Romania. Vlad plundered Transylvanian Saxon villages who supported his opponents, and took captured people back to his home where he had them impaled.
Despite his brutal military strategy, there is no evidence that Vlad the Impaler had any ties to the supernatural. That connection is due in large part to the 1897 novel “Dracula” penned by Irish author Bram Stoker, which inspired the vampire trope. Having never traveled to Romania himself, Stoker evoked authority by including many real locations in the country in his work. The book’s narrative was built around letters, diary entries and newspaper articles, so that readers could very well believe that Vlad the Impaler truly was condemned to live off the blood of the living for all eternity.
“Dracula” helped pave the way for more Dracula adaptations, including the 1922 film “Nosferatu,” which is the Romanian word for vampire. This, combined with the dense, dark ancient forests of Transylvania, and the fact that Romania Tourism says that Transylvania sits on one of the Earth’s strongest magnetic fields, help add to the mystery surrounding this area of the world – and the possibility that there really could be an undead predator feeding on the living.
Depending on the account, Dracula can shift his shape to a vampire bat or even mist. Additional accounts say that he will be burned by sunlight, although in Stoker’s version he is able to move about during the day despite typically being nocturnal. Hollywood films helped solidify the persistent myths about Dracula over the years.
