Dracula was the nickname given to a real historical figure: Vlad III (1431–76), or Vlad Drăculea, Prince of Wallachia, a region of Romania lying between the Carpathians and the River Danube. A monstrous ruler, after his death he came to be known as Vlad the Impaler. The word Drăculea means "Heir of the Order of the Dragon”, a group of warriors dedicated to protecting Christianity in Eastern Europe and fighting the Ottoman Turks. However, Drăculea is now much better known as Count Dracula, the vampire. He was the main character in an 1897 novel by the Irish author Abraham (Bram) Stoker (1847–1912). Dracula’s legendary home may also be based on a real castle—Bran Castle in Transylvania, another region of Romania.

Vlad the Impaler

Vlad Drăculea was regarded as a folk hero in Romania and Bulgaria for protecting his people from the Turks. But he was also a cruel tyrant. He earned his nickname “the Impaler” (Țepeș in Romanian) because of his horrific habit of having his enemies impaled on stakes (driven through their bodies). Reportedly, he would then listen to them scream in agony while he ate his dinner. Turkish soliders told of coming across “forests” of impaled victims. Reports of Vlad the Impaler's shocking acts may have led to the association of his name with vampires of ancient legend: corpses—described as “undead”—that rose from the grave at night to suck the blood of humans.

Vampires

According to a Central European legend—one which began in Hungary and the Slavic areas of eastern Europe—criminals or heretics (people who do not share the religious beliefs of the majority) become vampires when demons or evil spirits enter their bodies after they die. Slain werewolves or witches may also become vampires. When a vampire is buried, it does not decay like a normal corpse. Instead, it leaves the grave at night to search for victims, remaining active as long as it can find human blood. Any people it bites turn into vampires themselves. Direct sunlight or a silver bullet will kill a vampire, while crucifixes, hawthorn or garlic offer some protection from a vampire's attack. A vampire can also be killed by driving a wooden stake through its heart, before cutting off its head and burning its body.

Bram Stoker’s story

In Stoker's book, Count Dracula lives in a castle in Transylvania. During the day, he sleeps in a coffin, but at night, he rises to go in search of human blood. As a vampire he can change shape. He may arrive at his victim’s bedroom window as a bat or a wolf. He can disappear under the door in a mist.

The first person to meet Dracula is an Englishman called Jonathan Harker. He visits the Count in his castle. Soon he discovers the chilling truth about the Count. One night he sees him climb down the castle walls like a bat. In the daytime he finds Dracula lying in a coffin, as still as a corpse.

Dracula then makes his way to England, where he finds fresh victims. The first is Lucy, a friend of Jonathan Harker’s. While Lucy is asleep, Dracula sinks his fangs into her throat and sucks her blood. At each visit, he takes more of her life-blood. Poor Lucy dies and becomes an evil vampire herself. Dracula then turns his deadly attentions on Mina Harker, Jonathan’s wife.

But there is hope for Mina. An expert on vampires called Professor Van Helsing has been found. Together, the Professor, Jonathan and Mina track the Count down. They lift the lid of his coffin and quickly thrust knives into his heart and neck. Dracula’s body turns to dust before their eyes.