Dracula

Who and what is Dracula? Well, Dracula is a 1897 novel by the author Bram Stoker featuring the Count Dracula. The story of Dracula has been attributed to many literary genres including vampire literature, horror fiction, the gothic novel and invasion literature. It is told as an epistolary novel, that is, told as a series of lettires, diary entries, ships' logs, etc. Although Stoker did not invent the vampire, the novel's influence on the popularity of vampires has been responsible for many theatrical, film and telivision interpretations throughout the 20th and 21st centuries.
Ok, so that's the novel but what about Dracula the actual guy? Who was he? Or did he even exist?
Vlad the Impaler was real. He was also known as Vlad Dracula, and was a ruler of Wallachia in the 15th century and became famous for his use of impalement as a form of execution. Even today he is still considered by some form of leadership.
     He was born in 1431 to a Transylvanian father and Moldavian mother of royal descent. He was educated by his mother and her ladies-in-waiting. His military education was provided by his father and an old boyar who had trained with the Turks. At the time of Dracula's birth Transylvania was ruled by Hungary.
            In 1444, he and his brother Radu were taken hostage by the Turks. They spent the next four years in Turkey, where Vlad received his political and military training.
           In 1448, when he was 17, he ws freed and given his own army by the Turks. He ruled Wallachia for 2 months before fleeing to Moldavia. His father and older brother Mercia had been assassinated in 1447 by the family's enemies, the Hunyadi family. Dracula had received word that the Hunyadi family was in Wallachia.
          In 1456, after the death of his mortal enemy, John Hunyadi, Vlad gained the Wallachian throne. He set up is capitol in the city of Tirgoviste and it became the center of political power and the home of the Orthodox Church.
Dracula was deposed by the Turks in 1462. For twelve years, from 1462- 1474, he remained a prisoner of King Matthius in Hungary. During this time, Vlad had married a member of the royal family and he also became a Catholic.
For a short period of time, he regained his throne in 1476 and after two months, he was killed fighting the Turks near Bucharest.
Today, Dracula is known as a hero of Romania. He is respected for fighting the Turks and he unified Wallachia and created a strong sense of pride in its native people. He was also the last Wallachian prince to remain independent of the Ottoman Empire.
The folklore of Romania is full of stories of his horrific treatment of his enemies. There are many legends of who he was and how he lived. There are stories that remain strong in establishing Vlad as a bloodsucking, cruel tyrant.
Vlad, the Impaler. Supposedly, the real Dracula.

 In movies, he is portrayed as a bloodsucking vampire.
Whether you believe he was a vampire or an emperor, it is still interesting to watch him as a vampire in movies.