Vlad the Impaler

Ben Langdale

Vlad III or better known as COUNT DRACULA, was the most terrifying ruler in the 15th century. Vlad became notorious for his evil ways of killing people, including his most favorite; impaling enemies with long sharpened wooden stakes. This is a gruesome process in which the victim had a wooden stake slowly driven through their body before being left to die of exposure.
That is how he got his nickname “Vlad the Impaler.” Vlad’s victims were murdered through unbearable means including beheadings, skinned, disembowelment and even being boiled alive. Experts today agree that he is responsible of the killings of 40,000 to 100,000 people.

Vlad III was a 15th century ruler of Wallachia, which is today known as Romania. His father Vlad II was a member of the Order of the Dragon in which solid purpose was to protect the land from the muslim Ottoman Empire in which was increasing rapidly. His father died in 1456 in battle with the Ottoman Empire and Vlad III took the throne soon after. He began to rule in a bloody and dictatorship manner, striking fear in the hearts of his enemies. In 1461, the war with the Ottomans began as a result from Vlad III attacking Ottoman strongholds on their land. The Ottomans began to push back his army. During a night raid, Vlad killed many thousands of Ottomans, and impaled their dead bodies on wooden post for the enemy armies to see the next morning. The most famous military defeat under Vlad the Impaler's rule is against the advancing Ottoman Turks, Vlad supposedly had around 20,000 men impaled on the banks of the Danube. The second wave of invaders retreated immediately after seeing the horrific forest of corpses.

Vlad the Impaler used his punishments to the extreme. One account describes a gypsy man who had stolen something from Dracula while traveling through his land. Vlad had the man boiled, and then forced the other gypsies to eat him. In an attempt to clean up Wallachia, Vlad invited all the sick and old residents to clean up the streets of the city of Tirgoviste (capital of Wallachia.) He then invited the sick and beggars to one of his home for a feast and burned them alive.   According to many historians, Vlad participated and enjoyed eating his meals among the thousands of impaled bodies of his enemies. He would even dip his bread into the blood of his victims. This bloodthirst practice along with the name “Dracula” (son of Dracul) derived from his father's’ Order of Dragon  and Vlad’s birthplace of Transylvania would later inspire the vampire in Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel “Dracula.”  Bram Stoker was responsible for bringing the idea and belief about vampires alive. “Dracula” means son of Dracul who was Vlad the Impaler's father nickname.  “Dracul” means “dragon” " in Romanian. Dracul belonged to the Order of the Dragon, which fought the Muslim Ottoman Empire. Bram Stoker based vampires off of Vlad the Impaler’s bloodthirst and ruthlessness. Vlad the Impaler finally died in battle when his army was outnumbered by the turks but his body was never found. Many skeptics have their reasons, but to most, it’s because he is the real count dracula.

Works Cited:
Miller, Dr. Elizabeth.”Count Dracula vs Vlad the Impaler” count dracula vs vlad the impaler 2005 web. 21, October 2015
Andrews, Evan “7 Terrifying Historical Figures” A&E Television Networks 2012 web 21, October 2015
Nixon, Eli “10 Fascinating Facts About the Real Dracula” Listverse Ltd. 2007 web 21, October 2015

Further Research:
Vlad the Impaler. http://www.medievality.com/vlad-the-impaler.html This cite has alot of information about Vlad the Impaler and the highlight of events in his life.
       
The Terrifying Truth about Dracula http://www.infoplease.com/spot/dracula1.html This cite talks about the Order of the Dragon, Vlad the Impalers life, and his missing corpse.

Vlad the Impaler: The Real Dracula's Dark Secrets http://www.livescience.com/48536-vlad-the-impaler-dark-secrets.html This cite is great for reviling the dark side of Vlad III.

The True Dracula: Vlad the Impaler

Author: Marlayne Smith

“Vlad the Impaler: The REAL Dracula.” By Joannapary

Dracula by Bram Stoker is the most famous horror story ever written. Bram Stoker was the one who brought the mythology of vampires to the world and vampires has become a popular since then. Everyone knows who Count Dracula is. Count Dracula has been described as not human, no reflection, turns into a bat or a wolf, fears the holly cross and can only be killed by stake through the heart. Count Dracula was undead and more importantly, Count Dracula drinks human blood. Where did Bram Stoker get this idea? Historians and scholars all point towards to Prince Vlad the Third. For centuries, Prince Vlad Tepes has been known to be a ruthless ruler who had the pleasure of killing his enemies.  

PRINCE VLAD’S VICTIMS 

Back in the 1400s in Transylvania (now know as Romania), there was such a man known as Prince Vlad the Third, the Prince of Wallachia and the son of Vlad the Second (1431-1476). Vlad’s brother were, Radu cel Frumos (the handsome), Mircea the second of Wallachia (the oldest sibling) and Vlad’s half-brother, Vlad Calugarul. Prince Vlad was also known for another name, Prince Vlad Tepes, the Impaler. What Prince Vlad the Third did to his enemies was unthinkable. Such as the men who worked and then betrayed his father, were all impaled. Vlad’s acts on impaling people were so horrifying, the village people, whether they were Vlad’s enemies or not, and his enemies started to fear him. Yet, the victims who were welcome into Vlad’s home knew something bad was going to happen, but the victims came into Vlad’s welcoming “parties” anyway and were killed by impalement. 

BRAN CASTEL, VLAD’S HOME

“The Dark Dracula Castle in Transilvania or Transylvania.” By Cristian Loja

A rumor has stated from a record by an unknown person who said Vlad would not just only impale his victims but drink their blood during the feats and after the feasts.. One true fact was when Vlad gave a group of men a big feast to enjoy and entertain the men. The men Vlad invited were the men who worked for his father and betrayed his father. Vlad had a plan in his mind to strike back at them as he saw the men were enjoying themselves. Not knowing who really was involved with his father’s death, Vlad’s only way to kill the killers was to kill all the men was loyal at his father’s side, the Order of the Dragon. Vlad put his father’s men into hard labor force. So hard that the men’s clothes started tear off from them from working endless. Just when the men’s clothes were all off, Vlad ordered his men to impale every one of his father’s men. The men were impaled as they were placed surrounding Vlad’s castle. This act of revenge started the rumors about Vlad drinking human blood after the death of these men. 

RUMORS HAS IT THAT VLAD DRINK HUMAN BLOOD 

“Vlad the Impaler.” By Scott Jackson

(For Sale on Etsy.)

Another story is told about when Vlad and his 10,000 men came to villages and then impaling thousands of people. For Vlad, this was his way to fear off his enemies. Sticking them on wooden pole in his forest and then outside his castle, Will Romano explained in his article. Vlad didn’t even have to fight face to face with the Ottoman armies in battle. The Ottoman armies came upon the impaling bodies and turned their heads away from the dying victims. They couldn’t look as each of the Ottoman armies marched back away from the bodies and not evening wanting to enter the forest. Wishing they never saw the thousands of victims being impaled.

Since hundred of years after the death of Vlad the Impaler, Vlad has become a major example as the first like vampire in the world. Whether Vlad was drinking human blood is true or not, the whole concept of vampires drinking blood started one of them mythologies about vampires, Ray Porter highlights in his essay. There is also a debate about Vlad being a great ruler and what he did was the good for his people and country. Many people who’ll try to point this across and believe Vlad as a good man. In medieval times, there were many ruthless rulers. Rulers who’ll do such cruel acts, such as cutting people, burning them alive, hanging them and so on with torturing people. These tortures were all based on a ruler’s laws in their country.

Whoever Vlad the third was, based on the research, he was a ruler who was doing his job and sought out revenge for his family. Then the revenge turned Vlad into a brutal psychological killer. Therefore by becoming one of the most evil men in history, based on by historians and scholars around the world who had studied him. Also to anybody who’ll learn about Vlad and having their own thoughts about Vlad the Third. Some will argue, mostly the Romanian people, who will defend Prince Vlad Tepes the Third and believe Vlad’s acts of violence has been fabricated from lies and rumors. I guess no one will know the truth about Vlad and the reasons of what he did as the Prince of Wallachia.

Works Cited

Cristian Loja. “The Dark Dracula Castle in Transilvania or Transylvania.”

Photograph. Staticflikr. 12, Jan. 2004.

joannapary. “Vlad the Impaler: The REAL Dracula.” Photograph. Wordpress. Web.

            31, Jan. 2012. 

Porter, Ray. “What’s in a Name?” The Historical Dracula: Vlad 3^rd Tepes, 1431-1476.

            Georgetown University, 1992. Web. 1996.

Scott Jackson. “Vlad the Impaler.” Photograph. Esty. 25, Sep. 2013

Romano, Will. “Vlad Dracula’s War on the Turks.” Military History. Massachusetts,

Rezachevici, Constantin. “Punishments with Vlad: Punishments in Europe

Command and different traits.” Journal of Dracula Studies. (1999-2013): n. pag. Web. 2006.  

“The Most Evil Men in History.” Discovery Channel. Discovery Communications.

Silver Spring, Maryland. 1985. Television.