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| “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
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| “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
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“Vlad the Impaler.” By Scott Jackson
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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 3rd 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.
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