Dracula – The True Story of Vlad the Impaler

Where would you travel to, in the pursuit of Dracula? ... I reckon you just thought Romania - Dracula's country. It seems that Bram Stoker's vampire Count has long ago ceased to be just a fictional character and assumed a life of his own through uncountable appearances and adaptations in literature, film, theatre, comics, advertising, ballet, games, children books, Halloween... you name it.
So, did Dracula truly exist? Yes, but he was neither a count, nor a vampire and never reigned in Transylvania. The stories about Vlad III Dracula, a 15th century warlord prince who at three times occupied the throne of a small Romanian principality of Wallachia, were horror best sellers long before Bram Stoker's famous novel. Vlad's story was turned into a myth in the 19th century, when modern Romania was just forming. His rough justice seemed exemplary for a society that strived – and still does – to settle down.