Every year, when Halloween rolls around, there are always certain stock characters. At a typical costume store, you can find pirates like Captain Jack Sparrow, superheroes such as Batman or Superman, and evil monsters such as Count Dracula. Dracula, who has inspired nightmares and phobias, is a character that has appeared in various incarnations since his creation in Bram Stoker’s novel in 1897. However, the serious Dracula of the 2004 film Van Helsing and the comedic Dr. Acula of the television series Scrubs are a far cry from Stoker’s Dracula and from Vlad III Dracula, on whom Dracula was based.
Fact
Vlad III Dracula, also known as Vlad Tepes and Vlad the Impaler, is the son of Vlad II Dracul. “Dracul” is derived from the secret fraternal order of knights called the Order of the Dragon, which Vlad II was inducted into after his bravery against the Turks. As well, the surname “Dracula” means “son of Dracul.” Vlad III was a prince of Wallachia, a historical and geographical region of Romania. He ascended the throne at the age of 17 and had three different reigns as crown prince. His rule was interrupted by his exile when Wallachia was invaded by the Hungarians and he was subsequently held captive. Vlad III’s final reign lasted only a few months and was ended by his assassination. He was said to be a cruel leader, having killed 20,000 to 40,000 civilians by impaling them with a pole. Yet, he was and still is hailed as a savior of Romania due to his defense against the expansion of the Ottoman Empire.
Fiction
Stoker’s Count Dracula was a centuries old warrior, sorcerer, and nobleman, who claimed to be a descendant of Attila the Hun. He often behaved cordially in order to not raise suspicions but was volatile and could fly into fits of rage easily. Although capable of romantic attachments, Dracula said they were temporary. Dracula had several powers due to his status as a vampire. He, according to Professor Van Helsing, a protagonist, had the strength of 20 men. He could also defy gravity to a certain extent, manipulate fog and mist, shapeshift into certain animals, including the iconic bat, and turn others into vampires. Dracula lived in a castle, which may have been inspired by Slains Castle, with his three wives. Dracula was unusual, in that he was aristocratic. Previous interpretations of vampires in Eastern European folklore showed vampires as repulsive and corpse-like.
Today, vampires resemble Count Dracula more so than the grotesque vampires of old tales, showing the lasting impact of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Dracula popularized the vampire, leading to numerous movies (Underworld), television series (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), and books (Charlaine Harris’s Southern Vampire Series) featuring vampires.
Further Information
Dracula: The complete novel written by Bram Stoker.
Introduction: Dracula, the Text: Background information on Dracula as well as how to approach reading Dracula.
Uncivilized Blood: A research paper analyzing Bram Stoker’s Dracula.
The Dracula Library: A library specializing in books on vampires.
Bram Stoker: A brief biography of Bram Stoker.
Article written by Janice D. McDonald