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DRACULA
The aulhon wouW likc lo (hank Karen Policrton for cyping ihc manu-
9CTpof ihb book; Caihy Knnbcf]g Tor bibliographical auisance; Andmv
The authors are abo gnicfiil for pcrmsion to reprni siilb from ihe fol-
lowingmoie.:
Bram Slotri DninJa. Cop>Tghi O 1992 Columbia PSccum Induscres.
Inc. All rgha rocrved. Counesy of Columbia Picium.
Dranl (.tariing BeU Lugo). Copyright C b> Univenal Gty Sludioi.
Inc. Counesy of MCA Pubibhing Righu. a Dnion of MCA Inc.
UbnryofCongmtCau
McNally. Raymond T. date.
In Karch of Oiacula : the history of DncuU and vampira /
Ravmond T McNally and Radu Rorescu. -
(Newui
ISBN0-395-65783-0 (pbiL)
I. Mad III. PrinceofWdlachia. 1430 or 91-1476 or 7. a. DiacuJa.
Count (Fictiliout characier) 3. Vampim Romana.
4. Wallachia - Kings and rulen - Biogiaphy.
I. nomcu, Radu. II. Tie.
DR140.5.V553M36 1994
809.93351 - Dcao 94-18*33 cip
Book design by Anne Chalmen
4.PrinceofW allachia ag
6. Castle Dracula 60
1 1. Bram Stoker 1
QmerUs
MAPS 187
CHROMOLOCIES t88
GEMEALQGY 190
APPEMDIXES
Nonfiction 224
Works o f PsycholoKy,
AnthropoloKy, and Literature 2.^0
Ficton 235
Our chapter on Draculas war against the Turks is based on this new
material. We also embarked on fiirther research on the mission o f the
Russian ambassador Fedor Kurytsin, who \isited Dracula's wife and
sons six years after Dracula's deaih. The Russian ambassador obtained
fascinatng information from eyewiinesses in Hungary, Transylvania,
and Romana on Draculas imprisonment in Hungary, his third reign,
and his death. Kurytsin looked upen the Impaler as a kind o f Machi-
avelli who used terror tactics lo sirengthen his rule over disloyal no
bles and clergy. With the lielp o f his rcport wc wcre able to trace
Dracula's Hungaran descendants, pre\iously unknow-n. Field work at
the site o f Dracula's castJe, which uncovered a more signicant epic
than at first apparent, was completed with the help o f the Institute o f
Folklore in Bucharest. Yet an aura o f mysterv still haunts the place
where he lies bured, and we collected new details conceming the
enigma o f Dracula's grave at Snagov Monastery in the marshes near
Bucharest. We also travelled to Egrigoz in Asia Minor, and through
Turkish sources gathered more accurate information on Dracula and
Radu the Handsomes imprisonment. which was far less strngent
than was suspected. The same was tnie of Draculas lengthy years of
imprisonment at Visegiad, Hungary, where we obtained the coopera-
tion o f local historians. With the help of Romanian scholars we were
able to lcate a hitherto unknown portrait o f the Impaler at Stuttgart,
and we found interesting new details on the Order o f the Dragn in
the Nuremberg archives.
In addition, this book reexamines the oral history o f Dracula and
vampire lore as well as recent research into the medical basis o f rare
diseases, such as porphyria, which affect li\ing Nampires.' Since the
frst publication o f this bo o k there has evolved a new \ampire literary
genre which relies more upon modem sensibilities than on the leg-
end o f Vlad. The nest examples o f this latest incamation are the
popular Works o f Anne Rice. Thus, in a sense, the fifteenth-century
Dracula myth and Stokers nineteenth<entury literary extensin
thereof have triggered yet a new dimensin which sti^ins connection
with the original. The same can be said o f the movies that have been
produced during the past twent>-five years. They also followed an e\o-
lution o f their own, from Frank Langellas famous New York-stage
portrayai and George Hamiltons humorous Lave at Fhst BiU lo extrav-
aganzas like Coppola's Bram Stokers Dracula. All the principal literary,
film, and televisin interpretalions deserve an assessment o f their
Prtface
IN T R O D U C IN G THE DRACULA
OF F IC T IO N , H ISTORY,
A N D FOLKLORE
BRAM S T O K E R
A N D THE SEARCH FOR
CASTLE D R A CU LA
H ic h i
^ to a halt. There, atop a black voicanic rock formation,
borderng the Arges River and framed by a massive alpine
snow<apped landscape, lay the twisted battlemcnts o f Case
Dracula, its remains barely disnguishable from the rock o f the
1 sheer thousand-foot drop on all sides. This v
hardly the grandiose, macabre mausoleum descrbed by Bram Stoker,
yet no matter how modest or how tonured by time, it was a hisloriccd-
ifice, one challenging the historian to solve its mystery, to push back an
unconquered frontier.
For our part> of fve, composed o f two Americans and three Roma-
nians, this was the end o f a long trail. Our search for Case Dracula
had begun in a light vein at the University o f Bucharest. It continued
as an expedition marred by every possible fnistraton and b> mysteri-
ous accidenta.
This search began. as did so many other Dracula hunts, because of
the extraordinary hold the Dracula vampire mystque still exercises
upon popular imagination throughout the world. Unperturbed by the
vampire myth, however, a handful o f skeptics have always claimed thai
ihere was a factual basis for the Dracula stor)' and that part o f the set-
ting indeed lay in Transylvania.
Bram Stoker, at the ver>' beginning o f his story, tells o f his own
painstaking efforts both to consult well-known Orientalists such as
Arminius Vamberj-, professor at the University o f Budapest and a fre-
quent visitor to England, and to study the available literature concem-
ing the frontier lands between the Christians and Turks. Even Stokers
mention o f consultng maps o f the area available at the British Mu-
seum library in London are intendcd to stress the historicity of the
plot; he tells us they were not too reliable, but they preved to be far
more accurate than he thought.
In Stoker's novel, the town o f Bistrta, for insiance, is accurately de-
scrbed and located, as are such small villages as Fundu and Veresti,
places you will not find marked on any modem tourist map. The
famed Borgo Pass leading from Transylvania to Molda\ia, the north-
emmost province o f Romana, really exists, and is beautifully de-
scrbed in Stoker's novel. The historie context, the centur\-old
struggle between Romanians and Turks that was sparked in the f-
teenth century, is authentic. The ethnic minorties o f Trai
the Saxons, Romanians, Szekelys, and Hungarians are known and
are distinguished firom each other by Stoker.
Dracula was in fact an authentic fifteenth-century Wallachian
prnce who was ofien descrbed in the contemporary Germn, Byzan-
tie, Slavonic, and Turkish documents and in popular horror stories
as an awesome, cruel, and possibly demented ruler. He was known
mostiy for the amount o f blood he indiscriminately spilled, not only
the blood o f the indel Turks which, by the sundards o f the time,
would make him a hero but that o f Germans, Romanians, Hungar
ians, and other Christians. His ingenious mind de\ised all kinds o f tor
tures, both physical and mental, and his favorte way o f imposing
death eamed him the ame the Impaler.'
In a rogues' gallery Dracula would assuredly compete for rst prize
with Cesare Borgia, Catherine de Mdicis, andjack the Ripper. owing
not only to the quantity o f his victims, but to the reRnement o f his cru-
elty. To his contemporares, the story o f his misdeeds was widely publi-
cized in ceruin insunces by some o f his intended victims. The
Dracula story, in fact, was a 'bestseller" throughout Europe four hun-
dred years before Stoker wrote his versin. Many o f the German-
ury accounts o f the Dracula legend have
been found in dusty archives o f m
The ames o f Dracula and his father, Dracul, are o f such impor-
tance to this story that they require a precise explanation. Both father
and son had the given ame Vlad. The ames Dracul and Dracula
and variations thereof in diTerent languages (such as Dracole, Drac-
ulya, Dracol, Draculea, Draculios, Draculia, Tracol) are really nick-
names. Whats more, both nicknames had two meanings. Dracul
Bram Stoker and the Searrh for Castle Dracula
Coins minted by Mad Dracul ihowing tht sign of the Dragn, and the eagtf of
Wallathia on the trvrrse side.
ihe Devil, Dracula the son o f the man invesied wiih ie Order of the
Dragn, or simply Dracula the Impaler? Small wonder that the Byzan-
tne scholar reading about Draculas deeds o f heroism against the
Turks, the Germn reading o f the atrocities o f the Devil against his fel-
low Saxons, and the Romanian studying the Impaler's achie%ements,
fiiiled to attrbute these actions to the same man. It is only o f ven- re
ce date that Romanian historians themselves have pieced together
some o f the fhigments o f the formidable Dracula stor)'.
If Stokers Dracula story was essentially correct in points of history,
if Dracula existed, why not a Castle Dracula? Since Transylvania was so
minutely described by Stoker, what could be more logical than to
begin the hunt in northeastem Transylvania, where the author set his
plot on an isolated mountain peak, a few miles east o f Bistrta on the
road leading to the Borgo Pass.
Over the years, many persons had set out to find Castle Dracula in
this general direction. They had traveled the way o f Stokers hero,
Jonathan Harker, from Q uj to Bistiiu and from Bistrta to the Borgo
Pass. The travelers found countless super^tous peasants and were
struck by the majestc beauty o f this abandoned Carpathian frontier
regin separating Transylvania proper from Bukovina to the north-
east and Moldavia to the east. But none had found the castle. Several
expeditions ended on the same dismal note not a uace o f any
castle.
Undeterred by past failures, we decided to undertake the venture
and set forth on the Stoker trail, if for no other reason than to satisfy
our curosity. From the standpoint o f scenery alone, it is easy to excuse
Stoker for setting the story in the wrong part o f Transylvania. thus
leading the Dracula hunter some hundred miles or more astiay. The
anchor town o f Bisuita, the depanure point for any Dracula excur
sin, is a quaint medieval city, more Germn than Romanian in its
character, with a mixed population o f Romanians, Hungarans, and
those mysterious Szekelys, whom Stoker erroneously took to be possi-
ble ancestors o f Dracula. (Some historians claim just as formidable a
pedigree o f horror for the Szekelys, ^cing them back to Attilas
Huns.) From the crumbling walls o f the od city, the most unsophisti-
cated traveler can judge that at one time Bistrta mus have been an
impressive fronter point; from its oversized marketplace surrounded
by the coloril baitx)ue German-style homes o f the well-to-do, one
may safely conclude that the town was an important trading center.
BmSlDkffndtaStrth/orQsllDmila
with goods plying north from Transylvania lo Poland and Bohemia
an d casi lo M oldavia.
Beyond Bistrta, the road fnally climbs to the Borgo Pass, along
ihe Dome depression, passing through several rustic mountain vil-
lages where life has not changed much in a thousand years. The peas-
ants still wear their traditional garb the fiir cap or cadula, the
embroidered shirt with motifs that vary from village to village, the
sheepskin-lined vest or cojoc (lately sold as aprsrki apparel in the ele-
gant resorts o f Europe), the roughly stitched pigskin shoes or opina.
These farm people are not without an anistic side. The women em-
broider; the men mold clay products with a technique kept secret, al-
though the qualit>- o f the local clay certainly contrbutes to its success.
The peasant house, made almost entirely o f wood, delights one with
the imaginative carvings o f its pridvor, a kind o f porch surrounding the
house. and the decorative pattems o f the main gate, giving the only
access to the couruard. Local folklore is rch: the doinas, a plainve
folksong the strigaturi or lyrcal poetry, the basnu or fairy tales, the bal-
lads, and the Ugmdt or popular epics, all combine natural and super-
natural elements. In the doinas there are frequent references to the
wolves, which, traveling in packs at night in the midst o f winter, were
thought to do their worst to man and beast alike. In the basme the bat
is often mentioned, and in Romania this creature is a messenger o f
bad luck. In the legends o f od, one species o f vampire is a supemat-
ural being o f demonic orgin, fghting Fat-Frumos, the fairy prnce
who embodies moral power. The wolf-headed serpent is the motf
used on the ancient standard o f the Dacians, the ancestors o f the
Romanians.
Also interesting for our purposes are the histrica! ballads that
speak o f the ancient battleground among Romanians, Tartars, Turks,
and Poles. These ballads commemorate couness heroes and villains,
preserving by word o f mouth a fascinating history one quite as re-
markable as the sagas o f the Vikings.
O f late, the more wily peasants, impressed by the number o f foreign
tourists seeking Draculas case, have decided to play along with the
search; and they do it well for the price o f a few cigarettes and packs
o f chewing gum. Unwilling to disappoint the Dracula hunter, one
imaginative peasant from the village o f Prundul-Birgaului made nu-
meroiis allusions to a castle that was mai la munte, a favorite Romanian
expression o f vagueness which means a litUe fanher up the moun-
tain" (of coune, when you reach one peak, as every alpinist knows,
there is always another behind ii). However, as historans have often
found in regard to folklore, where there is smoke, there is re. It so
happened that the folklore referentes implying the existence o f a cas-
tle near the Borgo Pass were quite correct. At Rodna, not far from the
Borgo Pass, lie the remains o f a small fortress. Oniy it was not the Cas-
tle Dracula that we were searching for, even though Dracula visited it
during his lifetime, since he often traveled the solitary highway wind-
ing through the Romanian and Hungaran lands.
The historie route o f the Borgo Pass was initially traveled by Roma
nas feudal leaders at the cise o f the fourteenth century, when they
set forth from their haven in the Transylvanian plateau to found the
prncipality o f Moldavia. It goes through majestic country Stoker's
Mittlel Land green and brown where grass and rock m ingled,. . . an
endiess perspective o f jagged rock and pointed crags."
Beyond the lower mountains, surrounding the Dome depression,
and rising to three thousand feet, lie the higher peaks, often snow-
capped even during the summer. These are the mounuins o f Buko-
vina, a favorite alpinist playground which demands the skill and
sometimes the equipment o f the cxpert for trcky ascents of upwards
o f 6,500 feet. On the Moldavian side o f the border, one reaches the
watering spa o f Vatra Domei. Today this town is an important tourist
centcr, not only because o f the health-restorng springs, but because it
gives approach to a dozen famed monasteries in Bukovina and Mol
davia proper, representing extraordinary jewels o f fifteenth<entury
Romanian artistry. The biblical scenes and history on the exterior
walls o f the monasteries, dating back to Dracula's time, are painted in
shades o f deep blue and purple, and they have survived \irtually un-
scathed through some five hundred rigorous winters.
Castle Bistrta, located near the Borgo Pass, may also have served as
a model for the case in Stokers novel. It was John Hunyadi who ac-
tually completed Castle Bistrita around 1449, four years before the
fall o f Constantinople. The voevod or warlord o f Transylvania, fore-
most Balkan cnuader, govemor o f Severin, hereditary duke of
Timisoara, count o f Bistrta, in charge o f the Hungaran kingdom,
John Hunyadi was in fact in control o f the political destinies o f what
was left o f the east and central European lands in their last and most
desperate struggle with the Turks. He died in 1456 while defending
Belgrade, the last great Christian bastin on the Danube, the year that
Bram Sloker and Ihe Searrh for CastU Dracuia
Portrait of Dracula at
Castle Ambras, near
Innsbrurk, Austria. Thr
artist is unknown, but this
appean tobf a copy
painted during the second
halfofthesixteenth cen-
turyfrom an eartier origi
nal The original portrait
was pnbably painted dur
ing Dracula 's imprison-
ment al Buda or Visegmd
after 1462. This painting
is pan of the original cot-
lection ofFerdinand II.
who owned Castle Ambras
in the sixteenth century; it
wasfirzt listed in the
coUection in 1621.
IN SEARCH OF DRACUI . A
for the sake o f the Chrstian pcacc*. in ordcr ihat botli I and my coiin-
iry might connue lo be \assals to the Holy Romn Empire." Indeed,
it is litde short o f a miracle ihai the Turks did nol behead Dracula and
Radu. Draculas eider brother, Mircea, not Dracul, had aciually taken
a more active lead in what is described as the long campaign" of
1443. From the Wallachian point o f \iew, this campaign proved an
outstanding succcss. It led 10 the capture of the citadel o f Giurgiu
(built at great cost to Wallachia by Draculas grandfather) and threat-
ened Turkish power in Bulgaria. Howevcr, Hun\'adis Varna campaign
o f 1444. organized on a far more ambitious scale and reaching the
Black Sea, was a disaster. The young, inexperienced King of Poland,
Ladislas III, fell to his death along \\ith the papal legate Juliano Ce-
sarini. Hunyadi w-as able to flee and sur\ived only because the Wal-
lachians knew the terrain well enough to lead him to safet). In tlie
inevitable recriminations which followed, both Dracul and Mircea
held Hunyadi personally responsible for the magnitude o f the deba-
ele. A council of \var held somewhere in the Dobrogea Judged Hun-
>adi responsible for the Christians defeat, and. largely upon the
entreaties o f Mircea, sentenced him to death. But Hunyadis past
services and his widespread reputation as the white knight o f the
Chrstian forces saved his life, and Dracul ensured him safe passage to
his TransyK-anian homeland.
Nonetheless, from that moment on the Hun>adis bore the Draculas
and particularly Mircea a deep hatred. This \indictiveness \s'as fnally
satisfied with Dracul and Mirceas assassinations. After 1447, Hunyadi
placed the Wallachian crown in the more reliable hands o f a Danesti
claimant, Vladislav II. (The rival Danesti family traced back to Prince
Dan, one o f Draculas great-uncles.)
Wliat is far more diflicult to account for is Draculas attitude upon
his escape from Turkish capti\it> in 1448. We know that the Turks,
undoubtedly impressed by Draculas ferocit>- and bravery and obvi-
ously opposed to the Danesti princes since thcy were thoroughly iden-
tified with the Hungarian court, tried to place Dracula on the
Wallachian throne as early as 1448, while \1adislav II and Hunyadi
were crusading south o f the Danube. This bold coup succeeded for
merely tvvo months. Dracula, then about twenty years od, fearful of
his fathers Transyhanian assassins and equally reluctant to retum to
his Turkish captors, fled to Molda\ia, the northernmost Romanian
principalit)', ruled at that time by Prince Bogdan, whose son, Prince
IN SEARCH OF DRACUL A
unlll 1456. when Hun^adi died at Belgrade. During this time, Hun-
yadi was D ra cu la s iast tutor, p olilical mentor, and, most important,
m ilitar) cducator. Hun>adi introduced his protege at thc coiirt o f the
Hapsburg king o f Hungar), Ladislas V. He aiso met Hunjadis son
Matthias, his futurc political foe. Dracula coiild have had no finer in-
struction in anti-Turkish strateg)-. Like a chi\-alrous vassal he person-
ally took pan in many of Hun>-adis anti-Turkish campaigns foughl in
what became twentielh<entury Yugoslaua. He was invested, as his fa-
ther Dracul had been, with the duchies o f Pagaras and Almas. In addi-
lion, Dracula also became the official claimani to the Wallachian
throne. It was for this reason that he did not accompany his suzerain
in the Elelgrade campaign o f 1456, when Humadi was finally felled by
the plague. At the me Dracula had nally been granted permission
to cross the Trans>l\anian mountains to oust the unfaithful Danesti
prince from the Wallachian throne.
During the years 1451-56 Dracula once again resided in Trans> Ka-
nia. Abandoning the family home at Sighisoara, he took up residence
in Sibiu, mainly to be closer to the Wallachian borden In Sibiu, Drac
ula was informed by the mayor o f Sibiu and by many other refugees
from the beleaguered capital o f the Greek empire about an event
which had the effect o f a bombshell in the Christian world: Constan-
tinople had fallen to the Turks and Emperor Constantine XI Paleolo-
gus (at whose court Dracula may briefly have been sent as a page in
the 1430S) died in hand-to-hand combat defending the walls o f his
capital. One Romanian refugee, Bishop Samuil, informed Dracula
that Sultn Mehmed IIs next objective was the conquest o f Transyha-
nia and that he planned an attack on Sibiu itself, a strategic location
that could sen e as a base for later conquest o f the Hungarian king-
dom. Dracula at least could take comfort in the fact that Sibiu was
considered thc most impregnable cit> in Trans>lvania. This may have
influenced his decisin to stay there. Yet, in one o f those acts that
make a rddle o f his personality. in 1460. barely four years after he Icft
the City o f Sibiu, Dracula mercilessly raided this regin with a W'al-
lachian contingent o f twenty thousand men and killed, maimed, im-
paled, and tortured some ten thousand o f his former fellow citizens
and neighbors. He considered that the Germans o f Sibiu had en-
gaged in unfair trade practices at the expense o f Wallachian mer-
chants. Pillaging and looting took place on a more ferocious scale
than had been the case with the Turks in 1438.
This leads us to consider one o f the most ambi\-alent aspects of
Dracula's TransyKanian career, when from friend he tumed foe lo-
ward his former kinsmen and allies. (These will be described in deuil
in ihe review o f the Germn horror stories.) This feud lasted roughly
thrce ycars, from 1457 lo 1460, during which Dracula was prince in
neighborng Wallachia. The frsi lightning raid in the Sibiu area took
place in 1457, when Dracula bumed and pillaged townships and vil-
lages, destroying everything in his way. Only the city o f Sibiu iiself, at
least that portion within its powerful defensive walls, was spared de-
struction. The purpose o f the raid may ha\-e been to capture Dracula's
half brother and political rival Vlad, the Monk, and to serve as a wam-
ing to the citizens o f Sibiu not to give shelter and protection to rival
candidates.
Another Transylvanian town that is linked with Dracula's ame is
Brasov (Kronstadt in Germn). Brasov has the dubious distinction of
having witnessed on its surrounding hills more stakes bearing Drac
ula's victims rotting in the sun or chewed and mangled by Carpathian
vuitures than any other place in the principality. It was likely on one o f
the hills that Dracula is said to have wined and dined among the ca-
davers. It was likely on the same occasion that Dracula exemplied his
perverted sense o f humor. A Russian narrative tells o f a boyar attend-
ing the Brasov festivity who, apparently unable to endure the smell of
coagulating blood any longer, held his nose in a gesture o f revulsin.
Dracula ordered an unusually long suke prepared and presented it to
him, saying: You live up there yonder, where the stench cannot reach
you." He was immediately impaled. After the Brasov raid, Dracula con-
tinued buming and terrorizing other \illages in the vicinity o f the city.
He was not able, however, to capture the fortress o f Zeyding (Codlea
in Romanian), still partially standing today. but he executed the cap-
tain responsible for his ^ lu re .
During the winter o f 1458-59 Dracula's relations with the Transyl-
vanian Saxons took a tum for the worse in Wallachia. Dracula decided
to increasc the tariffs o f Transylvanian goods to favor native manufac-
turers, in violation o f the treaty he had signed at the beginning o f his
reign. He also obligated the Germans to re\ert to the previous custom
o f opening their wares only in certain specied towTis, such as Cimpu-
lung, Tirgoviste, and Tirgsor. This action suddenly closed many towns
to Germn trade where the Saxons had made a proftable business, in-
cluding those on the Tiditional road to the Danube. Since the Braso-
Thf Hislorifol Drcula: T^rani jwm Trans)lvana
PRIN CE OF W A L LA C H IA
B u t n o m a t t e r h o w c i . o s t L Y Dracula wus
^ bound lo Transyl\'ania, his associalions wiih Wailachia are
a major part o f his stor>. Draculas ancestors carne from Wal-
] lachia, the souihcmmost of the three Romanian provinces. It
was here that he niled hree separate times: briefly in 1448:
from 1456 lo 1462: and for two months in 1476. Il w^as here, too, that
Draculas capital \vas located: therein lay the center o f iiis political
power, the scene of many o f his horrors, and the official headquarters
o f the Orthodox Church. He aiso built all of his monasteries in this
province, and fought many campaigns against the Tiirks both on its
Southern frontier along the Danube and within the borders o f his
sute.
On the northem frontier o f Wailachia, facing Transyl\'ania, Dracula
erected his infamous case. On a tribuur>- o f the Danube, the Dim-
bovita, he built yet another fortress covering 800 square meters. (Built
o f brick and river stone, some o f the fortress w-alls are still \isible in
the heart o f the od city o f Bucharest.) Dracula killed in 1476
cise to Bucharest and was buried at the island monasten o f Snagov,
twenty miles north o f the city. From Wailachia come sourccs concem-
ing Dracula which confirm the narraiives written in Germn, Russian,
and Hungarian.
At the Military History Muscum in Bucharest is an assonment of
mementos from Dracula's time, and in a Bucharest park had been a
model o f the tyrants castle. The document with the first mention of
Bucharest is a manuscrpt signed by Dracula locatcd at the library of
the Romanian Academy. Ironcally, the only existing life-size portrait
IN SEARCH OF DRACUL A
riif Udljmiiii Jrimi Munich, ni tlif riillfi tum a! ( I'hf uiiljmtin iras
acluaUy Petrus GonsaJvusfnm u Canary Islands, who luenl to Paris, nfinrd his
wugh mannm, and married. These portraits of the wolfman, his daughier, and
his son form an fxtraofdinarj family s e r ia -o n , that miheirn V, Duke ofBava-
ria, fe would make a weUome gifi to his untU Ferdinand II, who coUected paint-
ingsofgmteufuefigura.
PrinceofWallachia
It is a nvisi o f hisiorj- and fate ihai ihe Dracula portraiis exisl in ihe
Germanic worW while they are lotally absent in Romana, iinderlining
the fact that in his day Dracula was better kno^s'n in Western and Cen
tral E u rop c than in ls iiativc land. 0 \v1n g to ic pop u larity o f
Slokers novel outside Eastem Europe, ihis is still somewhai irue
today.
Saint Andre\vs Marurdom. Dracula appean al the far Ufi of Ihis cruafixion
scenr. Thefifleenth-rentury Ausirian painler who rxeruted Ihis oil aftparmily was
familiar wilh portraiis of Dracula and was able lo crrate an excellent likeness of
the prince. Saint Andiru' was the patmn saint of the Transylvanian Saxons.
Dracula is includrd as a tormentor of Saint Andrrw because of his hislory of cru-
rlty loward the Saxons. This painling uvis par of the collertion housed al the
Belvedere Palace in Vienna.
IN SEARCH OF DRACL L A
lic grouiid lloor. TJiis was where Dracula, Dracul, and Mircea ihe Od
were invested as princes o f the land following a rcligious ccremony.
Here Dracula also entertained the barban, received audiences and peti-
tions, and hcld ofTicial councils of state \\-ith the dhan. an upper
chamber which included every member o f the higher arstocraq
bishops, abbots, and the metropoliun, or head o f the Romanian Or-
thodox Church.
In this thronc hall occutred a famous scene descrbed in almost all
the Dracula narraiions: envojs o f the Sultn had come to officially
greet the prince and refused to take off thcir turbans when they
bowed to him. Dracula asked them; WTiy do you do this to\vard a
great ruler?" Tliey answered, This is the custom o f our country, my
Lord." Dracula then ansuered, 1 too wish to strengthen your law so
that you may be firm," and he ordered that their turbans be nailed to
their heads wiih small iron nails. Then he allowcd them to go. telling
them: "Go and tell your master that while he is accustomed to endure
such shame, we are not. Let him not impose his customs on other
rulers who do not Msh them, but let him keep them in his land."
The point o f this act of vengeance was not intended to teach the
Turks a lesson in International good manners, for as a hostage o f the
Turks, Dracula ^vas fully a\\'are o f their custom o f wearing a turban on
aU occasions. Rather, given the poor relationship which existed be-
tween the two courts from 1461 onward, incidents such as these were
deliberately aimed at provoking the Turks to war.
Many such cruel scenes occurred in the throne room o f Dracula's
palace at Tirgoviste. Some o f the luckicr victims escaped the pal by
slavish adulation, confessions, and self-incrimination. Dracula took
particular delight in ensnaring the unwary in a compromising state-
ment. The following incident is typical: in September 1458, Dracula
%vas entcrtaining a Polish nobleman, Benedict de Boithor, who had
come as the ambassador o f an alleged ally, King Matthias Corvinas of
Hungary. The usual iri\ial convereation was pursucd in the dining hall
o the palace at Tirgouste. At the end o f the repast, a golden spear
was brought in by some servants and set up directly in front o f the
envoy, who watched the operaon cautiously, having heard o f Drac-
ulas reputation. Tell me," said Dracula, addressing the Pole witli
some amusement, why do you think that I have had this spear set up
in the rooni?" My lord," he answered with vene, it would seem that
some great boyar of the land has ofTended you and you wish to honor
him in some way." Fairly spoken," said Dracula. You are ihe repre-
sentauve o f a great king. I have had this lance set up especially in your
honor." Mainiaining his savoir fain, the Pole replied: My Lord,
should I have been responsible for someiing worthy o f death, do as
you please, for you are ihe best judge and in that case you would not
be responsible for my death, but I alone. Dracula burst into laughter.
The answer had been both witty and flattering. Had you not an-
swered me in this fashion, said Dracula, I would truly have impaled
you on the spot. He then honored the man and showered him with
gifts.
O f Dracula's marred life in this period, far too little is knoH-n. His
frst uife or mistress it mattered little since all male descendants
were considered legitmate claimants lo the throne was a Transyl-
^'anian commoner with whom he had fallen in love following his es
cape from the Turks in 1448. From the native Romanian Dracula
tales, it would appear that their marrage was not a happy one for the
prince was often seen wanderng alone at night on the outskirts o f the
cit\', usually in disguise, seeking the company of the beautifiil but
humble women who in time became his mistresses. Such relationships
indicated both Dracula's distrust of the boyars and his plebeian in-
stincts.
But as one might expect, lo\ing Dracula could be a dangerous
thing, and so it tumed out for one particular young woman. Roma
nian peasant tales State that the luckless mistress M'as assassinated by
her suitor for infdelity, though she met a far more cruel death than
Anne Boleyn. She was impaled and had her sexual organs cut out.
Like a good medieval pietist, Dracula was most concemed with the
survival o f the soul in the afterlife. He had particular qualms concem-
ing those victims for whose death he was personally responsible, and
presumably he gave his mistress a Christian burial, a relection o f the
morbid religiosity inspired by the enormity o f his crimes.
He took the precaution o f surrounding himself with priests, abbots,
bishops, and confessors, whether Romn Catholic or Orthodox. He
often spent long moments o f meditation within the saintly confines o f
monasteries, such as Tismana in western Wallachia, where he was
known as a generous donor. All the Draculas seemed intent upon be-
longing to a church, receiving the sacraments, being buried as Chris-
tians, and being identified with a religin. Even the famous apostate
Mihnea in due course became a devout Moslem. Like the average
PrinceofWallachia
penltent of pre-Lulheran times, diese men felt that good worb. par-
ticularly ihc crcctioii of monastercs along with rch cndowmcnts and
an appropratc ritual at the moment o f death. would contribute to the
eradication o f sin. Mircea, Dracu], Dracula, Radu, Vlad the Monk, and
Mihnea were collectively responsible for no less than fty monastic
foundaiions or endowments (Dracula alone was responsible for five).
Even the degenerate Radu erected a monastery, Tanganul, and was
probably buried there. Monastic interest w-as. o f course, a perfect pre-
text for interfering in and controlling the aTars o f both itholic and
Orthodox churches in Wallachia.
Dracula had a cise relaonship with the Franciscan monks in Tir-
goviste and \vith the Cistercian monastery at Carta, and he frequently
received monks from both orders at the palace. But the religious of
various orders Dominicans, Benedictines, Franciscans, and Ca-
puchins sought rcfugc in Germn lands after they had incurred
Draculas wrath by refusing to toe the line.
Draculas crimes, the rcfncments o f bis cruelty, deserve a chapter
unto themselves. Impalement, hardly a new method o f torture, was his
favorite nieans o f imposing death. A strong horse was usually har-
nessed to each leg o f the \ictim, w'hile the stake was carefully intro-
duced so as not to kill insuntly. Sometimes Dracula issued special
instructions to his torturers to have the pales rounded-ofT, lest gaping
wounds kilI his victims on the spot. Such quick death would have in-
terfered with the pleasure he received from watching their agonies
over time. This torture was often a matter o f several hours, sometimes
a matter o f several days. There were \'arious forms o f impalement de-
pending upon age, rank, or sex.
There were aiso various geometric pattems in which the impaled
were displayed. Usually the victims were arranged in concentric cir-
cles on the outskirts o f cities where they could be viewed by all. There
were high spears and low spear^, according to rank. Victims were im
paled and left either feet up or head up, or they might be impaled
through the heart or navel. Victims were subjected to nails driven into
their heads, maiming o f limbs, blinding, strangulation, buming, the
hacking off o f noses and ears, the hacking out o f sexual organs in the
case o f women, scalping and skinning, exjjosure to the elements or to
wild animals, and boiling alive.
Dracula's morbid inventiveness may well have inspired the Marquis
de Sade, who was no doubt familiar with his crimes. In regard to the
I N SEARCH OF DRACULA
CRUSADER
A G A IN ST THE
TURKS
would help the other gain thc sister principality. In 1457, exactly one
year after his accession to the throne, Dracula, true to his promise,
sent a Wallachian condngent to help Stephen reconquer the crowTi o f
his ancestors. In this way, Dracula helped launch the brilliam career
o f the greatest soldier, statesman, and man o f culture that the Roma-
nian Renaissance produced. For Stephen the Great, or Saint Stephen
as he is now called following his canonization by the Orthodox
Church in 1972, was both a soldier and a lover o f the arts. The
number o f monasteries that still survive in the regin o f Suceava,
Stephens capital, are eloquent testimony to the cultural and architec-
tural brilliance o f hb age.
When Dracula fnally ascended the throne in June 1456, both Ch
nese and European astronomers documented an unusual celestial ap-
pearance a comet as long as half the sky Mth t^vo tails, one
pointing west the other east, colored gold and looking like an undu-
lated fame in the distant horizon." The comet later became an object
of study for Brsh astronomer Edmund Halley and has been kno\vn
ever since as Halleys comet. In the fifteenth century, as today, super-
sttious people looked upon the sighting o f a comet as a w-aming o f
natural catastrophies, plagues, or threats o f invasions. With the dcath
of Hunyadi at Belgrade, such auguries seemed likely to be fulflled.
Yet Draculas seers and astrologers interpreted the comet as a s\mbol
of victory. A Romanian numismatic specialist recently discovered a
small silver coin minted by the prince showing the Wallachian eagle
on one side and a star trailing six undulating rays on the other, a
crude depiction o f the famous comet.
After the fidl o f Constantinople, the surviving powers o f Central
and Eastem Europe were all committed to liberating the Bal kan lands
conquered by the Turks. One o f the great Renaissance figures. Enea
Silvio Piccolomini, an astute diplomat and expert on Eastem Europe,
became Pop>e Pius II in 1458. He saw the portents o f dangcr for the
whole Christian world in the imperalist ambitions o f Sultn Mehmed
II. Pius II launched his crusade at the council o f Mantua in 1459,
waming the incredulous rulers in attendance that unless Chrstians
banded together to oppose Mehmed, the Sulun would destroy his en-
emies one by one. The pope asked Christians to take up the cross and
raise 100,000 gold ducats.
Following the death o f Hunyadi and the assassination o f his eldest
son, Ladislaus, a struggle for the Hungarian crown ensued between
Crusader gainst the Turks
the Hunpdis and the Hapsburfp. Dracula had remained loyal to the
Hunyadis tliruughoui liis struggles wiih ihc Trans)l\3nian Germans,
initially to Ijidislaus and after his assa&sination to Hun>adis younger
son, Matthias, and brother-in-Iaw, Michael Szilag}'. On the opposing
side were tlie Hapsburgs: Alben 1 who had mled briefly, his wife Eliza-
beth, and Ladislaus V. The sacred Cro^-n of Saint Stephen, hidden at
the Fortress o f Visegrad, waited for the next legitimate Hapsburg to
daim it. The Holy Romn Emperor Frederick III W3s so preoccupied
with intemal aTairs that his empire was not likely lo respond to ihe
papal appeal. Hunradis son, Matthias, managed to become king o f
Hungary in 1458. Dracula, who had met Matthias as a young man.
had expected him to join the crusade. He was as disappointed in that
respect as the pope. Matthias never gave his full support to the papal
crusade against the Turks because o f his shaky hold on the Hungaran
throne. The Holy Romn Emperor Frederick III; George o f Pode-
brady, king o f Bohemia; Casimir I\ o f Poiand; the grand duke of
Moscow, Iran III; the rulers o f the Italian republics; and a number of
Eastem potentates, all o f whom had attended the council, merely sent
kind words o f encouragement to the pope. All were embroiled in
their own pett> squabbles and chose to dismiss the papal appeal out of
hand.
Dracula was the only sovereign who responded immediately to the
papal plea. His courageous action was rewarded witli favorable com-
ments from the official representarives o f Venice, Genoa, Miln, Fer
rara, and e^en Pope Piiis II. WTiile still disapproving o f some o f the
cruel tactics he used, they all admired DrBCula's courage and praised
his willingness to fight for Christianity.
In spite o f his oath to the Hungarian king and the pope, Draculas
relatonship with the Turks remained accommodating. He fulfilled his
obligation o f \-assalage, which included payment o f the tribute and an
occasional visit to Constantinople. The rst indication that there
might be problems in preserving amicable relations came from Drac
ula himsclf. In a Icttcr datcd Scptcmber 10, 1456, wrilten to the city
elders o f Brasov, Dracula revealed his real thinking, only days after his
inauguration as prince;
I am giving you the ne^-s . . . that an Emba&sy from the Turks has now
come to US. Bear in mind and firmly retain what I have previously
transacied with you about brotherhood and peace . .. the time and
thc hour has now come, conccming what I have previously spokcn
of. The Turks ^ish to place on our shoulders. . . unbeanible bur-
dcns and . . . lo compcl us not to live peaceably (with you)---- They
are seeking a way to looi your country passing through ours. In addi-
tion, they forc us . . . to work against your Catholic faith. Our wish is
to do no evil against you. not to abandon you. as I have told you and
swom. I trust I will remain your brother and foithful Trend. This is
why I have retained the Turkish envoys here, so that 1 have time to
send you the news.
In other lettcrs I have written to Your Highness the way in which the
Turks. the cruel enemies o f the Cross of Christ, have seni tlieir en-
vo>-s to me, in order to break our mutual peace and alliance and 10
spoil our marriage, so that I may be allied only with them and that I
travel to the Turkish sovereign, that is 10 say, to his court, and. should
I refuse to abandon the peace, and the treaties, and the marriage
with Your Highness, the Turks will not keep the peace with me. They
aiso sent a leading counselor o f the Sultn, Hamza Pasha o f Nicopo-
lis, to determine thc Danubian frontier, with the intent thai Hamza
Paaha should, if he could, take me in some manner by trickery or
good faith, or in some other manner, to the Port and if not, lo tr>-
and take me in captivity. Bul by the grace of God, as I was joumey-
ing towards their frontier, I found out about their tckery and sly^
ness and I was the one who captured Hamza Pasha in thc Turkish
district and land, closc to a fonress called Giurgiu. As the Turks
opened the gates o f the fortress, on the orders of our men, with thc
thought that oniy their men would enter, our soldicrs mixing with
theirs entcrcd the fortreas and conquered the city which I then set
on firc.
I have killcd men and women, od and young, who lived at Oblucitza
and Novoselo where the Danube flows into the sea up to Raho\Ti
which is located near Chilia from the lower [Danube] up to such
places as Samovit and Ghighen [both located in modcm Bulgaria].
[We killedj a3.884 Turks and Bulgars without counting those whom
wc bumed in homes or whose heads were not cut by our soldicrs . . .
thus Your Highness must know that I have broken the peace with the
sultn.
(WTien night began to fil,] we climbed into the boats and loated
down the Danube and crossed to the other side several leagiies lowcr
from the place where Draculas army was standing. There wt- dug
ourselves in trenches setting the cannons around iis. We dug our-
selves into the trenches so that the horsemen could not injurc us.
After that we crossed back to the other side and thiis transponed
other soldiers across the Danube. And when the whole of the in-
fan7 crossed over, we prepared and set out gradually against the
army of Dracula, together with the artillery and other impedimenta
we had taken with us. Having stopped. we set up the cannon. but
until we could succeed in doing this, 300 soldiere werc killed. The
Sulian was ver> saddened by this afTair, seeing a grral baulc froiii the
other side of the Danube and being unable pereonally to come
there. He was fearful lest all the soldiers be killed. since tlie Emperor
had pereonally not crossed. After that, seeing that our side was wcrak-
ening greatly, ha\ing transponed 120 guns, we defended ourselves
with them and fred often, so that we repelled the army of the princc
from that place and we strengthened ourselves. Then the Emperor
ha\ing gained reassurance, transponed other soldiers. And Dracula
seeing he could not prevent the Crossing, withdrew from us. Then,
after the Emperor had crossed the Danube following us with a whole
army, he gave us 30,000 gold coins to be diuded among us.
more properly as a ci\il rathcr tlian a forcign war, evcn lliough Tiirk-
ish soldiers were still involved. Before depaning. Sultn Mehmed for-
mally appointed Radu as commander-in<hief with the mission of
destroying Dracula and uking over the princely ofTicc. The Turkish
contingent, under ihe command o f ihe pasha o f Silistria, was to sup-
pon Radus actions, but the new commander to rely primarily
upon native support. The Turks had deliberately fostcrcd this conflict
in order to confuse the Wallachians and avoid the impression o f a na-
tional \var against a common foe, in eflect abandoning their erstwhile
plan to conquer Wallachia by reducing it to an obedient vassal State.
WTiat they had failed to do by forc o f arms they accomplished by
diplomacy. Thus, in the final analysis, it v/as less a matter o f tactics
than o f politics. The last battles pitted Dracula not so much against
the Turks as against the powerful Romanian nars who ultimately and
decisively rallied to the cause o f Radu. The Romanian boyars realizing
that tlie Turk-s were stronger, abandoned Dracula and associated
themselves \vith his brother who was with the Turkish Sultn." So
ended an account by a Serbian janissary.
There was another more compelling reason for the Turkish with-
drawal. The plague had made its appearance within the sultn's ranks
and the first victims o f the dreaded disease were recorded at Tirgo-
\iste. Perhaps Draculas attempt at bacterial warfare had worked.
Draculas desperare appeal for help from his kinsman Stephen was
answered with treachery. In June, the Moldavian ruler attacked the
crucial VVallachian fortress o f Chilia from the north, while powerful
Turkish contingents attacked it from the south simultaneously. Yet this
extraordinary double assault was unsuccessful. The Turks abandoned
the siege. Stephen was wounded by gunfire from the fortress and with-
drew to Moldavia. He did not renew the attack on Chilia until 1465,
and that time he captured it, while his cousin Dracula was safely in a
Hungarianjail many miles farther up the Danube at Visegrad.
During the last phase o f the Turkish-Wallachian war, Dracula ruled
from his ca.stlc on the upper Arges, the princes final place o f refuge
from the advancing Turks. Since the primar)' chronicler o f the Turk
ish campaign retumed to Ginstannople with the sultn and the
main bulk o f the army. historans must rely on popular ballads from
the castle regin for Information.
The peasants in the villages surrounding Castle Dracula relate nu-
merous ules conceming the end o f Draculas second reign in the fall
IN SF.ARCH OF DRACULA
o f 1462. All these stores end when Dracula crossed the border inio
Transylvania and became prsoner o f the Hungaran king. They start
anew around 1476, when Dracula retumed to Wallachia for diis third
reign. One o f ihe more classic narratons o f Draculas last moments o f
resistance to the Turks in 146a runs as follows: after the fall of Tirgo-
viste, Dracula and a few faithful followers headed northward; avoiding
the more obvious passes leading to TransyKania, they reached his
mountain retreat. The Turks who had been sent in pursuit encamped
on the bluff o f Poenari, which commanded an admirable view o f
Dracula's castle on the opposite bank o f the Arges. Here they set up
their cherrywood cannons. The bulk o f the Turkish soldiers de
scended to the river, forded it, and camped on the other side. The
bombardment o f Dracula's casde began, but it had little success owing
to the small caliber of the Turkish guns and the solidity o f the castle
wails. Orders for the final assault upon the castle were set for the next
day.
That night, a Romanian slave in the Turkish corps who, according
to local tale, was a distant relative o f Dracula, forewamed the Wal-
iachian prince o f the great danger that lay ahead. Undetected in the
moonless nighi, the slave climbed the bluff of Poenari and, taking
careful aim, he shot an arrow at one o f the distant, dimly lit openings
in the main tower, which he knew contained Dracula's quarters. At-
tached to the arrow was a message advising Dracula to escape while
there was still time. The arrow extinguished a candie within the tower
opening. WTien it was relit, the slave could see the shadow of Draculas
wife, and could fintly discem that she was reading the message.
The remainder o f this story could only have been passed down by
Draculas intmate advisors within the casde. Draculas wife apprised
her husband o f the waming. She told him she would rather have her
body eaten by the fish in the Arges River below than be led into cap-
tvity by the Turks. Dracula knew from his own experence at Egrgoz
what that imprisonment would entail. Realizing how desperate their
situation was and before anyone could intervene, Draculas wife
rushed up the winding staircase and hurled herself from the tower.
Today this point o f the river is known as Riul Doamnei, the Princesss
River. This tragic folktale is practcally the only mention of Draculas
first wife.
Dracula immediaiely made plans for his own escape; no matter how
univorable the circumstances, suicide was not an opton. He ordered
C m a d n A p tim i Ifir Tiirts
guides left ihe castle before dawn by way o f a staircase which spiraled
down into the boweb o f the mountain and led to a cave on ihe banks
o f the river. Here the fleeing party could hear the noises o f the Turk-
ish camp just a mile to the south. Some o f the fastest mounts were
then brought from the villagc; the horses were equipped with in-
verted horseshoes so as to leave false signs o f an approaching ca\-alry.
Durng the night the castle guns were repeatedly fired to detract at-
tention from the escape party. The Turks at Poenari replied in kind.
Because o f the noe, so the story goes, Dracula's own mount began to
shy, and his son, who had been tied to the saddle, fell to the ground
and in the conftision was lost. The situation was far too desperate for
anyone to begin a search, and Dracula was both too battle-hardened
and too coldhearted to sacrifce himself for his son.
This tragic little vignette had a happy ouicome, though. The boy,
not yet in his teens, was found the next moming by a shepherd who
took him to his hut and raised him as though he were one o f his own
family. When Dracula retumed as prince fourteen years iater, the
peasant, who had found out the true identity o f his ward, brought the
boy to the castle. By that time he had developed into a splendid young
man. He told his father all that the shepherd had done for him. and
in gratitude Dnicula rchly recompensed the peasant with tracts of
land in the sunounding mountains. It is possible that the son stayed
on in the area and eventually became govemor o f the castle.
When the fleeing party finally reached the crests o f the mountains,
they were able to view the Turks final assault to the south, which par-
tially destroyed Castle Dracula. To the north lay the fortifed walls and
towers o f Brasov, where it was hoped the armies o f King Matthias were
maneuverng to come to Dracula's aid. At a place called Plaiul Oilor,
or Plain o f the Sheep, Draculas party, now quite safe from the Turks,
retired and made plans for the northward descent.
Summoning his brave companions, Dracula asked them how best
he could recompense them for saving his life. They answered that
they had simply done their duty for prince and country. The prince,
however, insisted: What do you wish? Money or land?" They an
swered: Give US land, Your Highness." On a slab o f stone known as
the Princes Table, Dracula fulfilled their wishes, writing upon the
skin o f some hares caught the day before. He bestowed upon the five
guides vast tracts o f land on the slope of the mountain as far as the eye
could see. This included sixteen mountains and a rich supply o f tim-
Crusader Against the Turks
CASTLE D R ACU LA
6o
Castle Dracula
river O l \ia ihe pass at Tumu Rosu linking ii to Draculas favorite ciiy,
Sihiii. T u m u Rosu i o ftcn m c n tio iifd in clocumcnUi c o n c c m in g Dr.ic-
ula. n i e fortress, built on a much smaller scalc than Bran. lies on a
high bluff on ie left side of thc pass as one proceeds nonh. Only ihc
niins o f iis main towers are still \isible. The fortress was built by the
Saxon cilizens o f Sibiu around on dic site o f an od Romn c;is-
ile, to guard the southem approaches o f the cit>' and as pan o f an out-
ward defensive network against Turkish aiinck. Tumu Rosu means the
Red Tower, commemorating its heroic role in a specific battle, when
its walls were reddened by the blood o f barbaran aailanLs. Although
the castle >%'a.s almosi entirely destroyed on this occasion, the Turks
were never able to capture the Red Tower. or for that matter was
Dracula.
The road to Castic Dracula passes through the Citadel o f the Arges
(Cunea de Arges in Romanian), once the site o f the princely church
(Biscrica Domneasca), thc burial place of many o f Romanias early
princcs. (This is lo be distinguished from the far more ambious
seventeenth-century necrpolis the CathedrBl of the Arges.) Herc in
the princely church, Dracula and his ancestors were annointed
princcs o f thc land by thc hcad of thc Onhodox church in the prcs-
encc o f the basar Icadcrs. Gcnerally, however, Dracula avoided the
citadel and all it represented, for he gol along no better uilli church
ofTicials than he did uitJi tlie boyan, who often intrigued against him
in Tirgo\iste. Castic Dracula, mercly twenty miles to tlie nonh of this
ecclesiastical capital, actcd as a powerful deterrent to potential revolt.
In fact. this ccnter o f church auihority was gcncrally submissivc dur-
ing Dracula's lifetimc.
Wallachian chronicles, as well as popular folklore, place Castle
Dracula high up on a rock on tJie left bank o f the .\rges, just beyond
the .small conununitics o f Arcfu and Cjipatincni. By a strange irony,
Castle Dracula is also known in the chronicles as the fortress o f Poe-
nari, the ame o f another \illage located on the oppositc bank o f the
rivcr. hi fac, one of the oldcst o f these chronicles crediLs Dracula with
just two accomplishnicnLs; The Impaler built tJie castle o f Pocnari,
and the monasten' of Snagov, where he lies buried." Small wonder
that there has been such difficulty in identifying ihe horrible tyrant
and persecutor o f thc Gcnnans Mith thc castle and monasten founder
recorded by the Romanians. Romanian histories, drawing upon the
early chronicles, spcak o f a castle known as Pocnari, convened by
(M\llf Ihai ula III riirn.
Thi onpunl rnfilinii for
Ihr f)hi>li)fprf,f,h. tnkrn
iti tfjo . uirtittfini
Ihai ula \ mounlaiii
rrlrral (i\ ~the jurtrrw nj
ornan ni ihf ilislml nj
thr rp':.' Thf /iiithnr\
lalrr ulrntifird thr rinn\
a\ tlui\r i>l ('.astir
Dranda.
lalter \vas by far the more important. In the Middle Ages, Poenari V.ZS
a princcly \illage; over the ycars ihe casde built within its confines be-
came the seat o f control of all the ncighboring villagcs, including
Arefu. Deeds made by several princes to monasteries and indmdual
boyan, boih before and after Draculas time, all speak o f land en-
dowed to the Castle o f Poenari. Moreover, Poenari is the only castle
remembered in the documenis of the thirteenth, foiirteenth, and fif-
teenth centuries. Local peasant ules clarified the problem their own
way, but the key to the confusion is that Draculas castle was literally
built out o f the bricks and stones o f the castle o f Poenari. Before de-
scribing this reconstniction, let us briefly suney our findings about
the older Castle o f Poenari.
There are no \isible remains o f the castle, but pea.sants from Poe
nari told US about the remains o f a low-lying wall at the foot o f the
hill which might have formed part o f the outward defense o f a ver)'
ancient fortrcss. That fact could not, however, be scientifcally cor-
roborated. They also stated that when exca\<itions were made not
too many years ago in the local church, the workers carne across
bricks and stones that date back to the time of the Dacians, the
pre-Roman ancestors o f the Romanians. We were also led to some
local mud houses, the chimne>-s o f which contained stones remark-
ably like the Dacian stones found under the church. In addition,
a small museum organized by the local priest displays an amazing
array o f stones, coins, weapons, and other artifacts, some o f which
date to Romn and pre-Roman times. The h>pothesis o f a local priest,
Rev. Jon Stanciulescu, seems quite plausible: the original Case
Poenari was built upen the site of the ancient Dacian fortress of
Decidava. After all, the center o f Dacian power, Sarmisegetuza,
which was destroyed by Trajans Romn legin in a .d . 106, was only
onc hundred miles to the northwest. In accordance with this
theory, Decidaxa was rebuilt by Romanian princes at the cise of
the thineenth centun' to resist Hungarian and Teutonic incursions
from the north, and given the ame o f the \illage which surrounds
it Poenari. It thus gures as a Wallachian fortress with extensive
land holdings and occupied a strategic point on the Trans>'l-
vanian frontier. Poenari survived until Dracula's time, though it was
badly battered by Turkish and Tartar im^iders. In 1462, when pursu-
ing Dracula, the Turks stumbled across the decaying fragments o f
tlie fortress and completed its destruction. WTiat is left o f Poenari is
IN SEARCH OF DRACU1.A
So when Easler carne, while all thc citizens were feastinR and tho
young oncs w crc dancing, he surruundcd and capturcd ihcm. All
those who were od he impalcd, and stning ihcm all around the city;
as for the young oncs togedicr with their Mves and childrcn, he had
thcm ukcn just as iht7 were, drcssed up for Eastcr, to Poenari,
where the> were put to work until their clolhes were all tom and thcy
were left naked.
tme to flee and seize weapons. In any case, because o f thc largc quan-
lity o f wine they had consumed, many o f them were in a stale o f tor-
|jor. The occasion could not have becn betier chosen. Dracula w-as
inteni upon teaching his boyan a lesson in submission they would
never forget if ihey sunived.
Now conxinced o f ihe unreliability o f his own capital, Dracula had
dctermined to build a new castle; it would be closer lo Transylvania,
on somc secure eIe\-ation far from any well-iraveled highxvay, or any of
llie traditional passes, or any powerful Cennanic fortrcsses. The
northem slopes along the Arges River satisfied him on all these
points. He made up his mind to rebuild Castle Arges \vith the bricks
and stone from the oider Casde Poenari on the Argess southem
slopes. Moreover, the outer w-alls o f the new complex were to be dou-
bled in thickness. Castle Dracula was to be made \irtually impreg-
nable, able to resist the heaviest cannon fire from the Turks. This
scenario also neatly explains why Poenari ha.s been identified as Casde
Dracula.
The fifty-mile trek from Tirgo\iste was a painful one, panicularly
for the fljar women and children. Those who sur^^ved it received no
rest until they reached Poenari. The regin was particularly rich in
lime deposits and possessed good clay, and on Draculas orders ovens
and kilns for the manufacture of bricks had already been prepared.
The concenuation camp at Poenari must have presented a strange
sight to the local peasants, wnth the boyan arri\ing in what xvas left of
their Easter finery. As constniction began, some o f the prisoners
formed a work chain relaying the bricks and stones down the hill from
Poenari; others worked up thc mountain across the \-alley; yet others
made bricks. The story does not tell us how long thc rcconstructon
took, or thc number o f those who died during its course. People
were fcd simply to keep them alive; they rested just long enough to re
store their energy. Tlie chronicles relate that they toiled undl their tat-
tercd clothes literally fell ofF their bodics. Months laier, Dracula had
succeeded in both o f his aims: the powerful w>ar class and the princi
pal merchants had been savagely humiliatcd, and Dracula had his cas-
de retreat.
The path leading from the vallcy to the top o f the mountain where
Casde Dracula is located is not difTicult by any standards o f modem
alpinism. The actual climb takes about onc hour. The first surprisc. as
one reaches the small woodcn bridgc which leads to the main gatc, is
thc smallness of the structure, panicularly when compared with the
IN SF.ARCH OF D R A C f I. A
vasi areas occupied b>- Case Bran or Case Hunedoara. Howe>er, the
plan o f Case Dracula was limited by the pcrmeter o f the mountain-
top. The \iew is superb, almost majestic, both to the south and east to
wcst. One can see dozens o f \illages scattered among the hills immedi-
ately surrounding the xilley o f the Arges. To the south, barely visible
in the sun-scorched Wallachian hills, lies the cit>' and ecciesiastical
capital knoMH as Cunea de Arges. To the nonh, the snowcapped
mountains of Fagaras divide Transyh'ania from Wallachia proper. h is
perhaps inevitable that Draculas perch reminds today's \isitors of
Hitler's retreat at Berchtesgaden.
The castJe was built on the plan of an irregular polygon, dictated by
the shape o f the summit, approximately i oo feet wide and 120 feet
long. It is built in the style of a small mountain fortress o f B>-zantine
and Serbian rather than Teutonic design. From v^hat liitle re-
mains, one can detect two o f the five original towers resting under a
hea\y overgrowth o f every varietv o f C^rpathian wldflower, greenery,
and fungus. The central main tower, probably the oldest, is in the
shape o f a square. The other two are in the classic cylindrical form.
The thickness o f the walls, reinforced Mth brick on the outside, con-
rms the popular account. These N%-alls, protected b\' conventional
battlements, were originally quite high, and from afar give the impres-
sion o f forming part o f the mountain itself. They were, in due course,
able to withstand Turkish cannon fire.
Crossing the castle's threshold, one can clearly see that within the
fortress there was litde room for extensive maneuvering. Each tower
could have housed oniy twent\- to thirt> soldiers and an equal number
o f retainers and servants. Wlthin the main courtyard it wx>uld have
been difcult to drill more than one hundred men. In the center of
that courtyard was the well. According to folklore, there was aiso a se-
cret passage leading to a separate tunnel into the bowels o f the moun
tain and emerging in a cave on the banks o f the Arges. This was
probably the escape route Dracula used in the autumn o f 1462. The
tunnel, say the peasants, was built solidly and reinforced with stones
joined by grooves and boards to preven t any cave-ins. A few feet away
from the tunnels entrence are the remains o f a vault, which may well
constitute the only vestige of a chapel on the site.
Whatever else there was within the fortress has disappeared without
a trace. The houses o f the attendanLs, the stables, the animal pens. the
outhouses that were customarly erected in small fortications o f this
CastUDracula
/I ninrtrrnth-cmtury penal sketch of Castle Dmnila showing the tawer walls befan
their dfstnirtion by rarthquakes.
IN SEARCH OF DRACULA
the existng towers and battlements. The walls have been rebuilt lo
whai was probably their original size, and two o f the five towers are
quite visible now. To facilitate the climb, steps have been constructed
in lieu o f the winding path.
With increased tourism there have been the ine\itable changes.
Along the road at the foot o f the mountain, posters indcate the cas-
tles location. Were Dracula able to view the recent changes to his
D R A C U L A H O R R O R STORIES
OF TH E FIFTEENTH
CENTURY*
' The appcndixn conuiii ininslaoiu of ihr Gennan Si. Gall Maniucrpl: sorral ules,
including a Te' \-aranu, rrom Romanian folUore; and (he oidnt Ruuian maniucrpi
about Dracula.
T g > ie 3 d 7 t (id > 9 n g e r d n s r a u fr a n
Ufye trTtfyzotem lfytfyyffw at v o n t> m wDoi tcciu^.
DrotoU (oaybcUnitcc dicIcOc erfpfi vnbgcpM tca
eiiM nit den ^8tcm.yit dhon Ccffct gcj^tat. t pd r dic
IO tgT c^a ii6 m ^ s< r1 ^ n iU fl< n la m er40t.3t<j
^ ----------------- - f y ^ 6 f e m d p
f i iS S i
O n cc lie had a grcat poi madc \Nth two handies and over it a staging
de\ice with planks and through it he had holes made, so that a nian
would fall through the planks head first. Then he had a great fire
built undemeath the heads and had ^ater poured into the pot and
boiled men in this way.
And he led awTjy all those whom he had capturcd outside the city
called Kranstatt near the chapel of St. Jacob. And at that time Drac
u la. . . had the endre suburb bumcd. Also . . . all those whom he
had takcn captive, men and women, young and od, children, he had
impaled on the hill by the chapel and all around the hill, and undcr
them he procecded to eat at table and enjoycd himself in that w-ay.
the Bad. Also, Dracula spent more years in prison than he did on ihe
throne; his first imprsonment, by the Turks, began when he \vas no
more ihan fifteen. But most o f his experiences seemed to reinforce
one facu life was insecure and cheap. His father \vas assassinated; a
brother was biired alive; other relatives were killed or tortured; his
first wife killed herself; subjects conspired against him: his cousin, a
swom friend, betiByed him; Hungarians, Germans, and Turks pur-
sued him. W'hen reviewng Dracula's life in light o f his imprisonment
and the chaos o f his early yeare, it becomes all too clear that horror
begets horror.
-------C H A P T E R 8 --------
D r a C U L A S T W E L V E Y E A R S OF I M P R I S O N M E N T
* in Hungary constitute the most obscure phase o f his extra-
ordinary careen Romanian oral and \sTtten sources are un-
derstandably silent about the princes experiences at that time,
since they took place far from the Transyhanian and Wallachian
regions. Turkish chroniclers had no means o f being apprised o f Drac-
ulas fate because technically the Turks were at war vsith Hungary. The
Germn publicists, having triumphed in their anti-Dracula cause,
were less interested in the subject; Dracula was safely removed from
the Wallachian throne, which was all they desired.
Dracula succeeded in escaping from his casile, besieged by the
Turks. He managed to descend the treacherous Transylvanian slopes
at the head o f a small mercenary forc, and they went to seek support
from his formal ally King Matthias Corvinus o f Hungary to whom he
had written asking for militar)- help. The Germn court poet Michel
Beheim narrates the Dracula story only to the point o f his imprison-
ment by the Hungarian king in 1462 and recounts the following dra-
matic e%ents;
The nal stage in Dracula's career must be di\ided into two phases:
his lengthy period of Hungarian capti\it>', which extended over tweive
years (1462-1474): and his liberation and third reign, which lasted
barely two years, from 1474 to 1476.
The period o f Hungarian imprisonment or house arrest is the least
documented segment o f DrBCulas whole career. Nevenheless, it is
possible to constnict a fairly accurate picture of what Dracula's Ufe was
like during the years 1462-1474. His presence in Buda and his posi-
tive achievements in the Turkish campaign did not pass unnoticed in
the rcports o f representatives from the court o f the Papacy, Venice,
Miln, Genoa, Ferrara, and other Italian republics. Nicholas o f Mo-
dnissa, the papal legate who met Dracula at that time, wTote lengthy
dispatches 10 Pope Pius II describing Dracula's physical appearBnce
and e\en attempting to rehabiltate his reputation. However, the man
who showed the greatest interest was the representative of the grand
duke o f Moscow, Fedor Kur> tsin, who came with a large retinue to the
Hungarian capital in 1482. He met King Matthias, the court historian,
Antonio Bonfinius, countless officials, diplomis, Transyh-anian mer-
chants, and bankers. He was also introduced to Dracula's Hungarian
widow and his three children Vlad, Mircea, and a third son whose
ame was not recorded. Kiirvisin also made a point o f reading the
Germn nanatives that were still circulating at court and showed an
obsessive interest in this remarkable man who had died six years ear-
lier.
Like a good joumalist, he later traveled to Transyh-ania, saw Drac-
IN SEARCH OF DRACLI . A
ulas cousin Stephen in Molda\ia, and consultcd wiih the soldiers who
defended the prince in his last hours. He finally commitied his ac-
count to paper, calling it The Story of the Romanian Ptince Dranila.
Scholars have found no fewer ihan twenty copies o f this document.
Though deprecang Dracula's crmes and assailing him for liis con
versin to Catholicism, Kurytsins repon vs-as a political pamphiet that
had a deep and long impact on Russian political theon-, Dracula
ser\ed as a role model in the manner o f Machiavellis Thr Prince, a
ruler who threatened torture and death to advance the principies of
justice and morality. Ivan the Terrible was also acquainted vsith
Kur>isins Dracula pamphiet and may have modeled some o f his
crimes, including impaiement o f Russian boyan, on those o f Dracula.
He was not very tall, but wr)- siocky and sirong, vsith a cruel and
terrible appearance, a long straight nose, distended nostrils, a thin
and reddish face in which the large wde-open green eycs were
enframed by bushy black eyebrow, which made them appear threat-
ening. His face and chin were shaven but for a mustache. The
sH'ollen temples increased the bulk of his head. A buM's neck sup-
ported the head, from which black curly locks were falling to his
uide^houldered person.
Serbian despoL The papal nuncio, the bishop o f Eriau, reponed the
brutalities committed against the Turks, staiing that Dracula
spearng the Turks with his own hand and impaling the separate
pieces on stakes. Dracula was using his od devices to frighten his ene-
with him lo Wallachla suRgesLs thal he xs'as aw-arc of ihc Hanger. It was
an irony, and in a scnse Sicplicn's expiaiion for his prnious infidelit),
that the only contingcnt Dracula coiild now complclcly irusl was a
small Molda\ian giiard two hundred strong.
The Sla\ic accoimt o f Dracula's assassinaon nins as Follou^:
Draculas army began killing Turks \\ithoiit mcrcy. Out of sheer joy,
Dracula ascended a hill in order 10 scc bciter hLs mcn massacrng
the Turks. Thus, detached froni his army and his nien, some took
him for a Turk. and one of them struck him wiih a lance. Bul Drac
ula, seeing thal he u-as being attacked by his o\vn men. inimediaiely
killed five of his would-be assassins with his own sword; however, he
was picrcfd by many lances and thus he died.
Like a lion at bay, Dracula must have defended himself formidably. All
but ten o f tlie two hiuidred Molda\ians perishcd at the side o f their
new master.
Dracula's deaih undoubtedly took place in the course o f battle, but
likeiy the assassin was either Basanib. one o f his bcyars, or a Turkish
soldier. According to boih Bonfinius and a Turkish chronicler, Drac
ula was then beheaded. His head was sent to Constantinople, where it
remained exposed as proof that the dreadcd Impaler was really dead.
Ii took about a month for this calamiious news to reach Western Eu-
rope; only in Febniary 1477 did ihe envoy o f the duke o f Miln at
Buda, Leonardo Botta, write to his master, Ludo\ico Sforza, that the
Turks had reconquered Wallachia and ihat Dracula had been killed.
-------C H A P T E R 9 --------
SNAGOV:
TH E M YSTERY OF TH E
EM PTY GRAVE
an d stones o f thc only siim \inK ch ap e l w hich h e allcR ctlly built and in
which, according lo iradilion, he lies buried.
As archaculogical exca\ations <>n thc island and popular Tolklore
have confirmed, the monaster>- o f Snagov originally covered an area
much larger than that presently occupied by the church one can see
today. The original monastic complex occupied the full Icngth o f the
island. It \vas fortified by the original \valls extending to the edge o f
the lake. In times o f pcril, boih princes and boyan stored their treas-
ures at Snagov. In addition to three original cliapels (the largest o f
which is the Chapel o f the Annunciation. built by Madislav II in
1453), the complex was composed o f a princely residence, cloisters
for thc monks, houses for tlie boyan, stables for their mounts, a
prison, a mint, and a printing press. Snagov, in fact, like many me
dieval fortresses, w-as a lite town all its own, naturally limited by the
size o f the island. Today nothing is left o f this \-ast stnicturc except the
chapel.
The original monasten- is a much oider ecclesiasucal building that
can be traced back to thc fourteenth century. Snagov w-as ccnainly not
the first eccicsiastical edifice in Romana foundcd by one prince and
completcd by another; as often happens in the erection o f larger
buildings, ihe ame that histor>- associates wilh it is less that o f thc
original founder than that o f thc one who completcd it.
Much o f the popular folklore in the Snagov area is clearly fictitious.
One popular bailad relates that Dracula had a \ision o f God telling
him 10 establish a place o f praycr near thc scene o f his father's assassi-
nation at Baltcni. Other storics are more specific and may contain an
element o f truth. One bailad relates thai Draculas contributon was
the completion o f anotlier church on the island monastcry just to
compete uith his enemy Vladislav II, who had constmctcd the Chapel
o f the Annunciation. It is far more likely that Dracula converted
Snagov from a poorly defended monastcry into an island fortrcss.
\\lth his morbid dcsirc for a rcfuge, he cuuld fnd no bcttcr natural
fortifcation than (he island, surrounded by thc dense Vlasie forest
and commanding \iev\'s on all sides. Even in winter, when the lake is
frozen, a cannon shot from the island could break up the ice and thus
dro>vn an incoming enemy. It was no mere accident that the fortress-
monasterv' fell into the hands o f Radu's partisans during the Turkish
campaign o f 1462. It W3s known that the monaster>- was used at thc
time by Dracula and his boyan to hide treasure in thc xault o f thc
Abovt and oppositf: Conirmporary virws of Snagov.
by the Draculas. Death came to (hese boyan in difTerent wa)'s and for
\-arious reasons, bul chicny thcir deaths were poHtically nioti\-ated.
In spite o f the monks ongoing prayers, the monaster> was not
spared punishment. It was bumed and partially destroyed by the
Turks shortly after Prince Radus inauguraton in 1462. In addition to
destniction wrought by man, natural disaster added to the tragedy o f
Snagov. Shortly after Draculas death a \iolent storm enipted with
winds o f hurricane velocity. O f the two churches then standing, the
Chapel o f the Anniuidation was tom, steeple and all, from its founda-
tions and blown into the lake. Local tiadition has it that the beauti-
fully sculptured oak door was all that survived. It floated on the waters
o f the lake and was later blown to the opposite bank, where it was
found by some nuns. They used this pro\idential gift to replace a
much less decorative door at their convent. The Snagov door has
since been deposited at the Bucharest Art Museum where it is dis-
played as an extraordinarly rnate example o f fifteenth<entury
woodcarving. As for the submerged tower, peasants say to this day that
whene\er the lake is unduly agitated one can hear the mufTled metal-
lie sound o f the bell buried deep underwater.
s I a;
'I I
posed to have been in Draciila's time. IJke any puzzle long aban-
doncd, ihcrc are picces inissing. It is concei\-abIe ihat ihc govemmeni
may someday decide to restore the monaster)' and rcbuild the sccond
chapel as it was in ihe days o f Vladislav II.
In 1940 there was a massive eanhquake in Bucharest which sent
inany historie buildings toppling to the ground. The tremor tore the
nave of the chapel at Snagov in t^vo. Further damage was done by the
tremor o f 1976, and by minor eanhquakes since.
Today an eerie serenity seems to surround the church where Dra-
cula is supposed to be interred. Only an abbot, a nun, and a peasant
woman look after it. The abbot is a leamed man who knows the his-
tor>- o f the fifteenth centur)- and Draculas connection with the
monastery. During one o f our \isiis we met another monk who
resided on the island, did not wear the religious garb, and spent much
time in prayer. VVhen questioned by us. he confe&sed that he had com-
mitted a crime and been assigned by the patriarch to the island
monastery for expiation o f his sins. Here od traditions die slowly.
Snagov is a place o f prayer and terror, famous ames and infamous
acts. Even if one does not believe that Dracula lies biiried here, the
very atmosphere o f tliis antique site forms an ideal setting for the last
phase o f the search for the historcal Dracula. WTiere is the precise lo-
cation o f Draculas tomb within the monaster)? Does it in fac lie
there as popular tradition has it?
In 1931 genealogist George Florescu and archaeologist Dinu
Rosetti were assigned by Romania's Ckimmission on Historie Monu-
ments to dig around the monastery and elsewhere on the island.
Their findings, published in a fascinating monograph, Diggings
Awund Snagav, included \-arious artifacts showing that the island was
the site o f an ancient settlement. A great number o f skulls and skele-
tons were dug up, helping to conrni popular traditions about the
crimes committed at Snagov from the fifteenth century onward. Nu-
merous gold and silver coins o f all kinds were also excavated, indicat-
ing the use o f Snagov as a treasury and mint by boyars and princes
alike.
One particular site investigated by the Florescu-Rosetti team was the
stone beneath the altar, which, according to tradition, marked the
place where Dracula lay buried. Popular legend had various explana-
tions as to why this was the location o f his grave. The monks who in
terred Dracula's headless body placed it cise lo the altar the
Abovt; Stone over the tomb tradi-
lionaUy assigrud lo Dracttla,
TitoT ihe aliar of the asting
church ai Snagpv.
Left: This photo dates from the
I930 s, the time ofthe excavations
by Flomcu and Rosetti No casket
wasfound, onfy a large hole
containing the bones of various
animals.
Snaguv: The Mystery o f Ihe Empty Grave
idea that the actual grave was the one near the altar, the one sanc-
tioned by local folklore always a useful guide in resoKing enigmas
connected with Dracula. Village traditions about tombstones have led
to the identication o f historie personalities in many other instances.
For example, in the od church o f Curtea de Arges, it is-as long ob-
served that the f^thful persisted in standing at a certain place to the
right o f the altar for no other reason than that it was the place where
their elders worshipped and lit their candles. An enterprsing young
archaeologist excavated that particular sx)t and discovered the un-
marked tomb o f one o f Wallachias early princes. At Snagov for many
years the pcasanis similarly stood cise to the altar. \Ve also believe
that D racu las rcm ain s in ay liavc b ccn rcin ic rrcd n car ih e e n tra n cc o f
the church, presumably in the seventeenth centur>- hy Greek monks
\Nth littJe respect for the heroprince. They deliberately, contemptu-
ously, placed what the Greeks considered his unworthy remains" at
the entrante of the chapel for the faithful to trample upon. h was
likely at this time that all inscriptions and Draculas portrait were re
moved from the original gravestone. As an additional gesture o f con-
tempt, animal bones were thrown into the empty grave, thereby
compounding a hoax Mth a sacrilege. Draculas remains," states an
expert on the probiem, Re\erend Ion Dumitriu, lie at the rear o f the
chapel o f Snagov . . . without trace o f either an inscription or me
mento, under a coid stone that gets yearly trampled by the weight o f
the tourists. AII this to w-ipe away fore^er the memorj o f that prince."
His theory jibes with the dates of certain repairs made to the altar area
during the late 1700S.
Even had the tomb not been desecrated in this particular way, one
might still reasonably assume that since the original site o f the tomb
was near the altar, the tombstone being larger and more ambitious
than otliers (presumably \vii an inscription and a portrait), it was ob-
\ious prey for grave robbers during the mid-nineteenth century, fol-
lowing the closing o f Snagov as a state prison. In that case, Draculas
actual remains, casket and all, could simply have disappeared.
In any event, historical common sense suggests that Dracula, who
was after all a prince in spite o f his misdeeds and was remembered
fondiy for his heroism, would be given an honored burial place, e\en
though with an enemy prince in power it was dangerous for the
monks who interred him to honor him in that manner.
On these grounds we accept the veracity o f the u^ditional location
o f Draculas grave, even though controversy lingers on. However,
there is really no need to strain after explanations conceming the
transfer o f Draculas remains or, if the second grave is not Draculas,
to account for tlie disappearance of his body. They seem almost to
suggest themselves. Given Draculas insidious reputation, the horror
in which his ame was held by his political enemies, and the crimes
committed on the island at various times, it is unreasonable to expect
that his tomb would have survived intact. All the well<onsidered ex
planations about the disappearance o f Draculas remains and his pos-
sible reburial have only added to the mwter)- that contnues pending
new archaeological investigation.
IN SEARCH OF URACUL A
Some Romanians stll say that Dracula will rise again in tme of
great need to save ihe Romanian people. Perhaps that is why Ceau-
sescu, in desperauon following his ouster in Decembcr 1989. directed
his helicopter first to Snagov. He certainiy needed Dracula's help
he may even have tried to contact the spirit o f the great undead.
Spurred on by the Germn horror stories, the Dracula riddle
assumed a far more universal dimensin in the West and stll lives on
in the idea that Dracula is undead, like the vampire. So, in our further
search for Dracula we now tum to the \ampire link, in part man-
ufactured by Western literature. However, vampire belief unassociated
with Dracula also formed pan o f the body o f world folklore, in-
cluding the folktales o f Eastem Europe and particularly Transylvania,
the home o f many ethnic groups. It is this belief that attracted and
fascinated Bram Stoker. who studied it scientfically, focusing his ai-
tenuon on a number o f tntvelogues that noted the supersttons of
Transylvanians.
---- C H A P T E R 1 0 -----
vania comes from the fact that so many diTerent cthnic groups in
hbil the area, leading to an elabrate mix o f folklore from the Ger-
mans, Hungarians, Gypsies, and Romanians.
Romanians in particular have many ames for a variety o f \-ampires.
For example, the most common term, sirigoi (or the feminine form,
strigoaica), is an e\il creature who sleeps during the daylight hours,
flies at night, can change into animal form such as a wolf, dog, or
bird, and sucks the blood from sleeping children. The female is more
dangerous than the male. She can also spoil marriages and hars'ests,
stop cows from giving milk, and cven cause fatal disease and death.
The Romanian pricolici is an undead who can appear in human, dog,
or wolf forms. Among Romanians vampires are always e\il. their jour-
ne>' to the other worid has been interrupted, and they are doomed to
prey upon the living for a time.
In TransyK-ania, garlic is the powerful weapon to deter vampires.
Windows and doors are anointed with garlic to keep them away. In ad-
dition, farm animak, especially sheep, are rubbed with garlic for \-am-
pires might just as well attack animals for their blood as humans.
Peasants consider garlic to be a medicinal plant. They eat it to ward
o ff the common coid and various diseases. An>thing that wards ofTdis
ease is considered to be good or V hite magic, henee garlic can ward
o ff devils, werewolves, and vampires.
A vampire's graN-e can sometimes be detected by holes around the
gravesite big enough for a snake to pass through. To prevent the ram-
pire from emerging from the grave, one must fill these holes with
water. The thoms o f wild roses are sure to keep \ampires at bay. Poppy
seeds are strewn on the path from the cemetery to the town because
vampires are compulsive counters and must pick up all the thoms.
This practice can pre\ent the vampire from reaching the village be-
fore dawn, at which time he must retum to his coffin.
The ultmate way to destroy a vampire is to drive a stake through
the heart or the navel during the daylight hours when the \ampire
must rest in his coffin. The stake should be made o f wood from an ash
or an aspen tree. In some areas o f Transylvania iron bars preferably
heated red-hot are used. As an added safeguard, the vampires
body is bumed. Somedmes a fir tree is plunged into the body o f the
vampire in order to keep it in the grave. A derix-ation o f this is the fir
tree omament that one finds over graves in Romania today.
Most Romanians believe that Ufe after death will be much like life
Vampirism: Od WorU Folklorr
liefs? The Nampire bclongs to thai common siore o f images which psy-
ch o lo g is u cali symbols. M any p eo p lc assum e a sym bol rcfers to an un-
real eveni, bul in fact most s>Ttibols are indications o f actual
occurrences, having universal application. Over tme the hisiorical
connecton is often forgotten and great efFort must be made to re-
irieve its original meaning. As Jung put it, It (symbol] implies some-
thing vague, unknown, hidden in us.
The vampire possesses powers which are similar to those belonging
to cenain twentieth<entur>' comic book characters. Durng the day
he is helpless and N-ulnerable like Clark Kent or Bruce Wayne. Butjust
as the mild-mannered Clark Kent becomes Superman when called
upon, and the efTete Bruce Wayne becomes Batman when needed, so
the \ampire acquires great powers at night. The Britsh author Clive
Leatherdale has characterized Batman as the count cleansed o f his
evil and endowed with a social consciousness.
Dracula the ^ampire-count is a kind o f father figure o f great po-
tency. In many religions the opposite o f God the Father, with his flow-
ing white beard, is Satan, also a father figure, often portrayed with
huge, dark, baike wings.
The conncction between Dracula, the devil, the bat, and the vam
pire becomes clear when one understands that in Romanian folklore
the devil can change himself into an animal or a black bird. When he
takes wing, he can fly like a bird or a bat. Satan secks also lo be noc
turnal. During the day he remains in the quiet o f Hell, like the bat in
its refuge; when day is done, the night is his empire, just as it is the
bais.
The bal is the only mammal that fulfills one o f mans oldest aspira-
tions: it can fly, defying gravity not unlike Superman. Contrary to pop
ular belief, the bat is not a flying ral. The wings o f ihis small animal
are aciually clongatcd, webbed hands. The head o f the bat is ercci like
a mans head. And, like man, the bat is one o f the most versale crea-
tures in the world.
Wliy is the \ampire image linked lo that o f the vampire bat in par
ticular? Vampire bats do not exisl anywhere in Europe, yet it is ihere
that belief in the v'ampire as a night-flying creature that sucks the
blood o f the living has Hourished.
When Corts carne to ihe New World, he found blood-sucking
bats in Mxico. Remembering the mythical vampire, he called them
vampire bats. The ame stuck. So a word that signified a mythical
creature in thc Od World becamc atuched to a spccies of bats panic-
ular to the New World. Vampire bais exisi only in Central and South
America.
The \'anipire bat, the Desmodus mlundtis, is marveloasly agile. It can
fly, walk, dodge swiftly, and tum somersaults, all with swiftness and ef-
ficiency. Generally it attacks catlle rather than men. The victim is not
awakened durng the attack. The vampire bat walks very softly over
the victim and. after licking a spot on the Hesh, neaily inseru its in-
cisor or canine teeth. As the blood surfaces. the bat licks it iip. That
the \ampire bat subsista on blood alone is a scientic fac.
The once-human vampires existence is a frightening tragedy. wns
goodness or hope, repose or satisfaction. In order to survive, he must
drink the blood o f the li\ing. The possibility o f real death is closed to
him. Thus he contines, v^-anting to live, H-anting to die; not truly alive
and not really dead. The folklore about him is not based on science,
yet it is essentially true. As all vampire legends and customs attest, not
only does man fear death, man fears some things e\en more than
death. Stoker's notes, now housed at the Rosenbach Foundation in
Philadelphia, indcate that he read Thf Book of Wrrrwolvrs (1865),
which had a section on the infamous Blood Countess,* Eli/^bc-th
Bathory, written by the Protestant minister and scholar Rcvcrond
Sabine Barng-Gould (best remembered for penning the words to thc
inspiring hymn Onward, Chrstian Soldiers'). In fact, Stokers de-
scrption o f Dracula's hands being squat w th hair growing on the
palms comes directly from Baring-Gould's book.
The Book of Wemvohes recorded the basic legend o f a Hungarian
countess who killed her young female servanLs in order to bathc in
their blood because she thought that such treatments kept her skin
looking young and healthy. In all, she butchered some 650 giris for
this purpose. Barng-Gould simply repeated the storv' popularzed by
ihe Germn scholar Michael Wagner durng the late eighteenth cen-
tury. Our recent investigation revealed hitherto imknown documenta-
tion from a court o f inquiry which took place before Elizabeth
Bathorys court tral in 1611. Testimony by hundreds o f Mtnes.ses
demonstrated that her supposed blood use for cosmetic purpose was a
legend, but that she did indeed kill more than 650 girls (she recorded
each separate atrocity in her diar> ). The countess erdently likcd to
bite and tear the flesh o f her young senanls. One of her nicknames
was the tiger o f Cachtice. Cachtice, the town wherc her main c;Lstlc
Yumpim; 01(1 World FoOiloir
During the 1920S Cernan newspapers were filled w-ith stories about
ihe Hanover Vampire." His ame vs^as Friu Haarmann; he had been
in and oiit o f prisons, madhouses, and the army. iintil he settlcd down
to run a butcher shop in 19 18 . Aftcr World VVar I, Germany was filled
with homeless boys and young men: Haarmann picked them up at the
Hanover railroad station. He invited his \ictims home, where he
pinned them dou-n and murdered ihem by sinking his teeth in their
throats. He kilied at ieast twent\-foiir. and at his tral in 19 25 he ad-
mitted to twenty-seven murders. Like the infamous Sweeney Todd,
Haamian ground parts o f his victims' bodies into sausage meat, some
of which he ate and some o f which he sold in his store.
An Englishman named George Haigh confessed to drinking the
blood o f nine \ictims and then dissoKnng their bodies in acid during
the 1940S. English ncw'spa(>ers dubbed him the Acid-Batli Vampire.
In the VVisconsin farmhouse o f bachclor hermit Eddie Gein during
the late 1950S investigators stumbled on a bizarre scene: heads, skins,
and other parts of at Ieast ten human bodies were discovered, and
Gein had mummified several others. He admitted to two murders and
said that he got the other bodies by robbing local graveyards. As a
youth he had been fa.scinated with accounLs o f Nazi experments on
human flesh in the concentraon camps. Gein's story inspired the
films Psycho, Deranged, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacn.
As recently as 1981 a self-proclaimed li\ing vampire named James
Riva II \Nas put on tral in Brockton, Massachusetts. His attomey told
the jury that his client had shot his grandmother twice and sucked
the blood out o f the bullet holes because he believed a vampire told
him that was whai he had to do." Despite the objection o f the assistant
district attomey to the defenses plea of xampire," the Judge over-
ruled the objection and the defense continued their Une o f reason-
ing. This \vas undoubtedly the first time in history that xampirism was
used in a defense plea! The defenses strateg>' was that if they could
prove that Ri\a believed he \vas a vampire, there would be grounds for
an insanitv' plea. Durng the trial, a doctor testifed that Riva had
kilied a cat and drank its blood, and had once mixed horse's blood
with crackers and drank it like soup. Rix'a was foimd guilty o f the mur-
der o f his grandmother but was confined to a mental institution.
Medical doctors utilize the clinical classification living \-ampire" in
diagnosing cases o f two types; those with a proven physical need for
fresh healthy blood because their own blood is defective, such as in
IN SEARCH OF DRACUL A
cases o f severe anemia and other blood diseases; and those with a ps)--
chological need for blood because it provides a sexual or erotic thrill.
These latter living vampires get their satisfaction by actually drinking
blood.
One theory to explain the living vampire phenomenon is bascd on
an erythropoietic disease, inherted porphyria. A relaiively rare blood
disorder, it is caused by a recessive gene that leads to the production
o f an excess o f porphynns, which are components o f red blood cells.
The patient suffering from inherted porphyra becomes extremely
sensitive to light In addition, skin lesions may develop, and the teeth
become brown or reddish brown because o f the excess porphynns.
This vampire disease may have been pre\-alent among the Eastem
Eurof>ean nobility. Five hundred years ago physicians even recom-
mended that some nobles replenish their blood by drnking the blood
o f their subjects. So when a peasant declared that there was a vampire
living up in the castle, he wasn't referring to folklore but to an actual
blood-drinker.
---- C H A P T E R 1 1 -----
BRAM STO K E R
33
BmSlokf 135
Top: Highgalf Omrtfry in lindan, thf pwbable burial place of Stoker's Luiy.
Hollom: HampsUatl, thf jondon subutb whrrr two places menlioned in Sioher's
novel, Jack Straw's (.asile, an inn, and the Spaniarrls, a pub, can still befoiind.
136
Helsing persuades him and his young companions to help find Drac-
ula's many colins. Dracula preys on Mina and makes hcr drnk his
blood, apparently to aniagonize the \ampire hunters. WTien Harker
leams o f his wifes predicament, he records ihe follo^ing observation
in his Journal: To one thing I have made up my mind: if we fnd out
that Mina must be a vampire in the end, then she shall not go into
that unknown and terrible iand alone. I suppose it is thus that in od
times one vampire meant many, just as their hideous bodics could
only rest in sacred earth, so the holiest love \vas the recruiting
sergeant for their ghastly ranks." Harker so loves Mina that he is will-
ing to follow her to Hell. There is a thrlling search for Dracula, ciil-
minating in the arrival o f the fearless \-ampire hunters at Castle
Dracula in the Carpathian Mountains. Fmally, Harker cuts off Drac-
This faci for Dracula the \ampire all began with Bram Stoker, but how
did he get the idea? How did he come to create this classic o f modem
horror?
Stoker was bom on a coid and wet November day in 1847 in a prim
teixaced house, 15 The Crescent, in the hisiorc Dublin suburb of
Clontarf, where Brian Baru had fought a famous, successful battle
against the in\-ading Dans. He Ns-as named Abraham after his fathcr,
an employee at the chief secretary's office in Dublin Castle, but he al-
ways preferred being called Bram. Bram was baptized by ministers
from the Church o f Ireland in the od Protestant Church on Castle
Avenue.
As a child, Bram W3S so sick and feeble that he was not expected to
live and was confined to his bed for the first eight years o f his Ufe. He
later recalled that he never experienced sunding up and walking be-
fore he was nine. He knew what it would be like for a \-ampire to be
bound to his coffin and native soil. The exact nature o f his disease was
a myster>' to him and to his doctors, as was his astonishingly complete
recovery it is no wonder that Bram retained a keen interest in mys-
terious diseases and diagnoses. During Bram's years o f confnement,
the Reverend William VVoods, who had a prvate school in Dublin, was
brought in to instruct him. He continued as his principal teacher
until Bram entered college at age 16, but it was his strong-willed
mother, Charlotte Thomley, daughter o f Captain Thomley, who par-
ticularly influenced Bram's early childhood and his interest in horror
and fantasy. Her warm love for her son harks back to Freud's dictum
about the success assured to those sons who are especially loved by
their mothers. Charlotte Stoker often declared that she loved her boys
best and did not care a tuppence" for her daughter^. She told young
Bram not only Irsh fairy tales but also some true horror stories. An
Irishwoman from Sligo, she had witnessed the cholera epidemic there
in 1832: later Bram recalled her accounts o f it, suggesting that the
\ampire pestilence in his novel owed much to the frghtil stories told
by his mother. When Bram was twelve years od a great deal o f public-
ity followed the unin o f the two Romanian states, Moldavia and Wal-
lachia this was probably his initial introduction to that mysterious
pan o f Europe.
flr a m
ing as can be between two men." But there w-as more to the relation-
ship than ihat. Irving held such fascination for Stoker thai he
achieved an extraordinary dominance over him. Indeed, in life Ining
was lord and master to Stoker as in ction Dracula is to Renfeld.
Although much o f Stoker's tme u'as taken up in arranging tours for
Irving and his company, he continued to investgate vampirsm and
the gothic novel, both o f which appealed to his fascination with the
dark side of human expcrience. The gothic novel, a development in
English literature which can be traced back to the late eighteenth cen-
tur>', H-as initially a tale o f spooks \vith a medieval setung, highly
charged wiih emoton. At the time, such stories were given ratonal
endings: all o f ihe m\-steries tum out to have natural causes, the su-
pematural elements prove to be only illusions, and the horror is ex*
Sir Hmry Irving in a portmit painted in 1880 byJules Bastien Lepage. At this
lime Bram Stoker was Irving's prvale semtary, a working relalionship Ihal mir-
Torrd Ihat of Dracula and Renfield in Slolter's Dracula.
plained away. But when Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstrin in 1818, a
new, na lislk element was introduced inio ihe gothic novel. Slicllcy
achieved horror and mystery through the exploration o f Science. The
agcnt o f horror in her book was no spook, no siipematural being or
the Ilusin o f siich. It was a real monster manufactured by the techni-
cal exf>ertise o f a medical student.
Both the vampira and Frankenstein's creaiure were conceived at
the same time and at the same place. The coincidence occiirred
during the summer o f 1816 in Gene^a, Switzerland. where Man- Shel
ley, her stepsister Qaire, Percy Bysshe Shelley. Lord Byron, and his
personal physician, John Polidori, had gone on vacation. The group
first stayed at the Hotel d Angleterre, then rented adjacent \illas
along ihe shores o f Lake Geneva. Mar) laier w o tc that it was a "wei
ungenial summer, and the rain confned us for days." In order to
amuse themselves, this gifted group decided lo read Germn tales of
horror. Then, one night in June, Byron said, We will each write a
ghost story.'
%
I j /I: l.dui Hyiiiii.
Righl: John Polidori, Byrons personal physician and author o f The \'amp>TC,
which, whm firstpublishfd in 1819 , appeoTed itndrrByron's namr.
BramSlokfr
Before the end of the summer, the eighteen-year-old Mary, inspired
by a philosophical discussion and a nighunare, had WTitien a draft of
Frankenslein. \Vhen it later appeared in print, some re\iewers thought
ihat her husband v,-3s really its author.
Mary Shellcy WTOtc Frankenslein to show in a fairly sympathetic way
the failure o f a would-bc scienfic sa\ior o f mankind. The public
tumed it all upside down, and hcr creation inspired an endless run of
stores about ihe mad scientist who tries to go beyond nature's laws.
unlike ordinar)-, God-fearing mortals. In so doing he un\vitiingly crc-
atcs a monster. Evcntually, the unholy creature destro\-s its o\%-n cre-
ator.
Not to be outdone by any woman, Byron sketched out at Genera a
plan for a tale about a %-ampire, but he never nished it. Instead,
twenty-year-old Polidori, an Englishman o f Italian descent and a for
men student o f medicine at the University of Edinburgh, took Byrons
idea and used it as a basis for a story called The VampvTe."
In April 1819 Polidoris tale appeared in the Neiu Monthly Magazine
imder Bvrons ame, through a misunderstanding on the pan o f the
editor. Goethe s\s-allowed the sior> whole and declared it to be the
best thing that Byron had ever writien. Years before, Goethe himsclf
had given substance to the \ampire legend in his Braut Von Korinth.
In Polidoris The Vampyre" a young libertine. Lord Ruthven, mod-
eled loosely on B)Ton, is killed in Greece and becomes a vampire. He
seduces the sister o f his friend Aubrey and sufTocates her on the night
follouing their wedding. This story never caught on with the public,
and two years after its publication Polidori. unsuccessful at both litera-
ture and medicine, took poison and died. The \-ampire m>ih, how-
ever, remained popular. Other writers uied their hand at creating a
fascinating \ampire figure, and Stoker profited from their attempts.
Alexandre Dumas pm composed a drama entitled Le Vampirr dur-
ing the 1820S. In 1820 Nodiers Le Vampire translated into English
by j. R. Planche. Ten years later Planches melodrama The Vampire \<ns
published in Baltimore. In Melmoth the WaruCTpr ( 1820), written by the
cccentric Dublin clergyman Charles Robert Maturin, the hero is a
meld o f Wandering Jew and BjTonic \-ampire. The character inter-
rupts a wedding feast and terrifies everyone. Soon after the event the
bride dies and the bridegroom goes mad. The vengeance o f the \-am-
pire is complete.
Ncarly a quartcr<entur>- after Polidoris The Vamp>Te," James Mal-
colm Rymer published Vamey the Vampire or The Feast of Blood, which
Otu ofthe orignal iUusIrations for James Makolm Rymrr s
Vamcy thc Vampirc or The Feast of Blood.
was well received. (The original edition, published in 18 47, did not
ame the author, and some expcrts, such as Devendr P. Varma and
Leonard Wolf, stll believe that Vamey was actually writien by Thomas
Preskett Prest, but most oihers have agreed on Rymer.) Before writing
il. the author had studied the vampire legends in detail. His story is
set in the 1730S durng the reign o f George II. It concems the
Bannesworth family and its persecution by Sir Francis Vamey. Vamey
sucks the blood o f Flora Bannesworth, captures her lover, and insults
her family. Oddly, the author presents Vamey as a basically good per-
son who is driven to evil by circumstances. He often tries to save him-
self, but at the end o f the story he is in utter despair and commits
suicide by jumping into the crter o f Mount Vesuvius.
This solidly realistic horror-story tradition o f Mary Shelle), Maturin,
and Rymer was the foundation upon which Stoker WTOte his story.
Like them, he presented the vampire as an actual phenomenon. His
Dracula is, and remains, a vampire quite difTerent from some
gothic novis, in which what seems to be a bloody ghost tums out to
BramMf
versation and flecs, as if evenihing has to break ofT at cock<ro\v. . .
like the ghost o f Hamleis falhcr." Here Sioker pro\ides one o f ihc
first clues ihat the counl acts like a ghost. On the moming o f 16 May,
Harker notes that
of all the foul things that hirk in ihis hateful place the Count is the
least dreadful to me; that to him alone I can look for safet>\ even
though this be only whilst I can sene his puqjosc. Grcat God! mcrci-
fiil G od!. . . I begin to get new lights on certain things which have
puzzled me. Up to now I ne%er quite knew what Shakespeare meant
when he made Hamlet say: My lablets! quick, my tablets! Tis meet
that I put it do\sii."
Harker, feeling that his mind is becoming unhinged, regains his coni-
posure and peace o f mind b\ forcing himseif to enter the bizarre
events in his diarv. In her diarj- entn- o f 12 September Lucy notes,
Well, here I am to-night, hoping for sleep, and lying like Ophelia in
the play, with \irgin crants and maiden strewments. " Later, on 1 Oc-
tober when Dr. Seu-ard records in his diarj his question to Renfeld
whetlier he would like some sugar to attract flies. Renfield replies, 1
dont take any stock at all in such matiers. Rats and mice and such
small deer, as Shakespeare has it; chicken-feed o f the larder they
might be called. l m past all that son o f nonsense. Stoker had proba-
bly absorbed this from seeing lr\ing perform Hamlel on so many
nights. The play opened on December 30, 1878, and ran for a hun-
dred nights. It \%-as the first time that Stoker had been involved in pro-
ducing a play. As he put it. Now 1 began to understand lohy
ever>ihing was as it was. It was a liberal education." HamUt e^^dently
remained on his mind when he wTote Drarula.
Van Helsing's ame seems to be derived from the Danish ame for
Hamlets famed castle Elsinore Helsingor, meaning the island of
Helsing." Stoker apf>ears to have identfied strongly with the Van Hcl-
sing character in many \s3\-s, even gi\ing Van Helsing his own first
ame and that o f his father, Abraham. Dr. .\braham V'an Helsing is the
true hero o f Draaila. \an Helsing has most o f the ad%antages; he
kno\%-s that Dracula is relatively powerless during the day and can be
held off with garlic or the cross. Van Helsing the professor unites the
scientifc \%ith the occult; he is all-wise and all-powerful. His mind
pierces everyday reality to the reality beyond. Van Helsing is relentless
I N SEARCH OF DRACUL A
This is a physical description o f Bram Sloker. Van Helsing gets his gar-
lic flowera from Haariem, where his friend Vanderpool mises them in
his glass-house all year long. The American, Quince} Morris, says that
Van Helsing is Dutch, but that could refer to any Germn speaker, like
the Pennsylvania Dutch who are, in fact, Germn. (Some literary ex-
pcrts have called Van Helsing a Belgian without prescnting any cvi-
dence.) Van Helsing administers three blood transfiisions to Lucy
Westenra; one firom Harker, another from Holmwood, and the last
from Quincey Morris, but Lucy dies unconscious after the final trans
fusin. Lucy is based upon Luc>' ClifTord, with whom Stoker was
friendiy. Lucy ClifTord was Stokers adopted niece and a popular au-
thor o f comic literature.
During the early iSgos Stoker was already working on the novel at
his London home. While spending his summer holidays at the seaside
resort o f Whitby, which also figures in the novel, Stoker came across a
book by William Wiikinson, self-styied Britsh cnsul to Bucharest,
which he checked out o f the Whitby Public Lending Library. (Stoker
even recorded the cali numbers.) In it were important references to
the historcal Dracula, such as Vlads war against the Turks, his res-
oluteness and cruelty, and the treachery o f his brother Radu. Stoker
took copious notes for later inclusin verbatim in chapters 6 and 7 o f
Dracula.
In the meantme, Stoker discovered the Scottish seaside resort o f
Cruden Bay while on holiday in 1893. He was so enthralled with the
solitary, isolated beauty o f the place and the sound o f the sea on the
Top: The Kmamock Arms, the smaU hotel ai Crvden Boy. Scotland, when Bram
Stokersiayed while writngDncyjli.
Boltom; Slains Castie at CnuUn Boy, the probable inspiration for Stokers descrip-
tions ofCastU Dracula.
IN SF.ARCH OF DRACUI.A
and nol spilling their blood, in honor o f their patroness, Kali. Natu-
rally the Thugs are incensed to witness Newcasile rip a \ictims throai
and drink the spurting blood, bul he presents himself as a messenger
from Kali herself, in the hope that they will lead him to the goddess of
death. Throughout the Daniels seres the vampirc is upset by horrors
which would not have bothered Stokers evil count.
Another tuming point in the modem vainpire genre comes with
Suzy McKee Chamass The Vampirt Tapeslry (1980), which presents a
psychotic living >'ampire as the focus o f the ston-. A cultural anthro-
pologist, lall, handsome Dr. Edward Lewis Weyland avers, I seem to
have fallen \ictim to a delusion o f being a \-ampire. A woman lie at-
tacks shoots and wounds him. and in order to keep bis collcge leach-
ing job, Dr. Weyland is forced to undergo psychiatric therapy. His
therapist, Floria, at first calis her patient Dracula in jest. He initially
resists the analysis but finally yields to reveal his absolute grou-ing con-
viction that he is a vampire. Patient and therapist then interact with
terrifying results, exposing a strange, deep bond as much between
doctor and patient as between monster and \ictim.
Unlike the many seres that appeared in the igyos Stephen King's
XTimpire novel Salrms Lol was actiially based on Stoker's Drarula. In
this eary King novel the evil Manten House is Castle Dracula; Barow,
the king \'ampire, is Count Dracula; and Straker, his minion, is a bit
like Reneld. The tale u^nsfers the setting to contemporan- Maine,
and makes children the agents o f the spread o f xampirsm to the
adults. Young Mark Petre, who knows al! about \-ampires and wcre-
wolves becaase he collects horror magazines and gurnes, is the ado-
lescent hero who courageously defies and destroys the \-ampires
together with the wrter Ben Mears. King's important contrbutions to
the genre were placing the vampire in a contemporar>' Amercan set
ting and making the reader see the events through the eyes o f a child.
In Whitley Strebers novel The Hungrr (1981), Miram, the vam-
piress, is seen existing from ancient times to the present. Each seg-
ment o f the novel is a kind o f short historcal \ignette in which
Miram appears against a rch background of authentic historcal de-
tail. She can cry and even have nighunares, but she is unable to keep
her lovers alive for very long, so she pathetically hides their remains in
boxes in her attic. A slick movie extraNaganza, which looked more like
an ad from Cosmopolitan ihan a horror film, was loosely based on
Siebers novel. New this time \vas an emphasis on the femalc vam
pires seductive side and her bisexualit>.
On Stage, in Fiction, and on Ftlm
Ihc cnd C of Ihe m0\ie, Van Helsing appears to dellver the verbatim
e p ilo g u e froin the stagc versin: Ju sl a in onicnt, ladies an d gen tle-
men! Just a word before you go. We hope the memories o f Dracula
and Reneid woni give you bad dreams, so just a word o f reassurance.
you get home tonight and the lights have been tumed down
and you are afraid to look behind the curtains and you dread to see a
face appear at the window why, just pul yourself together and re-
member that after all thm are such things.
The American versin became even more popular because o f the
almost simultaneous release o f Frartkenslein in 1932. It is interestng to
speculate on whether there is any correlation between the popularty
o f these creatures and tlie period in which they were released the
Great Depression. The optimistc Dr Frankenstein created a monster
that ultimately des-oyed him, just as many optimistic investors cre
ated a market that in 1929 desuoyed them. Dracula drained away the
life o f his \ictims, an effect comparable to that o f the economic de
pression.
Lugosis oniy rival as the horror king was Bors Karloff, who played
Dr. Frankenstein's monster, a role that Lugosi had refused. By now
Lugosi was hopelessiy typecasL Seven years after Dracula htis released
it was reissued, and thcrc followed a long line o f horror flms in which
Lugosi participatcd: The Retum of the Vampin, House of Dracula, and so
on. Lugosi also toured in the role o f Dracula both in America and in
England. He was addicted to drugs, and by 1955 was instutionalized.
He said he had taken morphine during flming in 1931 to relieve the
pain in his legs, bul he had been a long-time drug user. In August
1956, Bela Lugosi, the vampire king. the living embodiment o f Drac
ula, died at seventy-two years o f age. Although Dracula and other hor
ror roles had netted him more than |6oo,ooo, he had only $2,900 left
at the time o f his death. In accordance with his request, Lugosi was
bured wearng his tuxedo, medallion, and black Dracula cloak lined
in red satin.
During the 1950S classic horror films were revi\-ed on W . and the
Dracula movie became popular again, to a whole new generation of
viewei. In 1958 the British screenwriterjimmy Sangster wTote a new
Dracula script that was somewhat based on Stokers story line for
-m.
Above:Jonathan Hatker (Keanu Rfeves) is confronted by Dmcula (Gary Oldman)
in the 1992 film Bram Stokcr's Draciila dirrctrd by Francis Ford Coppola.
Belmu: (uinrry Morris (RiU Campbell), Arthur Holmwood (CaryElwes), Abraham
Van Hflsing (Anthony Hopkins) and Dr. Snvard (Richard E. GranI) watch for
signs ofUfe as Lucy (Sadie Frost) is laid lo m.
IN SEARCH OF DRACULA
literaiy crtic Lloyd Worley has pointed out, the vampire practices
the love techniques o f a castrato, with no danger o f pregnancy. And
just as in the Ottoman harem where women often preferred sex
with eunuchs since there was no chance o f impregnation, so today
some women find the contemporary vampire attractive for similar
reasons.
The AIDS epidemic is also alluded to in boih Coppolas movie, with
shots o f blood under a microscope, and in Rices most recent novel, in
which the \'ampire Lestat puts on a condom when he engages in geni
tal sex. The ultimate fascination is with the erotic reality o f blood dis-
ease and death. Many people may be ambivalent in the face o f death,
but all fear loss o f blood and infections such as AIDS. Jnst as in Nosfer-
atu Mumau presented a powerfiil parailel between the bubonic
plague and the spread o f the vampire disease, so both Coppola and
Rice emphasize the similarites between the prolonged effects o f vam
pire attacks and AIDS. The element o f danger, mystery, and even
death associated with sex is thus recreated and preserved in an intelli-
gible contemporary contexL
Created during the fifteenth century, the sanguinary villain o f the
Germn tales was transformed into a vampire by Stoker and became a
permanent myth transcending the limitations o f time, geography, and
human frailty. But part o f mankind's current love afiir with Dracula
lies in the fact that he was a real histrica! gure. That is why this book
covers both the fctional and the histrica! aspects o f the Dracula
image, since our histrica! research has exerted such a special impact
upon so many o f the Gothic novis, plays, and films created since
1972. It seems fitting that this work should come on the eve o f the
centenary celebraton o f the publication o f Stokers novel.
C H R O N O L O G IE S
G E N E A L O G Y
A PPE N D IX ES
A N N O T A T E D BIB LIO G R A PH Y
FILM O G R A P H Y
TRAVEL G U ID E
CHRONOLOGIES
b l 1310-58
Nicolae Alexandni 1352-64
VTadisUvI ,364-77
Radul 1377-83
DanI 1383-86
MirceatheCreat/theOld 1386-1418
Mihail 1418-ao
Dan II 1430-31
Alexandru Aldea 1431-36
Vlad Dracul (ihe Devil) 1436-42
BasarablI 1442-43
VladDracul 1443-47
VTadislavII 1447-48
Vlad thc Impaler (Dnicula) October-Novcmber 1448
VladU vII 1448-56
Vlad thc Impaler (Dracula) 1456-63
Radu the Handaome 1462-73
Basaiab Laiou (thc Od) 1473-74
Radu the Handsome 1475
Basarab Laiou (the Od) 1475
Vlad the Impaler (Dracula) November-December 1476
Mircea Vlad the Impaler, Dracula Radu III, thc Handsome Mad (Mircca)
(? -' 447 ) (1431-76) (1438/0-1500) thc Monk
PtinceofWaUachia PrincfofWaUathia (?-i 496 )
1448; 14^6-62; 1476 4 6 2 -75 Prime of WaUach
m. (1) Transylnian noblewomai 1482-93
I
Mihnca thc Bad
PnuofWaUachia 1^08-09
m. (1) Smaranda
________m. (2) Voica
Mircca II
ruled 1309-10
coregml with father 1309
m. Maria Despina
. . . . 190
S e c o n d m a r r i a c e of V l a d THE I m p a l e r
(the Hungaran line)
m. (2) relave of Matlhias Coninus. King of Huiigarv-,
probably liona Szilag>'
G E R M A N S TORI ES
1. Once the od govemor had the od Dracul killed, Dracula and his
brother, having renounced their owti faith, promised and swore
10 protect and uphold the Christian faith. [Reference is to the as-
sassination o f Dracula's father and the rumor that Vlad and Radu
had converted to Islam during their Turkish captivity.]
2. During these same years Dracula was put on the throne and be-
came lord o f Wallachia; he immediately had Ladislaus Waboda
[Vladislav II], who had been ruler o f that regin, killed. [The
killing o f Vladislav II occurred in 1456.]
3. After that Dracula immediately had villages and castles bumed in
Transylvania near Hermannstadt [Sibiu], and he had fortifica-
tions in Transylvania and villages by the ame o f the monastery
HoltznuwdorfT and Holtznetya [Hosmanul] completely bumed
to ashes.
4. He had Berkendorf [Benesti] in Wuetzerland [Tara Birsei]
bumed; those men, women, and children, large and small, whom
he had not bumed at the time, he took with him and put them in
chains and had them all impaled.
5. Dracula imprisoned merchants and carriage-drivers from Wuet-
/crland on a holiday and on that same holiday he had many im
paled. [Confirmed by Romanian sources.]
6. Young boys and others from many lands were sent to Wallachia,
in order to leam the language and other things. He brought
them together and betiayed them. He let them all come together
in a room and had them bumed. There were four hundred in the
room. [Confirmed by Romanian sources.]
7. He had a big family uprooted, from the smallest to the largest.
12. Once he impaled all the merchants and oiher men with mer-
chandisc, the entire merchant class from Wuetzerland ncar 10
Thunow and to Pregel, six hundred o f them wiih all their goods
and he took the goods for hirnself.
13. Once he had a great pot made with nvo handles and over it a stag-
ing device with planks and through it he had holes made, so that
mens hcads would fall through them. Then he had a great re
made undemeath it and had water poured into the pot and had
men boiled in this way. He had many men and women, young
and od, impaled.
14. Also he camc again to Sicbenburgen (the seven fortresses of
Transyhania] to attack Talmetz [Talmetch, near Sibiu]. There he
had men hacked up like cabbage and he had those whom he took
back to Wallachey [Wallachia] as captives cruelly and in rarious
wa\-s impaled.
15. Once he had thought up terrifying and frightening and unspeak-
able tortures, so he had mothers impaled and nursing children,
and he had one- and two-yearold children impaled. He had chil
dren taken from their mothers breasts, the mothers separated
from the children. He also had the mothers' breasts cut out and
their children's heads pushed through the holes in their moth
ers' bodies and then he impaled them. And he caused many
other sufTerngs and such great pain and tortures as all the blood-
thirsty persecutors o f Christendom, such as Herod, ero, Diocle-
tian, and other pagans, had ne\er thought up or made such mar-
t>Ts as did this bloodthirst)- berserker.
16. He had people impaled, usually indiscriminately, young and od,
women and men. People also tried to defend themselves with
hands and feet and the> twisted around and twitched like frogs.
.After that he had them impaled and spoke often in this language:
Oh, what great gracefulness they exhibit!" And they were pa
gans. Jews, Christians, heretics, and Wallachians.
17. He caught a Gypsy who had siolen. Tlien the other gypsies carne
to him and begged Dracula to release him to them. Dracula said:
He should hang, and you must hang him." They said; That is
not our custom. Dracula had the Gypsy boiled in a pot, and
w'hen he was cooked, he forced them to eat him, flesh and bone.
18. A nobleman was sent to him, who came to him among the people
whom he had impaled. Dracula walked under them and gazed
upon them, and there wrere as many as a great forest. And he
Appendxxes
him gifL' an d wa-s cla tcd b ccau sc al thal tim e lie was
a l w'ar w lh
the emperors and lands o f the East Immediately the sultn seni
to all his rortifed cides and throughout his land the message that
when Draciila comes, not only should no one do him any harm
but, on the contrary, they should honor Dracula when he comes.
Dracula set out with his whole army and with him were oflicers o f
the emperor who greatly honored him. And he travcled through
out tlie Turkish empire for about five days. Bul then suddenly he
tumed around and began to rob and attack the cities and the
towns. And he captured many prisoners whom he cut into pieces.
He impaled some Turks, others he cut in two, and then he
bumed them. The whole couny which he penetrated was laid to
Waste. He allowed no one to remain alive, not even the babes in
arms. But others, those who were Christian, he displaced and in-
stalled them in his own lands. After taking much booty, he re-
tumed home. And, after ha\ing honored the officers, he said,
Go and tell your emperor what you have secn. I scrvcd him as
much as I could. If my Service has been pleasing to him, I am
again going lo serve him with all my might." And the emperor
could do nothing against him but was shamefully vanquished.
[This episode confirmed by historical documents.]
. Dracula so hated evil in his land that if someone committed a mis-
deed such as theft, robber>, lying, or some injustice. he had no
chance o f staying alive. Whether he \s-as a nobleman or a priest or
a monk or a common man, or even if he had great wealth, he
could not escape death. And he was so feared that in a certain
place he had a source of water and a fountain where many travel-
ers carne from many lands, and many o f these people came to
drink at the fountain and the source, because the water was cool
and sweet. Dracula had put near this fountain in a desened place
a great cup wonderfully wrought in gold; and whoever wished to
drink the water could use this cup and put it back in its place.
And as long as this cup was there, no one dared steal it. [Roman-
ian folklore stresses Dracula's maintenance o f law and order.]
. Once Dracula ordered throughout the land that whoever was od
or sick or poor should come to him. And there gathered at the
palace a huge multitudc o f poor and vagabonds, who expected
some great act o f charity. And he ordered that all these miserable
people be gathered together in a large house which was prepared
with this idea in mind. And he ordered that they be given food
and drnk in accordance with their wishes. Then, after ha\ing
eaten, they began to amuse themselves. Then Dracula personally
carne to see them and spoke to them in the following way; WTiat
else do you need?" And they answered him in unisn, Lord, oniy
God and your Highness knows, as God will let you hear.' He then
said to them, Do you want me to make you without any fiirther
cares, so that you have no other wants in this world?" And. as they
all expected some great gift, they answered, We wish it, Lord. At
that point he ordered that the house be locked and set on re,
and all o f them perished in the fire within it. During this time he
told his nobles, Know that I have done this rst o f all so that
these unfortunate people will no longer be a burden on others,
and so that there should be no more poor in my land but only
rich people, and in the second place, I freed these people, so that
none of them suffers any longer in this world either because of
poverty, or because o f some sickness." [Draculas killing o f the
sick and poor is a favorite theme in Romanian folklore. One critic
has suggested that the princes motive was control o f the plague.]
6. Once there carne from Hungary two Romn Catholic monks
looking for alms. Dracula ordered them to be housed separately.
And he first o f all invited one o f these monks and showed him in
the court countless people on stakes and spokes o f wheels. And
he asked the monk, Have I done well? How do you judge those
on the stakes?" And the monk answered, No, lord, you have
done badly. You punish without mercy. It is ftting that a master
be merciful, and all these unfortunate people whom yon have im-
paled are martyrs." Dracula then called the second monk and
posed the same question. The second monk ansuered, Yon have
been assigned by God as sovereign to punish those who do evil
and to reward those who do good. Certainly they have done e\il
and have received what they deserved. Dracula then recalled the
first monk and told him, Why have you left your monaster> and
your cell, to walk and travel at the courts of great sovercigns, as
you know nothing? Just now you told me that these people are
martyrs. I also want to make a martyr out o f you so that you will be
together w th these other martyrs. .\nd he ordered thac he be
impaled from the bottom up. But to the other monk, he ordered
that he be given fifty ducats o f gold and told him, You are a nise
tom and in bad shape. And he asked that man, Have you a wife?'
And he answered, I have, sire." Then Dracula said, Take me to
your house, so that I can see her." And in the house o f the man he
saw a young and healthy wife. Then he asked her husband, Did
you sow grain? And the husband answered, Lord, I have much
grain.' And he showed much grain to him. Then Dracula said to
his wife, Why are you lazy toward your husband? It is his duty to
sow and to work and to feed you, but it is your duty to make nice
clean clothes for your husband. Only you do not even wish to
clean his shirt, though you are quite healthy. You are the guilty
one, not your husband. If your husband had not sown the grain,
then your husband would be guilty." And Dracula ordered that
both her hands be cut off and that she be impaled.
10. Once Dracula was feasting amid the corpses o f many men who
had been impaled around his table. There amid them he liked to
eal and have ftm. There was a servant who stood up right in front
o f him and could not stand the smell o f the corpses any longer.
He plugged his nose and drew his head to one side. Dracula
asked him, Why are you doing that? The servant answered,
"Sire, I can no longer endure this stench." Dracula immediately
ordered that he be impaled. saying. T o u must reside way up
there, where the stench does not reach you." [Draculas macabre
sense o f humor is highlighted in Germn pamphlets.]
11. On another occasion, Dracula received the visit of an emissar>
from Matthias the Hungarian king. The ambassador was a great
noble o f Polish origin. Dracula invited him to stay at his royal
table in the midst o f the corpses. And set up in front o f the table
was a very high, completely gilded stake. And Dracula asked the
ambassador, T e ll me, why did I set up this suke?" The ambas
sador was very aftaid and said, Sire, it seems that some nobleman
has committed a crime against you and you want to reserve a
more honorable death for him than the others." And Dracula
said, ^ou spoke firiy. You are indeed a royal ambassador o f a
great sovereign. I have made this stake for you." The ambassador
answered, Sire, if I have committed some crime worthy o f death,
do what you wish because you are a fair ruler and you would not
be guilty o f my death but I alone would be." Dracula broke out
laughing and said, If you had not answered me thus, you would
really be on that very stake yourself" And he honored him greatly
Appendixes
R O M A N I A N STORIES
TransUuions by Radu Florescu of fottales handed doum by word of mouth.
First renderingof this material into another language.
One o f the central points made in this book is that the general themes
in the oral Romanian folktales concur with those in the printed Ger
mn pamphlet and the Russian manuscript sources dating from the
fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Since the Romanian narratives are
longer, often containing a moral, only a few cxamples are presented
here.
crctly he ord e rc d his scrvants lo rcp lacc ih c g old d ucats from his
own treasury, biit to add an extra diicat.
He ordered the cizens o f Tirgoviste to immediately seek out
the thicf, and if the ihief were not found, he would destroy his
capital.
In the meantime, the merchant went back to his carriage,
counted the money once, counted it a second time, and yet again
a third time, and u-as amazed to nd all his money there Hlh an
extra ducat. He then retumed to Dracula and told him: Lord, I
have found all my money, only \vith an extra ducat"
The thief w-as brought to the palace at that very moment Drac
ula told the merchant: Go in peace. Had you not admitted to the
extra ducat, I would have ordered you to be impaled together
with this thief."
This is the way that Dracula conducted himself with his sub-
jects, both believers and heretics. [Mihail Popescu, ed. Legmde is-
torice ale wmanilor din cronicari, Bucuresti, 1937, pp. 16-18.]
cause tell me that you are missing one hundred le. I did noi even
untie the moneybag to look inside, and I did not even know how
much money it contains. I took it to you as 1 found ii." I lold
you,' replied the merchant cuttingly and with a double meaning,
I had lost a moneybag with one thousand lei. You brought it to
me with nine hundred. Thats how it is. Even if I should wish it, I
cannot give you more. In the last resort, make out a petition and
put me on trial."
The merchant blushed to his ears for shame when he realized
that the peasant suspected him. The peasant did not say a word
but left bidding him farewell, and he went su^ght to the prince
to complain. Your Highness, he said, 1 bring this charle, not
because o f the promised one hundred lei, but because of the fact
that he suspects that I am not an honest man when 1 know that I
was as honest as pur gold, and when it did not even cross my
mind to deceive him." The prince recognized the ickery of the
merchant, since the prince himself was a cle\er fellow, and he or-
dered that the merchant be brought to him. Both the plaintifT
and the accused were present. The prince listened to both, and
when placing both versions in the balance of jusiice. the prince
realized on which side it weighed. Looking the merchant straight
in the eye, he said, Master merchant. at my court people do not
know what a lie is. It is sirongly suppressed. You have lost a mon
eybag containing one thousand lei and you have found it proper
to proclaim this at all the crossroads. The moneybag that this
Christian brought you contained nine hundred lei. It seems quite
obvious that this was not the moneybag that you lost. On the basis
o f what right did you accept it? Now, give the moneybag back to
the man who found it and wait until the moneybag which you lost
is found. While you, fellow Chrisuan, added the prince, tuming
to the accused, keep the moneybag until the man who lost it
shows up." And so it was done, since there was no way o f doing
otherwise. [Petre Ispirescu, ed., Povesti desprr Vhui Voda Tepes opera
postuma Cemaut, story 4, 1935, pp. 83 and 160.]
. T he B o y a r w i t h a K e e n S e n s e o f S m e l l . [Com
pare with Russian story no. 10 and Germn story no. 18.]
There were dmes when for whatever crime, whether judged or
not judged, a man would lose his life. It is well that those dmes
are now remte; may they never come back. h is well that we can
now afford to relate these methods and not be victims anymore.
Some unruly iojiara had been ordered impaled by Dracula.
After some tme Dracula, being reminded o f the victims, invited
yet other boyan to watch the spectacle with their own eyes and see
how he could punish seeing is beiieving. Perhaps Dracula sim-
ply wished to nd out whether he could recognize some o f the bo
yan for within his retnue were many o f the other facton
[Danest]. O ne o f these boyan, either because he had been in-
volved in the intrigues o f the impaled victms or perhaps because
he had been frendly to some o f them, and fearing not to admit
that he was overcome by pity, da red to tell Dracula: Your High-
ness, you have descended to this spot from the palace. Over there
Appendixa
from it don't belie\e such nonscnse. Look around yon and as-
certain the tnith. Even today umes are noi better than they were
then. Beggars will cease to exist only with the end o f the world.
[Ispirescu, story no. 8, 1936, pp. 1-6.]
o f your subjects who come from the holy places [Greeks] and give
them financial aid, so ihat ihey may bring consolation for the mis-
fortunes suffered by their monks at these holy places. Then your
ame \vill be blessed o f the angeis with undying praise." ^ou are
lying, you unworthy priest, like the \illain that you are," shouted
Dracula, angered and frovwiing with his brows. It vvas ob\ious that
he had bccn nformed aboui the priest. The proverb states that
even the sun cannot give heat to ever>one. Opening the door he
ordered his retainere who were on guard: Soldiers, this wicked,
unworthy being must be executed." The order was immediately
obeyed and the monk was impaled. Then going to the Romanian
priest who was ignorant o f all that had happened, Dracula asked
him the same question: Tell me, what do people say about me?"
What should they say, Your Highness? People have not spoken
with one voice. Recently, howe\er, they are beginning to castgate
you everywhere and say that you no longer lessen their burdens,
which were small in the days of your predecessor." You dar to
speak fairly, said Dracula in a gleeful tone o f voice. I m II think
about that. Be the court confessor from this point onward and go
in peace." [Ispirescu, stor> no. 7, 1935, pp. 27-32.]
VariarU A: And the od folks said that this \illage o f ours, Madaia,
including it property, takes its ame from a prince o f the land
called Vlad the Impaler. This prince had here, where the town
hall now stands, a big house in which he sentenced the guilty and
impaled them. Even today one may fnd in the soil the remains of
those who had been impaled on the hill near the fountain. .And
perhaps if so many cruel battles had not taken place at Madaia
durng the time o f Vlad the Impaler and in more recent da)', one
would Rnd e\-en today the house where the judgment.s were
made, as well as the dreadful impalement stake. [Told by Dinu
Dimitriu, age sixty, o f Vladaia, Mehedinti distrct.]
Variant B: Good God, times were bad because o f the Turks at the
time o f Vlad the Impaler! The tax collectors carne and took men
either as hostages or to enroll them as their soldiers. They e%en
took from our herds one out of every tenth one and what was bet-
ter and more plentiful than sheep at that time? The poor sheep
Come summer. they swecten you, come winter, they ^-arm
you. Milk was so plentul that at that time our ancestors made
mamaliga with milk instead o f water, as the milk v3s cheap. .And
all that was the reason why Prince Mad hated the Turks. He pur-
sued them to the last man and when he caught them, he had
them impaled.
ppnidixfs
Prince Vlad aiso punished the basan who werc often connmng
Wlth the Turks or Hid not behave honestiy wiih pcoplc siich as we.
On onc occasion, in order to trip them up more easily, he gave a
grcai feasl and abo suminoned thosc bcyan against whom he bore
a grudge. But when they carne, he impaled iem. [Toid by Chita
a lui Dinu Radiilui or Altnajel, Mchedinti disirict.]
Bo o k s by B ra m St o k e r
P r im a r y So u rc es
N on fic tio n
Books
Barber, Paul. Vampha. Burial and Death: Folklore and Reality. New
Haven, Ct.: Yale University Press, 1988. Scholarly study o f ihc con-
nections between vampire tales and burial practices.
Baring-Gould, Sabine. The Book of Weirwolves. London: Smith, Eider,
1865; New York: Causeway, 1973. From this book Stoker took his
physical description o f Count Draculas strange hands, Information
about the Ufe and legend o f the Blood Countess, Elizabeth Bathory,
Annotatfd Bibliography
Summers, Monugiie. The Vampm: His Kith and Kin. London: Rout-
ledge and Kegan Paul, 1928; reprint, New Hyde Park, N.Y.; Univer-
sit> Books, 1960. A pioneering work by an a\nd vampire researcher.
-------- . Thf Vampire in Eumpe. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul,
1929: reprint. New Hyde Park, N.Y.: Univcrsity Books, 1962. An
original contribution to the field.
Trcptow, Kurt, cd. Dracula. Euays on the Ufe and Times of Vlad Tepes.
East European Monogiciphs, no. 323, New York: Columbia Univer-
siiy Press, 1991. Includes rescarch by Raymond McNally on Roman-
ian folklore about Dracula and by Radu Florescu on Dracula's
militar)' exploits.
Wilkinson, WHiam. An Account of the Pncipalities ofWaUachia and Mol
davia, wilh Variotis Politieal Observations Relative to Them. London:
Longmans, 1820: reprint, New York: Am o Press, 1971. Sioker ob-
uined most o f his information about the historical Dracula from
tliis book.
Anieles
W orks of P s y c h o l o c y , A n t h r o p o l o c y , a n d L i t e r a t l r e
Bhalla, Alok. Politics of Atroaty and LusI: The Vampire Tale tu a Ni^mare
History of England in tu Nineteenth Century. New Delhi, India: Ster-
ling Publishers, 1990.
Bonewits, Wanda. Dracula, the Black Christ" Gnostica, vol. 4, no. 7
(March 1975).
Bunon, Sir Richard, trans. Vtkram the Vampire. Lx>ndon: Longmans,
Creen & Co., 1870; New York: Dover, 1969.
Calmet, Dom Augusn. Traite sur les Apparitions des Esprits rt sur les
Vampyns. Pars, 1751: publishcd as The Phantom Warld, trans. Henry
Christmas, London: R. Beney, 1850 (z vols.); Philadelphia: A.
Han, 1850 (2 vols. in 1).
Carroll, Noel. The Philosophy of Horror, or Paradoxes of the Hearl. New
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992 -
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Annolated Bibliography
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Norton, Alden H., cd. Masten of Horror. New York: Berkley, 1968 (in-
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-------- , ed. The Couni Dracula Fan Club of Vampire Stories. Chicago:
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-------- , ed. The Count Dracula Book of Classic Vampire Tales. Chicago: