The Dracula Family Crest

 

 

 

 

The Dracula Family Crest

 

 

 

 

 

Vlad The Impaler"Dracula"

 

 

 

 

BB

The history of Dracula Dates back to the 15th Century

Romanian prince Vlad Dracul III

Who earned his place in history by impaling his enemies alive.

During the early 1400s, Vlad's father, Vlad II, was the military governor of Transylvania and was made a member of The Order of the Dragon (Ordo Dracul) by the Holy Roman Emperor Sigmund for his part in protecting Christian Europe against the invading Ottoman Empire.

After he was initiated into this secret society of Christian knights in 1431, Vlad's father became known as Vlad Dracul, meaning Vlad "the Dragon."

When his son Vlad III was born, he became known as Dracula, meaning "Son of the Dragon," or "Son of the Devil," as some would have it.
 

Vlad Dracul III,

 

 

 

Also known as Vlad the Impaler, defended his beloved homeland with savage acts of barbarism.

During his bloody reign, he delighted in torturing and murdering anyone who dared to trespass upon his domain.

He impaled his victims, skewering them on tall wooden stakes

and leaving them on display along the borders of his territory as a warning to discourage invading armies.

This favorite method of execution earned him the name Vlad Tepes, meaning Vlad "the Impaler."

 

The Court of Vlad The Impaler

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Click Here to watch the Story of Vlad Dracula!

It is believed that Vlad executed somewhere between 40,000 and 100,000 people in this cruel and horrific fashion.
     One of the most notable instances of Vlad's sadistic acts concerned the impalement of hundreds of Saxon merchants at a place called Timpa Hill.

Vlad allegedly feasted among the field of dying bodies as they writhed in agony, and was even said to drink the blood of his victims from a bowl.

Some may consider Vlad a sadistic bloodthirsty ghoul, but others insist that his ruthless measures were a necessary strategy to restore order to his beloved homeland and keep invading armies at bay.
     Vlad was killed in battle in 1476. His corpse was decapitated, and his severed head was put on display in the Turkish capital of Istanbul, while his headless body was allegedly buried at the monastery of Snagov, just outside of Bucharest.

In Romania, Dracula is heralded as a national hero who sacrificed his life fighting for his country's independence, however, according to legend, his savage acts and Excommunication from the Church have doomed him to wander the world as one of the undead.

Bram Stoker

1847-1912

 

Bram Stoker

 

 

 

Bram stoker was an Irish writer whos best known work

was a novel called "Dracula"

He supplemented his income by writing a large number of sensational novels, his most famous being the vampire tale Dracula which he published in 1897.

Before writing Dracula, Stoker spent eight years researching European folklore and stories of vampires. Dracula was written as collection of diary entries, telegrams, and letters from the characters, as well as fictional clippings from the Whitby and London newspapers. Stoker's inspiration for the story was a visit to Slain near Aberdeen.

The bleak spot provided an excellent backdrop for his creation.

 

 

 

Slain Castle Near Aberdeen Scotland

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dracula has been the basis for countless films and plays. The first was Nosferatu and starring Max Shreck as Count Orlock.

Nosferatu was produced while Florence Stoker, Bram Stoker's widow and literary executrix, was still alive.

Represented by the attorneys of the British Incorporated Society of Authors, she eventually sued the filmmakers.

Her chief legal complaint was that she had been neither asked for permission for the adaptation nor paid any royalty.

The case dragged on for some years, with Mrs Stoker demanding the destruction of the negative and all prints of the film.

The suit was finally resolved in the widow's favour in July 1925.

Some copies of the film survived, however, and Nosferatu is now widely regarded as an innovative classic.

 

 

 

 

 

Max Shreck as" Nosferatu"

 

The most famous film version of Dracula is the 1931 version starring Bela Lugosi which spawned several sequels that had little to do with Stoker's novel.

The legend lives on!

to see more about the Dracula films

 

1st Edition of Dracula novel

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Real Dracula's Castle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Legacy of Dracula