Everyone is wondering when the legend of Dracula came in the public

attention for the frst time and if this legend has something to do with Vlad the
Impaler- the prince of Wallachia. Well the legend starts when this man Vlad the
Impaler was chosen by the well-known writer ram !toker to be the leading hero for
his book published in "#$%. !ince then& Dracula and 'ransylvania& the land where
the mysterious castle full of ghosts and vampires is located& became the sub(ect of
many movies& over %)* in numbers& documentaries or stories inspired from !toker+s
book. 'he very frst successful movie about the life of vampires is the movie named
Dracula which starred ela ,ugosi& a -omanian actor who had previously incarnated
the titular character on the stage& and would forever be remembered& and
unfortunately typecast as Dracula.
What is interesting to note& is that !toker.s vampire& while being loosely
based on Vlad the Impaler& is nowhere near as threatening& nor as sadistic. !toker.s
Dracula is a mysterious& somewhat sensual character who kills and feeds to survive&
much like any being in nature. In fact& as much as there is reference to the evil of
Dracula& it can be reasoned that all of his actions were motivated by survival. Vlad
the Impaler& on the other hand& killed not (ustto feed& but to revel in his own power&
and (ust for the sheer pleasure of seeing the su/ering of his numerous victims.
'he important thing that you need to know is that Vlad the Impaler got his
nickname the Dracula from his father Vlad Dracul 0 a nickname derived from the
1rder whom his father was a member& 'he 1rder of the Dragon- a very e2clusive
knight order3. !o& when Vlad the Impaler become a ruler he called himself Vlad III
Dragulea signing documents with this name 0and this is a certifed fact3& It means
4the son of the Dragon4& after his father name& Vlad Dracul 0the Dragon3. In old
-omanian the su52 4-ea4 meant 4the son6daughter of4. !o& it.s that simple7 if the
father name was Dracul& the son took Dracul-ea name to show his a5liation.
1ne more thing- Due to the changes in -omanian language& in time& Draculea
became Dracula& I don+t know how but I guess it+s all about that type of
8marketing9& I can say& when people shift information between them& between
8mouth to mouth9&and you know some information can be missed or modify trough
time.
:nother story about Vlad the Impaler says that the transformation of him in
;ount Dracula& the one with thirst of blood& it was possible because of the traditions
which were made in that medieval time& the right winner in any land battle was
supposed to e2tinguish his thirst by drinking a cup of the enemy+s blood.
To understand all of you, it's all about Dragon, not Devil.
!o this legend is still alive in these days& and the ran ;astle& from rasov
;ounty keeps this mysterious legend inside of the rooms and walls of the castle&
were you can also learn more about the ram !toker+s book or about the legend of
'he Vlad the Impaler. :lso I recommend you to go and visit the other castle which
was the second home for Vlad- the <unia=ilor ;astle& in <unedoara ;ounty.
!ource of information7 http766www.e2ploringromania.com6vlad-dracul.html
http766www.snagov.ro6ro6Vlad-'epes-Dracula-!nagov->%%.htm
http766www.vladtheimpaler.com6default.htm