The historical character of Dracula, Vlad Dracula III, lived in the 15th century. Word “Dracul” in Romanian means Dragon and Vlad II was given the surname Dracul in year 1431, after being admitted to the Order of the Dragon,
The name became notorious as the nickname of his son , the famous Vlad Tepes , ruler from Transilvania , because of cruel methods of dealing with his enemies, mostly Ottomans. His full name was Vladislav III Dracula ( Dracula – son of Dracul – dragon ) , Prince and Duke of Wallachia. In modern Romanian language word Dracula means “the devil ” – which contributed to Vlad’s reputation.
portrait of Vlad III (c. 1560)
Origins of Fiction
Stories about Vlad’s brutal acts began circulating during his lifetime .
Works containing the stories about Vlad’s cruelty were published in Lower Germany in the Holy Roman Empire even before 1480.
They provide a detailed narration of the conflicts between Vlad and the Transylvanian Saxons, showing that they originated “in the literary minds of the Saxons”
The stories about Vlad’s plundering raids in Transylvania were clearly based on propaganda and publicity against him.
1499. German woodcut showing Dracula dining among the impaled corpses of his victims
They describe Vlad as a “demented psychopath, a sadist, a gruesome murderer and masochist.
The invention of movable type printing contributed to the popularity of the stories about Vlad, making them one of the first “bestsellers” in Europe.
To enhance sales, they were published in books with woodcuts on their title pages that depicted horrific scenes.
For instance, the editions published in Nuremberg in 1499 and in Strasbourg in 1500 depict Vlad dining at a table surrounded by dead or dying people on poles.
Due to his great popularity, the worst evil qualities were attributed to him and he was associated with dark forces and demons, even at that time he became a legend , a symbol of fear and cruelty.
Order Of Exorcist
With the emergence of the The order of the Exorcists, organized by the Catholic Church in 1572, their fight against imaginary enemies such as demons, devils and witches took on an official note.
Members of the order, priests and some influential people at the time give themselves the right to determine and punish whoever deals with fictional things of their religion..
They play a role for themselves for spreading the negative influence among religious people and their religious fanatics
That Useless organization still exists even today but the publication of stories about Dracula , exaggeration, retelling of cruelty and addition of new details , myths and illustrations continues in the following centuries, even to this day.
The Real Vampires
Real Vampires are like any normal Human. in 2,000 BCE Lilith ordered the Incubus to make children with Female Humans and create a new Human Species she Named Noahp. NOAHP in Enochian means Better. Better in strength , Better in Stamina , Better in Magic , Better in Control .. simply Better than Humans or Demons.
Religion transformed Vampires from a half human species into undead batmans who hated graves and sun.
Folklore propaganda widely spread, one of the first reported rumors about dead man rose from the grave was about Jure Grando from Istria and later Petar Blagojevic from Serbia in which case Austrian officials make a note about the local practice of exhuming bodies and “killing vampires”
Details of that case were published in Wieneresh Diarum magazine in july 1725. and that was first public mention of word vampire in Europe.
On July 21 1725, the Diarium published a copy of a manuscript from the Gradisker Distrikt in Hungary, actually the North Western part of Serbia. The text is Frombald’s original account of the Peter Plogojowitz vampire case, and this is probably the first time the word vampire is published in print: ‘…so sie Vampyri nennen…’, i.e. in a latinized form.
These reports, prepared between 1725 and 1732, and word “ vampire “received widespread publicity and explained events when supposedly dead people rose from the grave and frightened the environment or even as the corpse or an evil sorcerer or witch wanders at night or in the form of a wolf or owl , drinkin blood and kills people and animals
According to cristian propaganda to kill such a creature, you need to dig up his grave and pierce the corpse with a cross or a stake.
Fiction
The vampire modern fiction began in 1819 with the publication of “The Vampyre”, written by John Polidori. The story was highly successful and arguably the most influential vampire work of the early 19th century.
Later , published as series of storys in literaly magazine, Carmilla is an 1872 gothic novella by Sheridan Le Fanu and one of the early works of vampire fiction.
Carmilla – Illustration from The Dark Blue by D. H. Friston, 1872
The story is narrated by a young woman preyed upon by a female vampire named Carmilla, the character is a prototypical example of the lesbian vampire expressing romantic desires toward the protagonist.
The story is often anthologized and has been adapted later many times in film and other media.
Lord Dracula
Dracula as a fictional character is the most famous vampire in literature and film and it was created by Bram Stoker in 1897.
first edition of Bram Stoker‘s Dracula was printed in the UK in 1897.
The story of Count Dracula is told in epistolary form, i.e. through letters, log entries and ship reports, as well as through newspaper articles about the strange events in which Count Dracula participated.
The story takes place in Transylvania and England, and the main character is Count Dracula.
The character of Dracula is based on the Wallachian (today in Romania) ruler Vlad Dracula III, who ruled from 1446 to 1476, and combinations of old Slavic mythology in which vampires are represented as the reanimated dead who rise from the grave and attack relatives and unknown people , drinking blood and killing with further fictions in various myths.
Count Dracula is described by Stoker as an undead, centuries-old vampire and Transylvanian nobleman who claims to be a Székelys descended from Attila the Hun.
He inhabits a dilapidated castle in the Carpathian Mountains near the Borgo pass.
Unlike the Vampires of Eastern European folklore, who are portrayed as repulsive, still-life creatures, Dracula is handsome and charismatic, with a veneer of aristocratic charm.
The success of this book spawned a distinctive vampire genre still and very popular in the 20th and 21st century, with books, films television shows, cds , dvds and video games.
Movie Dracula (1931)
Dracula (1931 ) film poster
Dracula is an American horror film from 1931, directed by Tod Browning, based on Bram Stoker’s novel of the same name and is his first film adaptation.
Starring Bela Lugosi as Count Dracula and Edward van Sloan as Professor Abraham van Helsing.
Produced and distributed by Universal Pictures, the film is based on the play of the same name in which Lugosi also played Dracula on Broadway four years earlier.
It was a huge commercial and critical success and together with Frankenstein started the horror era of the Universal Pictures production company.
Bela Lugosi became a cultural icon with the role of Dracula, and the film had a significant influence on the horror films that came out in the following years.
In 2000, the Library of Congress listed Dracula on the National Film Registry as a “culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant film.”
The film received numerous remakes and sequels, the first of which was released 5 years later under the title Dracula’s Daughter
Movie story plot:
The ancient vampire Count Dracula arrives in London from Transylvania and sows death at every turn.
With the help of his servant, Renfield, Dracula comes into possession of a large castle in London where he hides his coffins.
Bela Lugosi as Count Dracula in 1931
After killing Lucy Weston, Dracula looks for any opportunity to make her friend, Mina Seward, his bride and return to Transylvania.
His plans are spoiled by Professor Abraham van Helsing, who, oncludes that they are dealing with vampirism.
The action comes to a climax when Van Helsing demonstrates to Mina’s father, Dr. Seward, and fiancé, Jonathan Harker, that Dracula does not have a mirror image, which should be one of the basic characteristics of vampires.
Soon after, Dracula attacks and tries to kill Van Helsing, but he defends himself with a cross.
In the end, Dracula takes Mina to his home, but is forced to retreat to the coffin due to the sunrise. Van Helsing manages to find the coffin and stabs Dracula through the heart with a wooden stake, after which Mina returns to normal.
Vampires becomes synonimus with dracula and are described in many different ways for eg as being afraid of the cross , daylight , often having wings like a bats , drinking blood, and being awake only at night.
Modern fiction
Comics series named Vampires start t be publishing by Marvel coimcs group since 1942
Since the book Dracula , same as terms Dracula and Vampire are in the public domain and anyone can use them without restrictions, countless different works inspired by this topic have been continued and published for centuries.
Sometimes in the form of stories from mythology, sometimes as sensationalist newspaper headlines and later through thousands of books in all languages with this fictional theme.
With the expansion of the entertainment industry and new technologies , dracula and the vampires have become an indispensable part of today’s repertoire of countless tv series , movies , video games and everything else around the world.
For example if you search through international database of movies , tv series or video games for these terms, many thousands of results will be displayed.
Today, there are no movie , book, or video game companies that do not use characters of vampires or Dracula as their themes and advertise them profusely .
And so it is all over the world . Like the traditional fables and fairy tales from which Walt Disney created film classics ( Cinderella , Snow White , etc ), both vampires and Dracula are an inexhaustible source of inspiration for the most popular genres such as horror and fantasy and sure will stay in that way in a centuries to come .
List of selected Dracula and Vampires inspired movies :
- “Nosferatu” (1922) – Max Schreck
- “Dracula” (1931) – Bela Lugosi
- “Horror of Dracula” (1958) – Christopher Lee
- “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” (1992) – Gary Oldman
- “Interview with the Vampire” (1994) – Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt
- “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” (1997-2003) – Sarah Michelle Gellar (TV Series)
- “Blade” (1998) – Wesley Snipes
- “Blade II” (2002) – Wesley Snipes
- “Underworld” (2003) – Kate Beckinsale
- “Van Helsing” (2004) – Hugh Jackman –the fictional enemy of Dracula–
- “30 Days of Night” (2007) – Josh Hartnett
- “True Blood” (2008-2014) – Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer (TV Series)
- “Let the Right One In” (2008) – Kåre Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson
- “The Vampire Diaries” (2009-2017) – Nina Dobrev, Ian Somerhalder (TV Series)
- “Twilight” (2008) – Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson
- “Only Lovers Left Alive” (2013) – Tom Hiddleston, Tilda Swinton
- “What We Do in the Shadows” (2014) – Taika Waititi, Jemaine Clement
- “Dracula Untold” (2014) – Luke Evans
- “A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night” (2014) – Sheila Vand
- “Penny Dreadful” (2014-2016) – Eva Green, Josh Hartnett (TV Series)
- “Crimson Peak” (2015) – Mia Wasikowska, Tom Hiddleston
- “The Strain” (2014-2017) – Corey Stoll, David Bradley (TV Series)
- “Castlevania” (2017-2021) – Animated Series
- “Dracula” (2020) – Claes Bang (TV Series)
- “Morbius” (2022) – Jared Leto
- “V Wars” (2019) – Ian Somerhalder (TV Series)
- “The Lost Boys” (1987) – Kiefer Sutherland, Jason Patric
- “Fright Night” (1985) – Chris Sarandon, William Ragsdale
- “Shadow of the Vampire” (2000) – John Malkovich, Willem Dafoe
- “Dracula: Pages from a Virgin’s Diary” (2002) – Zhang Wei-Qiang, Tara Birtwhistle
And more…
See Also
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