Horror Shots Podcast

Dracula: A name that has struck fear into the hearts of the populous ever since the publication of the novel in 1897. But what was the basis for the character? Many cite the formidable Vlad Tepes, or Vlad III, or Vlad the Impaler… Essentially a guy called Vlad who was the prince of Wallachia in the 1400’s. However, the truth might not be that black and white, and maybe many of us have been wrong in the assumption that Vlad was the inspiration.As it turns out, Bram Stoker never set foot in Romania, where Wallachia happened to lie, and never saw the infamous castle in person - rather it was a drawing that sparked the imagination of Stoker. Granted, it was a drawing of a Romanian castle. Nevertheless, Vlad the Impaler himself didn’t directly inspire Dracula, and the name, Vlad Dracul was actually Vlad II, The Impaler’s father.I’m giving away far too much here. The relationship between the real life Vlad, who had a very interesting life, and Dracula is quite thin, but that doesn’t mean the creation of the charact