vampires? - Writers Forum

VixenRED · 04-23-2004, 08:35 PM

does anyone know the man who supposedly turned into Count Dracula himself? I saw the name once before, and i wanted to do some reading up on him. ^^

mamabean · 04-24-2004, 07:25 AM

Do you mean Vlad Tepes, Vlad the Impaler?

Eternal_Mediocrity · 04-26-2004, 11:06 AM

vlad the impaler is also known as vlad drakul. but that's the historical basis. i have no idea about the whole horror scene. it may be vlad, it may not. nyeh.

Sharaz Jek · 04-29-2004, 02:34 PM

Vlad the Impaler was one of the inspirations for Dracula, if that's who you're thinking of. If not, wasn't there some guy who claimed to be evil incarnate? Aleister Crowley, perhaps? Of course, he came long after Dracula was written...

VixenRED · 04-30-2004, 06:07 PM

yes! thank you all so much! *giggles* Vlad the Impaler...i'd kill to have that name. ^_~

Ozmandius · 06-04-2004, 02:53 AM

Bram Stoker's original Dracula is actually based on several different historical figures, of which Vlad the Impaler is the most well known. Another , who's name escapes me at the moment, was a queen that drained the blood of virgins into a tub in which she bathed. The idea was that she would absorb their youth and beauty. Pretty clear how that played into Bram's story.
Oz

Dragonscales · 06-07-2004, 03:04 PM

Vlad the impaler was also known as Tepes (after he died), Vlad III, Dracula and Drakulya. He was born in 1431 in the citadel of Sighisoara, Transylvania, and died in 1476. The name Dracul can be interpreted as Dragon or Devil in Romanian. Tepes translates as spike in Romanian as well.

His father, Vlad Dracul, or Vlad II was a knight in the Order of the Dragon, a secret fraternity sworn to uphold Christianity and defend the empire against the Islamic Turks. He betrayed this order and sided with the Turks, after which he was assassinated by a relative.

Vlad the impaler had a younger brother called Radu and an older brother called Mircea. Mircea died by having his eyes gouged out and was buried alive by a noble family. It was this that caused Vlad to become resentful and want revenge against them. He succeeded in getting his revenge against those whom murdered his family members and reclaimed the Wallachia throne. He later held an easter sunday banquet and had the nobles attending arrested. The ones who were healthy enough to work were condemed as slaves to build his new castle. Those who weren't were impaled. The slaves were treated like dogs as he didn't consider them to be human beings, alot of them working naked and were beaten and tortured without provocation.

Vlad had an obsessive hatred for weakness and laziness. He decided to cleans his kindom of it completely. He gathered all who he considered unproductive into a hall and held a huge banquet for them. He then asked them how they'd enjoy never having to feel hungry or the worry of anything ever again, to be without a care in the world. Due to the amounts of alchol consumed during the feast, they were complacent and thought it was a wonderful idea, Vlad complied. He ordered his men to board up the hall and set fire to it, killing everyone inside.

He once had 30,000 merchants impaled for trading on St. Bartholomews day as it was against trade laws. They were left to rot outside the city walls as a reminder for those who would disobey him.

There are rumours that he used to eat flesh and drink blood at dinner parties he held right next to freshly impaled bodies. He was proud of his greusome work and those who looked in disgust were soon to join the ranks of the impaled. He also liked to gouge out eyes, boil, decapitate, burn, skin alive, dismember and sometimes just physically disfigure his victims for pure pleasure. He also had the hats of two Turkish ambassadors nailed to their heads because they refused to remove them as it was against their customs.

He was later attacted by the turks, he burnt all his villages to the ground and poisoned their wells so as to leave them nothing to conquer. Upon the Turk's arrival at Wallachia they were greated by thousands upon thousands of impaled Turkish soldiers rotting in the sun. Vlad escaped but was imprisoned in Hungary but later gained the King's confidence and was released. He even married the King's cousin and had 2 children with her.

During this time, his brother Radu, who had helped in driving him from his kingdom, sat upon Vlad's throne. His brother died of syphilis before Vlad got a chance to take back the throne. A Turkish successor was appointed whom Vlad's army later took back Wallachia from.

Vlad's reign was to come to an end shortly after though as the Turkish army, ranks swelled by nobles whom were far from sypaphetic to Vlad, gathered near Wallachia. He was vastly undermanned and had little hope of beating the Turks, but refused to give up, even fighting in that last battle personally. Needless to say, he lost and was killed, rumour has it, he was decapitated. Castle Dracula is a tourist attraction these days, although the real castle is thought to buried under the present one's structure.

northerain · 06-15-2004, 07:47 PM

ozmandius above was reffering to Countess Bathory, in case anyone was interested.
good inspiration

Jane Jones · 06-17-2004, 01:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VixenRED

Vlad the Impaler...i'd kill to have that name. ^_~

well, if you kill, you very well might get that name. Another popular one was Elizabeth of Bathory I believe... the one who bathed in virgins' blood.

frantic_scribbler · 06-20-2004, 07:45 PM

Yeah, both Vlad Dracula (that was his name) and Elizabeth of Bathory are often used for ideas for vampires. Vampirism is also a popular subject most of the time. There were many murderers who practiced vampirism which is why I think it is looked down on by the mass populace. Vamprism was also practice by the Huns. If they got thirsty and there were no rivers around, they would make a small cut in their horses neck and drink the blood.
However, I don't think Bram Stoker has had a large cult following as Anne Rice has. There have been many people who, after reading her books, believe they are vampires and start to kill people. All of them are most likely insane. I've read plenty of vampire books and I haven't killed anybody or attempted to drink blood and am not under the impression I am a vampire. Although vampires do exist. However, I better stop talking so much cause I'm getting off topic.

Dragonscales · 06-21-2004, 11:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by frantic_scribbler

I've read plenty of vampire books and I haven't killed anybody or attempted to drink blood and am not under the impression I am a vampire. Although vampires do exist.

Heh, would be pretty cool to be one though huh?

cept the whole blood drinkin stuff...

but then again, if ya were a vampire, ya probably wouldn't find it all that bad...

o.k, my brain is hurting lol

frantic_scribbler · 06-22-2004, 01:31 AM

I do know a person who either believes he's a vampire or is a vampire. He hasn't killed anyone, but he does do the whole blood drinking thing I think.

Dragonscales · 06-22-2004, 04:25 AM

yea, I've met a few people who are like that too, funny thing is they all seem to be able to walk around in broad daylight lol

frantic_scribbler · 06-23-2004, 12:25 AM

Yeah...I've asked them about it and it seems that they use SPF 1,000 or something like that. It can be a rather confusing conversation sometimes.

Vixen · 06-25-2004, 03:44 PM

Nice job dragon scales, As I heard the story (a campfire incident combined with historical gruesomeness, go figure) Vlad survived his stay in the turkish prisons by consuming, and drinking the blood of rats, wich he impaled on nails, often in the same manner he impaled his human victims. In the version I heard, Vlad was eventaully decapitated by his brother, (this may have been in confusion with the story of his father's death) One of the men attending what was left of his body is said to have reported movement, night walks, and even visits of the dead Vlad.

He supposidly impaled his victims by hoising them posterior first onto sharpened spikes. Death was slow, and painful, (of course) and the resulting rotting corpse often endined with the end of the spike protuding from the mouth.

Drac is a derivitave of the word devil. The well known novel Dracula reportedly found it's inspiration from the tale of Prince Vlad the Impaler, as well as europeon tales of Nosferatu, (the undead). In the origional tale of Dracula, Lucy Westerna becomes a vampire, and a stake is driven through her heart to "save her soul.

Merriam Webster also defines Vampire as a woman who steals lovers.... go figure....