VLAD TEPES(1431-1476)
In most vampire legends,the vampires are all common people. There seems to be little or no
mention of the aristocracy. Some folklores claim however that Romanian vampires trace their legend back to Vlad Tepes,
a brutal ruler of the province of Wallachia and a stout defender of Christianity against Turkish incursion. Although
classed as a ruler, Vlad II (1431-1476), was probably little more than a localized warlord, holding onto his Wallachian dominions.
His father VLad I, had been given the title "Dracul" meaning "Dragon" by the Holy Roman Emporer, because
of his stalwart and ferocious defense against Turkish incursions. And so his son took the title "Dracula",
(little dragon). He maintained a court which received ambasadors and it seems little doubt that he was an accomplished
politician, while able to play Turks and Christians against one another. There is little doubt that he was a tyrant
and a very cruel man who was also known as Vlad "the impaler", due to the fact that he placed the bodies of captured
enemies at the top of high pointed stakes, allowing the weight of their bodies and the force of gravity to carry them earthwords
and impale them. Legend says that he gave great banquets where he and his guests could watch these unfortunates as they
were impaled. When he allegedly received some turkish ambassadors to his court, the men refused to remove their fezzes,
whereupon Dracula had the hats nailed to their heads! Although he was undoubtedly barbaric and cruel, their is no account
of him actually drinking blood. Legend of the drinking of blood probably predates the tyrant, yet it was the warlord
Dracula who the Irish writer Brahm Stoker chose as the template for the most famous of all vampire creations, the bloodthirsty
transylvanian count.
There are many movies about vampires as well as tv shows. The photo above is
from the classic "Dracula" movie starring Christopher Lee. This movie made in the 1970's, is a great tale
of blood thirst and lust. It is the standard by which movies would look to for years.
