Introduction Many people know the name Dracula. The king of vampires has been the subject of many different stories across many forms of media but this terrifying character created by Irishman Bram Stoker pales in comparison to the evil of the real life historical figure whose namesake he bears. Vlad III Dracula, Also known as The Impaler, was the former ruler of what is now Romania. He committed terrible atrocities upon his fallen foes such as dismemberment, boiling and of course Impalement. Background As well-known as the name Dracula is few know the truth behind the legend. To understand Vlad Dracula you have to understand the times and environment he grew up in. “Dracula was born in 1431, the same year Joan of Arc was burned at the stake for being a witch….The renaissance was in full swing though …show more content…
At an early age he was sent by his father as collateral to live with an Ottoman Sultan, isolating him from his home and family. “After the assassination of his father and brother by the nobles of his homeland Dracula would go on an eight year war against the nobles as well as his own younger brother in order to regain his father’s title, voivodate.”(Pallardy). As he tried to regain his father’s title his true capacity for evil came to light, murdering and torturing people by the thousands. Pallardy explains, “He inflicted this type of torture on foreign and domestic enemies alike: notably, as he retreated from a battle in 1462, he left a field filled with thousands of impaled victims as a deterrent to pursuing Ottoman forces” In my essay I will examine how being isolated from his family and home at an early age to be raised by what amounts to a national enemy had an effect on his capacity for evil and if his brutal and sadistic nature left no one brave enough to restrain