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NOTE: I apologize for my previous post, I was just having fun. Didn't mean to offend.

That out of the way, I was wondering if anyone knew any particularly good occurances around Tepes Castle or Castle Dracula.

I've heard that he's buried under the front step of the main entrance, and I've heard the tale of his medal he won in life being kept in a tower or something, no security system keeping it safe because anyone stupid enough to attempt to steal it never leaves the castle and the medal goes back to where it rested.

But there has GOT to be more than that!! Anyone?

I think I might have saved your previous thread.

But Tepes Castle. Supposedly his 2nd wife hung herself in a tower because an unseen vampire drove her to it.

He threw a dinner party and the guests complained of a foul smell. So he had them decapitated and their heads stuck on 30-50 ft. polls and asked if it smelled better up there.

He lured young men to his bedroom and sexually tortured them until they died from exhaustion.

He mutilated pregnant aldulterers.

Ummm........that's all I can think of right now.

I remember reading a story once of how he liked to toy with the locals minds...he would randomly invite someone for dinner, and you didn't dare refuse.

For his amusement, the guest would be served a decaying crow and if he did not eat it, he would be impaled.

I don't know of any stories about the castle, but I did hear that he was buried underneath the castle's ruins.

I own a rock from the base of Bran Castle. I don't know if that is relevant to your question, but I have had some strange things happen over time. Not sure if it is related to the rock or not. You can delete this post if you think it's out of bounds.

Vlad tepes was not a vampire... he was not insane, he didn't kill people just for fun... he loved his people... I'm from romania. he was my ancestor... I actaully now am lining ont that part of romania he rulled.. and kept the turcs away from...

the time Vlad tepes was a child , romania was divided in three parts.. Romania. Moldavia, and Transylvania.. but moldavia was under the turk empire.. and they were forced to give each ear young and healty children for the empire to grow the number of their army... his father gave his son to turks when he was very young... he was raised there.. and even was an officer in the turk army... [...] when he got back to moldavia... he had nothing to do than to be very cruel... but he allways knew what he was doing... he refused to send children for 2 or three years and rose an army in moldavia... he was a master in torturing... he learned all that from turks. his strategy was terror... is someone stealed something he cut his hand... or worse...

anyways.. there is alot to talk about this...

someone said that he sexually tortured, He mutilated pregnant aldulterers... no he didn't had time for that... he was a strong man with a strong will... who loved his people... and did what he thought it is better to defend his country... and he did a great job... if it wasn't Vlad Tepes probably the turk empire would have conquered all europe..

I may have some little mistakes... but the main ideea is this:)

and about the castle... nobody is buried underneath the castle's ruins. I visited the castle:) it is an amazing place:) it is not dark... it was a place for a prince that's all:)

well I know he did invite his enemy over to his castle and always ended in death for them he did something with a monk I think that he killed one and let one live .. I just know he was a very very crazy people ... yet due to all the things he went through as a young lad / man.
I would love to go visit the castle and see if I can feel any of his victims spirits .. that would be interesting and maybe scary LOL

xxBlackHawkxx in your coven there is DragonRouge.. his' a very close friend.. he knows alot more than me.. and I will help him on a coven page that refers only to "Count Dracula"..

I know that considering him a tiran and a monster and a vampire a slaughterer is very interesting... it catches the masses.. but he was not like that.. being like that was the only way to keep everything under control...

BTW DragounRouge said .. that if someone is really interesed in Vlad and all that refers to him.. to contact him.. he will tell you almost averything .. based on hystory ...

yes interesting how one leads and rules can lead to many false tales about someone who is deemed a killer to others and a hero to his country. That's how it usually works right? ::giggles::

Tpes was the ruler of Valachhia (one of the three romanian provences at that time); he was a little bit insane, but his insanity was driven from the violent history of his family and the tortures he indured as a child; he was not, by all means, a vampire (although he supposedly drank blood in fron of ottoman emisaries to scare them believing he was a daemon); he is not buried at the "Tepes or Dracula Castle", which was just a front-castle; his true fortress was Rasnov Castle... Try finding some romanians and read the romanian history before believing a pure fictional story written by a guy who never set foot in Romania (yes, Bram Stoker was never here).

Vladislav II (c. 1390 – December 1447), known as Vlad Dracul ("Vlad the Dragon"), was a voivode (duke) of Wallachia. He reigned from 1436 to 1442, and again from 1443 to 1447. He was the father of Mircea II, Vlad Călugărul, Vlad Tepes, and Radu the Handsome.

The privilege of using the Order's name was added to the title of Vlad II Dracul, inducted in February of 1431, and to his his son Vlad III "Dracula". The word for dragon in Romanian is "drac" and "ul" is the definitive article. Vlad III's father came to be known as "Vald Dracul" or Vlad the Dragon. In Romanian, the ending "ulea" (ula) means "the son of". Under this interpretation, Vlad III thus became Vlad Dracula, or The Son of the Dragon.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vlad_II_Dracul

From reading all these interesting responses to this post I can't help but believe that the castle is haunted by Vald Dracul. Maybe I'm being crazy, it makes sense to me that if you tried to steal something that belonged to him and died inside the castle trying.....what other explanation is there.

It depends what side your seeing him from. From people that followed him, he was a hero, to his enemies he was an insane tyrant. I'm not sure which is accurate but with what I've heard, he does sound like a grisly charachter...

I have read over 10 history books and monographies and over 50 articles and studies about Vlad III Tepes aka Draculea.

Soon I will add a page on my Coven about it.

I`ll try to be as objective as I could although I am romanian and I was concieved in Valachia and born in Transilvania.

If you want to know more about Vlad`s life I recommand you the book "Dracula, Prince of Many Faces : His Life and His Times
written by: Radu R Florescu, Raymond McNally"
It`s not the best book about him but certainly the authors did a great job and studied the problem very closely and had much genuine information(though dating back 1960`s) from Romania and The Turkish Republic.

About the first guys who posted here: please mention the source of your information.Other way I will have to disagree with you.Some sources are not to be trusted though(I am speaking about the german medieval chronicles about Vlad).The XX and XXI century fantasy-vampire-vlad-related-books are not to be trusted too.
The internet is not a very good source if you`re not backing up with some monographies about the subject, because internet articles offer either truncated information about him, either are from a third or worst source in a row.

ABOUT THE CASTLE:

1. Bran, the castle named by the romanian government Dracula Castle was never in possession of Vlad.
2.I didn`t read anywere Rasnov castle was, so I`d be grateful if Ahriman would tell us where did he get his information.
3.The real Vlad`s possession and personal estate was Poienari castle (he even used that castle as his final reatreating place during teh 1462 campaign).
I base my affirmation on many books and studies but I`ll mention only :

Radu Stefan Vergatti
Vlad Tepes- Dracula
Bucuresti,Minerva,1996

Nicolae Stoicescu
Vlad Tepes
Bucuresti,Academy Publishing House, 1976
Bucuresti 1976

As about the body we don`t know much and the sources don`t even tell the name of the place of his last battle.
I`m pretty sure he wasn`t burried in Snagov Monastery as Alexandru Odobescu(the great writer and historian of XIXth centurie related).
As about being burried under the steps of his castle I hear the first time abou that.
Please mention your source.It will be fascinating to study that.


There are 4 possibilities about Vlad`s death:

1.Mihail Bocignoli tells us that the oral tradition about Vlad`s death is that he was killed by the pro-otoman part of his boyars intentionally
2.Eufrosin ( a moldavian monk) say that Steven The Great gave him a group of moldavian fighters as personal guard and 10 came back and told Steven that after a victorious battle, while Vlad watched from a hill nearby the final part of the slaughter was confounded with a turk offices(Vlad use to desquise himself using turkish clothes and he spoke turkish fluent) and killed by mistake by his own army.
3.The austrian monk Iacob Urnest relates that Vlad was killed by a turk assasin payed that infiltrated between his guards and killed him while Vlad was riding on a horse.
4.Killed by the turks in the end of a victorious battle(the Slavonic Tales about Vlad).

Constantin Razachievici showed in a study that Vlad could not be killed in the nothern part of Valachia(where the castles are) since he was riding on a hill, not in the mountains.The spot of the battle seems to be in the south of Bucharest near a southern fortified monastery south of Bucharest.

I doubt that the body was ever burried inside an christian orthodox monastery since is well known he accepted to chand orthodoxism for catholicism, but I`m not historian and this problems is further to be studied.


As about the severed head .... well this is another... story.

Tepes castle is an amazing fortification and offers great geographical positioning. It wouldn't strike me as odd to hear that it is haunted after the many deaths that occurred there. Not to mention that Vlad more than likely suffered from some emotional or psychological issues after being handed over to the Turks as a young child to satisfy a treaty.

I am sure TigerLilith that If someone will try to rape your kids and you`ll desperately put a blade in his neck you will be regarded as a killer by his kids and a saviour by your son.I wonder if the guy already raped one of your kids... well will you found pleasure n killing him?I wonder.Is t6hat good? No it`s not... but it`s that understandable?

Whatever media will try to manipulate the information(during the XV the century they did, believe me) I finally wonder if an objective judge will put you on the electric chair...
oops it seems I touched a not so commod subject isn`t it?
"Hey we`re living in the XX the century" some could shout... what could I say, Vlad was not ...


You know what I found fascinating?
Some people just have to post in some threads just to level up.
Well please try leveling up using another thread, just skip the ones about our natoinal history...
but please
Please READ them.

I don't have anything to add to this thread historically, but I wanted to say that I enjoyed reading it and learned a lot - thanks!
( I always thought that Vlad was buried at Snagov...but who really knows where his body/head is)?

Meeeper what you say about ghosts is really interesting.
What you say about castle is true and the builders were really great architects.
Unfortunately I was talking with someone who was raped and who hate the raper, right a few hours ago and I tell you that`s a pretty bad experience.
I don`t know if crime can be jstified in any was, the sadistic crime too, but what about a defensive war?
After all, that why the valachian fortresses were build for.

I read recently that the Romanian government is restoring Tepes Castle. That would be amazing, but perhaps it's best to leave some of those places as they are, with the memories of the past intact.

yes Doru thanks for posting that information it was well useful to this topic and I agree what you put in to this chat thread.

DR I very much look foward to when u complete the page in our coven. I know that I will gain alot more information when it is done. I enjoyed our talk earlier.

I heard that he was buried somehwere on the grounds but not exactly where and also about the luring young men to his bedroom.

Isn't Vlad Tepes buried on the island in the lake Snagov? Well, what have remained of him, because parts of his body were stolen...
Rasnov Stronghold was used by Vlad Tepes in his wars in Transylvania.... I cannot remember where I read that info, but as soon as I find out I'll let you know...
And no, the Romanian Government isn't restoring the Bran castle because it was given away to some rich american guy who pretends is the eyr of the family that owned the castle (which was actually given to the city of Brasov by the family)... anyway... I've heard that the owner wants to transform the castle into a hotel or something with a bar and everything... So, good-bye history! Welcome commerce!

ive read that the rumanians he ruled over liked him very much as he was good to them.he knew how to use terror as weapon of war and also politics.he beat a turkish army many times the size of his own.

That is true; unfortunatelly he was betrayed by his very own people who were unhappy that he didn't allow them to take bribes (simply put). The simple people loved him and feared him; the rich ones were not so happy about him.

Everybody is very informational so far, and thank you, but I was thinking, how everything is actually turning in to a nice historical record, wich is clearly signifying that there is nothing supernatural about Vlad Tepes, or the way his Greatness is being regarded.

The information about his death, and burial, clearly are dismissing every possibility that Vlad Tepes had such strong supernatural elements in his persona, as constantly suggested.

We know that Vlad Tepes is not regarded as supernatural only since Bram Stoker published his Dracula, but Vlad Tepes was regarded as having these elements even back in his time, by the society wich he was part of it, and for that reason Stoker decided inspired to take exactly Vlad Tepes as his work, and turn him in to Dracula.

Was there really something supernatural about Vlad Tepes, something more?

As we can see we have many story versions of Vlad Tepes deaths, and burials.

Logic is suggesting that they might have been all invented, and planted, in order to hide some certain truth of things?

I find it to be pretty much flimsy to believe in such versions of stories, that Vlad Tepes body has been stolen by his enemies, on the other what have they done with Vlad Tepes body?, ate it? if not layed it out and mutilated it further, as a trophy of their victory over him, and those things have never been recorded as great stories, as great victories, of history, by those victorious sides? It is like they forgot to express their pride, their prevailing culture. Strange.

It seems to me, taking in to account all the unconfirmed versions of the stories, and the non-existing ones, that none is correct, since none has actual proof about it, and why should it not have? Probably beacuse that is not what happened, and the way things were going back then, certainly it should have been noted, and celebrated, by big words, from those wich have done it.

To me personally, it seems like other things happened, since there is no confirmation, no actual truthful noted confirmation, from either sides, what really indeed happend with the body of Vlad Tepes, or Vlad Tepes.

Was there someting supernatural indeed with the persona of Vlad Tepes?

That is my biggest question, considering all the folks tales about Vlad Tepes, and his unique personality.

Everything is so unconfirmed, but yet, there are big words all over Vlad Tepes.

The reason must be something more to it.


We can dismiss it all, by saying that Vlad Tepes fallen on a battlefield, and never found again.

Sounds lame.

I'm not going to post with what heard of read some where i just want to say that yes, this was a very excellent sourse of information obtained from others that have studied the history and have knowledge passed down from family as the history is continued.

There was a movie made about him a couple years back.
Highly interesting and very informative.
Most of what those before me posted covers it.
To his people, he was a hero, to his enemies, he was a demon.
I do recall hearing his body was stolen by enemies as well.

I'll try to find the name of the movie, was very interesting, as stated. o_O

DragonRouge - You are a historian - you know your own history than so many of us. I honnor you for this my friend..
Well said by one and all.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_Prince:_The_True_Story_of_Dracula

Is this the movie you were talking about PontiusPilate?

I believe that it is.

I personally liked this movie, and especially the way it ended.

There is this strong element of supernatural surrounding the Prince, in this movie here.

I wonder were there any truth about it.

The way I understood by this movie, what gave Vlad his supernatural elements to him, was his unbreakable determination to free his country and the people from the oppressive enemy, and to stay pure and uncorrupted by the treachery wich was surrounding him, and the false politics wich were just working how to destroy his country and the people, so thanks to those strong beliefs Vlad had, it enabled him to rise again once he was considered dead after certain battle with the enemy.

The quotes wich are describing this in the movie;

Vlad Dracula: Bruno, have I told not you I am indestructible?

Vlad Tepes saying once he got up after couple of days being clearly dead, since he received a blow to the head by a blunt weapon.

I believe that if there really was a certain element of supernatural surrounding Vlad Tepes and his unbreakable determination, than it had to be that one, of a strong belief to prevail against his enemy, and wich was so strong that even in physical death it enabled his spirit not to perish, but to rise again.

We understand the power of belief and such thoughts, it is said that one can do anything as long one is believing in it strongly.

Considering all the stories wich are even today surrounding Vlad Tepes as an individual with exemplary determination and attachment, we might as well understand that he really did possessed such iron will power.

I have no idea of any stories of the castle itself that vlad lived in or was buried in but I do know that he never lived in Bran Castle. Bran is often mistaken as the home of Vlad Tepes but only because of Bram Stokers using it as the home of count Dracula. His real castle was located in Poenari.

I saw a documentary on Discovery Channel some time ago which stated his bones were scattered in several places and no one knows where. Some were reported to be in other countries. There are so many accounts of this. Doru has amazing information!

People also say Vlad was burried in a church. However, when they dug up where he was supposedly supposed to be burried, they found a coffin, but not his body; which might be because he was moved. Supposedly.

I know that many here want to view the actions of Tepes through both the romanticism of his persona or mythology as well as through the nationalistic pride of a man who stopped an invasion of their homeland. However, I cannot in good conscience accept that just because an attrocity was done for war or strategic reasons that it somehow excuses the nature of a crime against humanity. And yes impaling thousands of the enemy alive on stakes is a crime against humanity.

Just as burning a building down full of the area's poor and hungry can't be viewed through the lenz of how tough things were in that time period. Less civilized times shouldn't give excuse to abhorant acts of brutality. Why is that every person from that time period wasn't running around killing and torturing each other? Because even then there was an understanding of common humanity which is why his actions were able to shock an invading army.

If you view both the causality of his violent childhood trauma and his actions for what they were, it seems pretty clear that he was mentally disturbed and clinically a sociopath (exhibiting anti-social disorder) in that he had no moral compass, no regret or guilt and impulsive violent behavior.

Now could this haunt a castle? Don't know. Could the sheer level of violence and suffering create an impression of evil? Sure. People have said that John Wayne Gacy's house feels evil. Being somewhere that you know had brutal atrocities done in that location would creep most people out and feel oppressive.

You don't know the history of our people... you don't know how people reacted when it came to Turks... many have fought because the Turks wanted to take what was not theirs... if Vlad did not impale the Turks .. the Turks would have impaled him... and BTW impaling was a Turkish way of punishment and torturing that Vlad learned being kept prisoner in the Turkish empire... when he was there he saw soo many atrocyties that made him immune and inhuman when killing people:)

This is getting further off topic of the Castle and its haunting or the location of the burial of Tepes. I understand you feel that his actions were vindicated but your description of him as being inhuman towards other people and immunity toward violence is in fact supporting my claim that he had anti-social behavior disorder or what was called sociopathy. I also reiterate that no amount of atrocity conducted upon a people excuses the same treatment or worse done back to another group.

I'm sorry I went offtopic.. but many did that before me.,.. and I thought it was normal :D plus sorry but I cannot propper use what I think and what I know because english is not my first language.

If it was just about the castle the thread must have been closed along time ago.. because there is nothing so much to talk about... and there were some people who said those thinks. :D( my oppinion)

Alixaryon:

Movies are just movies.Despite the charm of the movie,the only fact in common with the hystoric reality of that movie is the name of Vlad Tepes.Bruno, the whife of Vlad, her father and the band of thugs he used to conquer the throne are simple phantasies.The relation of Vlad with turks and the church is also pantasy.I am sorry to tell you that, but I think this thread was about reality and not about the modern myth of Dracula.


BathoryBabe:

Bran is mistaken as the main fortress of Vlad because of the Romanian Government choose that. Bram Stoker places Dracula`s castle near "Borgo pass".Borgo pass has been identified with Pasul Bargaului which is a few hundred to the north, in the northern part of Romania, far away bot of Bran and Poienari.
Please read "Dracula" again.I am sure it will a pleasant experience, just like the first time.


Distortion:

The rumour of Vlad being burried in the church of Snagov monastery was infirmed by the archeological diggings who took place there.I recommand you to read
Constantin Rezachevici, Unde a fost mormântul lui Vlad Tepes? (II), Magazin Istoric, nr.3, 2002, p.41).Unfortunately it was not translated in english, so it`s only for the romanian members of VR.
The conclusion is that IF Vlad was burried in a monastery, then that should of been Comana monastery.
I personally doubt it.
Please.... PLEASE read my previous posts.
DON`T BE SCARED IF IT`S SO LONG.
PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU POST!



FelixFelix:

I always appreciated the wisdom and good thinking of our beloved Dominar.That`s the reason why I was so shoked and upset when I discovered his rush to jump in the conclusions, that was, in deed infuenced by one of my wrong questions I`ve put there wich leaved place to an positive response.
I NEVER TRIED TO JUSTIFY CRIME and I am sorry if I was misunderstood.All my apologise!
After all, I don`t think we could talk about CRIME here.
Not even war crimes.That was a measure of punishment use in EVERY EUROPEAN STATE, by every monarch at that time (I remind you that the IDEA of crime against humanity doesn`t have a place in the Renaissance time!!!).Please read history!

The thing that scared the Sultan was the proportion, not the deed itself, and the draconic character of the judgement, wich I see it`s proper to your own way of thinking, too!In the law system the punishment is applied proportionally with the deed, I think.The things are different when we are speaking of martial law during wartime!Even today we have a martial law!

Please be very careful when you accuse someone of something if you can not prove it.And even if you manage somehow to prove that absurdity (after the US XXI th century code of law maybe -I doubt that too -, not the european code of law from any XV th european country), I am amazed that you don`t even thinking of the motivation of a deed! Your way of thinking is much to harsh, even from Draculas point of view, because is not only based by some unfounded rumours, but they are not in the spirit of justice.
I remind you he didn`t killed randomly people and from that point of view he can not be compared with countess Erzebet Bathory, who killd to preserve her beauty.
On the contrary, they were judged and found guilty, by the voivode, as the idea of a tribunal with jury at that time is hillarious!
And he was always regarded like a JUST MAN (even in the Russian tales who were almost as harsh as the German ones against him)!I think you didn`t bother to read the main sources before you post.

I don`t see him as a sociopath (I`m sure you have a phd in psychology if you can afirm that, about such an important person - in deed, not for you, but for others - without even having the proves), nor as a criminal, not even as a national hero.More like an anti-hero if you would ask me.
I see him as a man who protected his propriety and the life and liberty of those who were his subjects.His purpose was not to build defensive fortresses, but churches(and he really build some during his reign), I think, but in those times you couldnt avoid that, as a monarch.Not as a monarch of such small country between huge empires, for sure.

Using your point of view most European monarchs(French, German, Byzantine, and even Turks), could be considered criminals because they killed their prisoniers?I remind you that in those times the cages with rotten corpses could be seen on the main plazas in a Florence that was right in the middle of Renaissance!

Let`s not judge only facts! Let`s judge the causes and circumstances too.And from their perspective, not from a chair in front of a computer.

Yes, I am a Romanian and I am proud of that, but that doesn`t darkened my judgement and obviously that is not a handicap in discussing this subject.I saw a mistification of the image of this man who is the most known personality of Romania in U.S.I`m sure you know a lot about the monasteries he rised, not only about his stakes.

He was a cruel and harsh man, that is not to be doubt, but he had a brilliant mind and he did those terrible things to defend, NOT TO ATTACK OTHERS.

I`m sorry I`m way of the thread but I think that accusation of yours is like I trying to accuse of crime the american native population who tried to defend themselves against the europeans who invaded their lands.I am against atrocities, as much as I despise the mistification of truth!

This was not intended as an personal attack against Felix, which I deeply respect, not only of a Dominar of VR, but as a wise and equilibrated person who`se posts I always read with interest and reverence, but as a way to convince some of my fellow "vampires" of VR to study very carefully the life and deeds of the "Prince of Many Faces" and to form their own opinion, not judgement about him.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Back to the place of voivode`s burrial:
if it was never discovered , this is not a prove he did not died or he ressurected from the dead.
As about his head burrial place, here is another legend who might contain some truth about it:

Dracula`s head

If the sory told by that turk citizen is true, then we have a body.
Who knows, it could be.It links with the chronicles who told us about the turks severing his head and take it to Constantinopole.

You`re right Nocturnus!
I guess the ol` boy bones are resting somewhere around but I don`t think they are under some of his castles stairs, despite the rumours.

I must apollogize about the spelling of my previous posts.Please bare with me, I have a new keyboard and I didn`t cut my nails off.
;))

Dragon has interpited alot of the info on these papers,lately great information on the true story of Vlad the Implaer.

Wondering if some know site will be found on the placement of his body and the missing ring he once owned.

Snow Walker

The most close to this name (Tepes Castle/Dracula Castle) you will ever get is Poienari Castle.
NO Historical source or Vallachian legend tells he is burried there.
There is some quarrel about Vlad being burried in Snagov Monastery but that is hundred kilometers away.
About the medal?That`s pure invention.
You surely have to pay a visit on the Dragon Order of CFF.There is an article there about the place where Dracula was burried.

BloodMother

Your info is VERY confused and innacurate.
There is a legend about his first wife that commited suicide in Poienari Castle.
She did not hung, but flank herself.NObody mentioned any vampires there.It was because of the turks that were laying a siege.Well too long to post here, but I`ll deal with that in an article on the Dragon Order later.Promise!

Trikki

I`m sorry to dissapoint!PURE IMAGINATION!
Nothing you tell us is real fact.Just stories from horor novels.Fiction.

Milady Kristalyn,
you have all my respect and appreciation, but I must say that Bran was NOT one of Dracula`s Castles. He belonged to Mattias Corvin, the King of Hungary and Vlad avoided it in his campaigns!
It was lead by a Governor that responded directly to the Governor of Transylvania and to the King.

Ahriman

A voivode considered insane could not rule.He passed as a signed lord ("Domn Insemnat", because you know Romanian) and could not rule.Nobody accused him of that.Not even the Boyars who rebelledagainst him.So until somebody will find his body or head we can`t assume he was mad, on the contrary, although he was considered cruel and evil (dat Dracului?), he was considered a fair ruler in chronicles.If we consider courage as a concept opposed to reason as the great Romanian philoropher Ralea said, he was a very courageous guy though!

Some of the rich people were really happy about him!He didn`t changed completely the "divan", the court`s council!This is knew from his official acts.At the end of every sfat domnesc - voivodal council, the names of the boyars that took part were registered on the paper.
On some propriety acts too.He changed a few but kept others.It appears that instead of 500 boyars as it is mentioned in the chronicle, he only killed/took prisoniers cca 50.

Alixarion

Sounds lame but 4 different sources confirm it in Hystory.If we don`t have proof against them, they still remain the most probable hypothesis, despite how it sounds.


For more information about Vlad please read the Dragon Order page of the Coven OF Forbidden Fruit!

http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/recreation/TSD/tsdhompg.html

Transylvanian Society of Dracula
Canadian Chapter

The Transylvanian Society of Dracula is a non-profit, cultural-historical organization specializing in two main areas of interest....

The vampire myth, particularly that of Dracula (in the West) and the impact of this character on the culture and myths of Romania.

Vlad Dracula or Vlad the Impaler, the 15th century ruler of Wallachia (part of the modern Romania.) Since the appearance of his namesake, Bram Stoker's vampire Count Dracula in 1897, the work of an ever-growing number of writers and film-makers has been i nspired by Stoker's creation. This has resulted in an increasing awareness and interest in the fascinating history of Vlad Dracula.

There are numerous scholarly articles here.

http://www.ucs.mun.ca/~emiller/

Elizabeth Miller is considered one of the foremost scholars on the book, etc.

She recommends these books:

For details on the life of Vlad Tepes, I recommend the following books:

Radu Florescu & Raymond McNally, Dracula: Prince of Many Faces

Nicolae Stoicescu, Vlad Tepes

Kurt Treptow (ed), Dracula: Essays on the Life and Times of Vlad Tepes

Bran Castle is not the castle of either Vlad Tepes or Count Dracula. It was just a place to take tourists.

There are a lot of articles here from the Journal of Dracula Studies. Not all are exactly about Count Dracula or Vlad Tepes. They may be about how the book influenced this or that or what came before and how it influenced Stoker and things like that. They do have his working notes now and I read the meaning of Dracul was a little more broad in his time. Stoker used mostly things from Wilkinson and Baring-Gould (werewolf legends) and referenced Emily Gerard's book and in some cases he used word for word things out of other's books. In his notes he wrote something like "Dracula means the devil". He used that name only because of what he thought was the meaning of it, not because of Vlad at all. It is a rumor writers started later. His Count was Hungarian descended from Hungarian warriors.

Number 1 (1999)
From the Order of the Dragon to Dracula (Constantin Rezachevici)
Whose Dracula is it Anyway? Deane, Balderston and the World Famous Vampire Play (Anne-Marie Finn)
Overlooked Pearls: The Blue Oyster Cult and the Vampire in Popular Music (David Hallett & Robin Martin)
Separation Granted, Divorce Denied, Annulment Unlikely (Raymond T McNally)
The Influence of Dracula on the Lesbian Vampire Film (Sharon Russell)
Coffin Nails: Smokers and Non-smokers in Dracula (Elizabeth Miller)
The Image of Transylvania in English Literature (Carmen Maria Andras)
Book Reviews (Nikki White)

Number 2 (2000)
Secrecy as Strategy in Dracula (Jean Marigny)
Desire and Loathing in Bram Stoker's Dracula (Nancy Rosenberg)
Dracula and the Gothic Imagination of War (Bryan Alexander)
Filming Dracula: Vampires, Genre, and Cinematography (Jorg Waltje)
Vampire Crime (Katherine Ramsland)
Book Reviews (Nikki White and Elizabeth Miller)

Number 3 (2001)
Melodrama hath charms: Planche's Theatrical Domestication of Polidori's "The Vampyre" (Katie Harse)
In Search of the Lesbian Vampire: Barbara von Cilli, Le Fanu's "Carmilla" and the Dragon Order (Raymond T. McNally)
Revampings of Dracula in Contemporary Fiction (Margaret L. Carter)
Once Upon the Sleeping Canon: Literary Lustre in Cradle of Filth's Wintry Romances (Julio Angel Olivares Merino)
Blade: A Return to Revisionism (James Craig Holte)
Count Dracula and the Folkloric Vampire: Thirteen Comparisons (Patrick Johnson)
"I am not like other people":Tippi Hedren, Vampires, and Marnie (Victoria Amador)
A View from the Classroom: Why Dracula no longer frightens us (Jenna Harris)
Hutchinson's Colonial Library Edition of Dracula - (revised) (Robert Eighteen-Bisang)

Number 4 (2002)
"Unconscious cerebration" and the Happy Ending of Dracula (John Greenway)
Imitations of Immortality: Shadow of the Vampire (James Craig Holte)
The Tomb of Vlad Tepes: The Most Probable Hypothesis (Constantin Rezachevici)
Root Canals: The Neutered Vampire and the Metamorphosis of Undead Metaphor (Chris McGunnigle)
Repulsive Pariah or Romantic Prince? Transforming Monstrosity in Bram Stoker's and Francis Ford Coppola's Dracula (Vrunda Stampwala Sahay)
Xenophobia and its Subversion in Darker Than You Think (Margaret L Carter)
The Question of Immortality: Vampires, Count Dracula and Vlad the Impaler (Elizabeth Miller)
Book Reviews (Nikki White)
Guest Review (Jason Nolan)

Number 5 (2003)
A Race of Devils: Frankenstein, Dracula and Science Fiction (R J Frost)
It's all in the blood: The Bram Stoker/Peter Cushing Alliance (Michael McGlasson)
The Post-Feminist Vampire: A Heroine for the Twenty-First Century (Victoria Amador)
The Dragon, the Raven and the Ring (Michael Vorsino)
Michel Beheim, German Meistergesang, and Dracula (David B Dickens and Elizabeth Miller)
Dracula in the Comics (Perry Lake)
The Journey of the Damned Coffin (Jordi Ardanuy and Luisa Romero)
Book Reviews (Nikki White)

Number 6 (2004)
Vampirism and the Degeneration of the Imperial Race (Monika Tomaszewska)
A Clutch of Vampires: An Examination of Contemporary Dracula Texts (James Craig Holte)
Keeping the Faith: Catholicism in Dracula and its Adaptations (D Bruno Starrs)
Sex, Blood and (Un)Death: The Queer Vampire and HIV (Carlen Lavigne)
Demonizing the Emerging Woman: Misrepresented Morality in Dracula and God's Little Acre (Ashley Craig Lancaster)
From Undead Monster to Sexy Seducer: Physical Sex Appeal in Contemporary Dracula Films (Donald Rottenbucher)

Number 7 (2005)
The Cultural-Historical Origins of the Literary Vampire in Germany (Heide Crawford)
Betwixt Sunset and Sunrise: Liminality in Dracula (Mark M. Hennelly, Jr.)
Echoes of Dracula: Racial Politics and the Failure of Segregated Spaces in Matheson's I Am Legend (Kathy Davis Patterson)
Dracula and the Afterlife: A Psychological Explanation (Jack D. Maser)
The People of Bram Stoker's Transylvania (Duncan Light)

Number 8 (2006)
The Children of the Night:Stoker's Dreadful Reading and the Plot of Dracula (Dick Collins)
The Use of Count Famous in "Buffy vs. Dracula" (Tara Elliott)
The coin of our realm: Blood and Images in Dracula 2000 (Alan Ambrisco & Lance Svehla)
Vlad Tepes and his Use of Punishments (Constantin Rezachevici)
Triply Filiated: Lestat and the Three Fathers (Maureen C. LaPerrière)
Review of Elizabeth Kostova, The Historian (Nikki White)

Number 9 (2007)
Rethinking the New Woman in Stoker's Fiction: Looking at Lady Athlyne (Carol A. Senf)
The Status of Vlad Tepes in Communist Romania: A Reassessment (Duncan Light)
Hamilton Deane and John C. Balderston: The Men Who "Re-vamped" Count Dracula (Michael McGlasson)
Quiero chupar tu sangre: A Comparison of the Spanish- and English-language Versions of Universal Studio's Dracula (Robert Harland)
Why am I so changed? Vampiric Selves and Gothic Doubleness in Wuthering Heights (Lakshmi Krishnan)
Review of John Marks, Fangland (Nikki White)

Number 10 (2008)
The Devil and Daniel Farson: How Did Bram Stoker Die? (Dick Collins)
The Models for Castle Dracula in Stoker's Sources on Transylvania (Marius Crisan)
Reinventing Irishness in Sheridan Le Fanu's "Carmilla" (Ana Gratiela Gal)
Holding on to Self: The Masculine Drive in "Investigating Jericho" and I Am Legend (Christina Castellana)
The Emancipation of Mina? The Portrayal of Mina in Stoker's Dracula and Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula (Katharina Mewald)

Under #9 Read:
The Status of Vlad Tepes in Communist Romania: A Reassessment (Duncan Light)

You might be able to get directly to it with this:

http://blooferland.com/drc/images/f/fe/09Light.rtf

The Society provides a clearing house of information pertaining to the serious study of Dracula and related topics. Its members comprise historians, folklorists, literary critics, researchers, students, film enthusiasts - anyone with a serious interest in Dracula.

These are the branches:

(ROMANIA)
Nicolae Paduraru
31 Primaverii Blvd.
Bucharest
e-mail cdt@art.ro and xtd@xnet.ro

(GERMANY)
Mark Benecke
www.benecke.com/tsd.html

(GREAT BRITAIN) (in process of being formed)
Howard Cohen
howard@adventurediscovery.com

(SPAIN)
Julio Angel Olivares Marino
jaolivar@ujaen.es

(ITALY)
Massimo Introvigne
www.cesnur.org/Dracula.htm

SWITZERLAND)
Roger Altmann
roger.altmann@freesurf.ch

There should be information on any castles relative to Vlad. In the novel the Count's Castle was near Borgo Pass.

was there just one or two castles.i recall there was an original one and another one he had built himself.there was one which prob was not really draculas castle and was used as a theme park.which was closed when an american woman had a heart attack and died when some actor jumped out of a coffin going aarrgh at the tourists.

i first came to this thread just because ive never heard of it called tepes castle. there is some outstanding information in this thread and i wish i could add more, but what i have to add, i frankly cannot remember the book it came from. take it with salt, but thats fine...its a good thing.

ok...tepes castle....the man never called himself tepes (the impaler...that would be like tzar ivan calling himself "the terrible"...not a good pr move). there are at least 3 documents in existance with his signature on it as "dracula"
this makes sense as was mentioned before because it simply means "son of the dragon".

vlad dracula had several fortified dwellings, but the one that most historians would refer to as castle dracula is a ruin...castle bran is often shown as the castle, but again as was mentioned, he either was never there, or only very rarely.

his body according to legend was buried at the monastary of snagov. his grave was supposedly opened in the 1930s, and all they found were some clothing from his time period, a ring sown to a piece of fabric, and some animal bones......another story i read stated that bones were found, but they turned to dust almost immediately.


last thought...was he nuts? he was a man of his time...and a bit more. he was a king of torture (yes, learned from the turks), and seemed to enjoy inflicting it.

i suppose tho its like asking if hitler was a genius...many say yes...many others say no. (frankly im in the no camp on that one).

ok...my two drachma worth
~Wolf~

I heard that his body had gone missing shortly after his funeral. Some say it was stolen by enemies and that it's disappearance is the start of the 'rising from the grave' myth.

It amazes me how the attribute is deemed to Vlad Tepes, when he instilled his grandfather's former practices back into action in order to regain his rightful empire.
His grandfather :Mircea the Old~ Mircea cel Batran (1386-1418) was deemed Dracul meaning the Devil for killing his threatening enemies in the manner in which Vlad reinstilled to cause fear and warning to his enemies.
The rein of Draculae dates back to Regele Geto-Dacian King Burebista 82-44 B.C.; the term Dacian reflecting Dragon King.
Vlad Tepes was simply the last to utilize this hostile manner, thus the most rememberable for it.

I to am Roma of Romanian heritage and Vad was a hero not a villain. I agree with the way he treated his enemy's If we had a similar justice system here I do not think our prisons would be over flowing.And the crime rate would go down and as far as I know Vlad was not a vampire many followers of the vampire beleave Vlad was the first one next to Cain.I am not even sure Cain was a vampire.Ok and as far as his body is concerned Its not even in the church where an empty casket lays It was opened in the early 90's and they found animal bones.He was suposed to have also been beheaded and his head lays curried under a thresh hold of another church or monastery. That to was proven to be wrong they even dug that up.And found nothing and as for the medallion in which was supposed to have had mystical powers given to him by his STEP Father(Vlad was not Dracul's son.nor was her the true heir to the throne but because of the brother whom was murdered this made him heir.)And the castle I believe is haunted by his first and 2nd wife because of the tragic deaths which happened there.

The better question: Has anyone been lucky enough to visit the Castle; at NIGHT?