Bram Stoker's Dracula
and the connection with Vlad Dracula
Don't expect to comment on the Count Dracula character from the Bram Stoker's Dracula novel. But I want to comment the connection between his novel and Vlad Dracula, the Romanian ruler of Wallachia.
The question is if Vlad Dracula (the true living man) inspired Bram Stoker's Dracula character. Many people tried to answer this question and it's still an open debate.
- Some text in the novel provide direct correlation between Count Dracula and Vlad the Impaler: the fight of the Turks, the physical description of Count Dracula which is very similar to the image of Vlad the Impaler.
- Some indirect references that may be related to historic character of Dracula like driving of stake through vampire hearth, Renfield's fixation with insects and small animals.
There are people with opposed arguments. Professor Elizabeth Miller who studied in depth the biography of Bram Stoker says that a writer with such meticulous notes about his work can't omit such information. And there is nothing about Dracula in Bram Stoker's notes.
Now try to walk a mile in the shoes of Bram Stoker. Dracula? What is it about? You're a writer and you hear about the vampire myth. Wow! What an interesting idea to write about! Naturally you try to research as much as you can on this subject. You hear that the vampire myth comes from Eastern European countries, maybe from Hungary. You have a Hungarian pen friend and ask him about it. He tells you in fact the vampire myth it's a Balkan myth widely spread even today.
What do you do? Some research on Eastern European people history and traditions seems to be the right action. You can't go there but you find (through many others) "An Account of the Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia" in the Whitby public library, a book written by William Wilkinson in 1820.
And in this book you discover a man with the name Dracula. This name seems to have the right vibration for your vampire character (especially you red in the footnote that Dracula is similar with devil in the country ruled by this men). But this book doesn't give you any explanation about why the Voievode (a Romanian equivalent for ruler) was named Dracula, neither a word about the methods he used to rule his country.
(The truth? This book is the only source written in Bram Stoker's Dracula notes where the name Dracula appears. All the rest are simply speculations. How?)
The Dracula name intrigued you enough to do more research and find out who was this Voievode Dracula? Maybe not. Maybe a good name for your first character and the vampire stories you know are a good start for your novel and you're eager to start writing.
But what if you're still curious? Let's suppose you do deeper research and find those juicy stories about The Bloodthirsty Monster (the German nickname for Vlad Dracula). Can you avoid writing about them? And why don't you say a word about this research in your day-by-day notes about the adventure of writing your novel? Do you want to keep the mystery of your inspiration sources or you simply didn't see those sources ever?
The answer of these questions is only one: you'll never know the thoughts of Bram Stoker. Dracula, his fictional character could be inspired by Vlad Dracula, the real man, as well as couldn't.
The only truth we have is the name Dracula, being the same for Bram Stoker's Dracula character and Vlad III Dracula, the men who ruled Wallachia in the Dark Ages. All the rest is in your own imagination and your wish to interpret the few facts you have.
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Next page: The real Dracula - misleading and misunderstandings
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