| This Article Has Violent Descriptions, Not Intended For | | | | take some people, like thieving gypsies, and instead of |
| Young ReadersContrary to popular belief, there was a | | | | killing them, enlist them in his gypsy army, so they could |
| real Dracula, who was known for his evil acts while he | | | | be of some use. Dracula didn't trust merchants much, |
| reigned over his kingdom. His full name was Vlad III | | | | and he tested them multiple times for trickery, and if |
| Draculea (which is transliterated into Dracula), son of | | | | they failed, they were killed. But for the honest ones, |
| Vlad II Draculea, born in Transylvania in 1431, and dying | | | | he made sure they were secure and safe, by |
| in 1476. He had three main reigns, his first in 1448, his | | | | protecting their trade routes.Dracula maintained order in |
| second (the longest) from 1456-1462, and finally in 1476. | | | | his kingdom through very harsh laws. The things he did |
| He spent most of his time in Tirgoviste and Bucharest. | | | | would stop any person from even thinking of |
| Dracula built many fortresses, monasteries, and walls, | | | | committing a crime.WARNING: Graphic Description |
| the most famous of which was Castle Dracula, which | | | | Immediately FollowsDracula's methods were cruel but |
| was placed in a remote, isolated area. Many consider | | | | effective, and while some of the laws were fair, |
| Dracula to be the ideal Machiavelli prince, in that he did | | | | others weren't. For example, if a wife had an affair |
| anything to maintain his power. One thing he is famous | | | | and was married, her sexual organs were cut off, |
| for is holding off the Ottoman Empire from taking over | | | | which was then followed by her being skinned and put |
| Western Europe, but he is even more so famous for | | | | into the public square, while her skin hung from a pole. |
| his atrocious acts of cruelty.In the beginning of his reign, | | | | The same punishment was applied if a woman lost |
| Dracula insisted upon reducing the power of boyars | | | | her virginity and was not married, or if a widow was |
| (noble lords), and did so by killing many of them. He | | | | unchaste. Another punishment, usually for lesser |
| gathered all the boyars and killed the weak by | | | | offenses, was the removal of a woman's nipples. |
| impalement, and used the others to build a fortress for | | | | According to a folk tale, on one occasion he had a red |
| him. Since somebody needed to replace them, he | | | | hot iron stake shoved up a woman's vagina until it |
| ingeniously gave peasants their position, thus making | | | | exited through her mouth. She was tied to a pole in the |
| them grateful and loyal to him. While Dracula didn't | | | | public square and left there as her skin fell from her |
| have anything against peasants or merchants, he | | | | body. Another tale is that he boiled a gypsy in a pot of |
| hated thieves, beggars (who he considered worse | | | | boiling water (although that was not an isolated |
| than thieves), sick, lazy, and old people. On one | | | | incident), skinned her, and forced fellow gypsies to eat |
| occasion he gathered all of them into one building, and | | | | her.His most famous punishment was impalement. In |
| then set it on fire and burned them alive, ignoring their | | | | his courtyard and the forest surrounding it were |
| screams of agony.Dracula was interested in the | | | | hundreds of stakes, rounded in such a way to induce |
| Church, at least initially. He built many monasteries and | | | | maximum pain. The stake was inserted through the |
| Churches, and donated money and land to them. He | | | | anus and it exited out the mouth, although sometimes it |
| also followed their customs and rituals, and was | | | | was inserted through the stomach or upper chest. He |
| Romanian Orthodox. Perhaps a reason why he was | | | | was fond of medieval torture, attaching horses to |
| so involved with the Church was that he used it to | | | | people's arms and legs, crushing people under wheels, |
| atone for, and most of the time justify, his evil acts. | | | | and covering people in food and unleashing vicious |
| However, he eventually became suspicious of the | | | | animals upon them. He also exposed people to the |
| Church, as he saw them as people who could elude | | | | elements, releasing them into harsh weather with no |
| his jurisdiction. The Church appeared to him as an | | | | way of escape. Nobody could escape his violence; in |
| obstacle, something more powerful than him. He | | | | fact, babies were impaled sometimes on the same |
| burned down many monasteries, including some he | | | | stakes their mothers were. Another form of torture |
| built, and impaled clergy and monks.All of this was | | | | was the removal of limbs, noses, and ears by cutting. |
| done to preserve his power. One of the main reasons | | | | Besides how he killed people was how many people |
| Dracula was so supportive of peasants was because | | | | he killed, one man said a minimum of 40,000, maximum |
| they were 90% of the population, and Dracula needed | | | | of 100,000, although a more realistic number is 20,000. |
| their brawn and support for his empire to thrive. He | | | | While that is low by today's standards, it was |
| founded new villages and reduced feudal dues (taxes) | | | | extremely high back then, especially since Dracula killed |
| so that they would be more supportive of him. To | | | | that many in such a short period of time.Considering |
| defend them, he built fortresses around these villages | | | | the things that Vlad III (remember, that is his first name) |
| so the people would have somewhere to go in case | | | | did, it is not surprising that Bram Stoker named the |
| of an attack or other crisis. However, as was stated, | | | | vampire in his book, as well as the book itself, |
| he had no tolerance for the incompetent and lazy, and | | | | Dracula.The author studies history and reads in his free |
| had no problem eliminating them. He saw this as a | | | | time. He owns which hosts many very funny stories. |
| way to protect his kingdom and keep it pure. He would | | | | |