Why Vlad the Impaler Is Not Dracula the Vampire: The Myth Debunked

Vlad Dracula Overlooking Castle and Lands on a map

Was Dracula a bloodthirsty medieval prince who returned from the dead, or did history give us two very different men sharing one unforgettable name?

Traditionally, Halloween is not a Romanian tradition, we have the Night of Saint Andrew, but each year I tried to understand another aspect of this this autumn-inspired celebration, from Vampire History You Never Knew of to Romanian Mythical Monsters, from Romanian, end-of-autumn traditions to 13 Scary Places from Transylvania… and more seasonal lore and spooky stories.

01/10/202606/09/2026

Where Did Vlad Dracula Live as Voivode of Wallachia, 1456-1462, Part 5

Vlad the Impaler, Curtea Veche Bucuresti

Curious where did Vlad Dracula live during his second and longest reign of Wallachia, besides Targoviste? Then join my travels today.

Vlad had spent years traveling through the Ottoman lands, Moldavia, and Transylvania—but where did Vlad Dracula live during those years, and which courts, fortresses and roads shaped the man he would become?

03/09/202608/09/2026

The Lonely Return of Vlad III to Târgoviște, Reclaiming the Wanted Throne 1448, Part 3

We’re following Vlad III to Târgoviște, his father’s princely court that, at least this time, proved to be a cold and lonely space when young Vlad arrived to reclaim its most-wanted throne.

To understand Vlad Dracula we should visit more than his fortresses. We should search the Ottoman courts as well as the Wallachian and Transylvanian cities that harbored him. Additionally, the roads, mountain passes, and foreign paths that influenced his life.

The places where he lived tell part of his story. But the places where he was held, fought, fled and returned to – tell the rest.

12/08/202609/09/2026

Where Did Vlad the Impaler Live? Part 1: Sighișoara, Târgoviște, Gallipoli, and Eğrigöz

Following young Vlad Dracula through 15th century Transylvania and Wallachia to: Sighișoara, Târgoviște, Gallipoli and Eğrigöz.

When we picture Vlad the Impaler, or Vlad Dracula, we tend to picture him in a castle: dark stone, narrow windows, a throne, perhaps the mountains rising behind him. Vlad did not spend his life in one castle, one principality, or even one political world. Not even on one continent.

To follow Vlad’s life is to follow a landscape of shifting power: Târgoviște, the princely capital; Transylvania and its fortified towns; the roads crossing the Carpathians; the Ottoman world where he was held hostage; the Hungarian royal court; and, eventually, the battlefields and forests through which he fought his way, always back to Wallachia.

Each left something behind: a language, an allegiance, a military lesson, a memory of captivity, or an enemy who would later become an ally.

05/08/202631/10/2026