blog post photo  In my previous post, we got into the gory saga
of Vlad III Dracula (1431-1476), the Transylvanian-born prince
of Walachia whose penchant for bloodletting led Bram Stoker to
borrow his name for the central character in his seminal 1897
novel.  As detailed by scholars Raymond T. McNally and Radu
Florescu in their fascinating book In Search of Dracula: The
History of Dracula and Vampires, Vlad III became famous for
impaling his defeated Turkish enemies on the battlefield on
stakes in the ground and leaving them to die, and also is said
to have dipped his bread in their blood while dining. (When his
own subjects offended his notoriously prickly sensibilities in
any way, they got similar treatment.)   Vlad’s home, Castle
Bran, which is still in existence, bears an unmistakable
similarity to Dracula’s castle in both the novel and the 1931
film starring Bela Lugosi. Eventually, after being overthrown
and imprisoned and then regaining his position as ruler, Vlad
III was killed in battle with the Turk