Vlad the Impaler

Few names cast more terror into the human heart than Dracula. The legendary vampire, created by author Bram Stoker for his 1897 novel of the same name, has inspired countless horror movies, television shows, and other bloodcurdling tales of vampires. Though Dracula may seem to many like a singular creation, Stoker in fact drew inspiration from a real-life man with an even more grotesque taste for blood: Vlad III, Prince of Wallachia or—as he is better known—Vlad the Impaler (Vlad Tepes), a name earned for his favorite way of dispensing with his enemies. Though he was now the ruler of the principality of Wallachia, his lands were in a ruinous state due to constant warfare and the internal strife caused by feuding boyars. To consolidate power, Vlad invited hundreds of them to a banquet. Knowing his authority would be challenged, he had his guests stabbed and their still-twitching bodies impaled. This is just one of many atrocities performed by Prince Vlad—many of the rest you will find i