People only recognize the fictional character, Dracula, from the 1897 Dracula by Bram Stoker or the films that followed suit in the 1900s. Popular images long forget the real historical Dracula and its misinterpretations meant only for entertainment. The real Dracula was a prince named Vlad Tepes, commonly known as Vlad the Impaler, and was the second son of Vlad Dracul. He was the Voivode of Wallachia or the Wallachia ruler from 1448 till his death in 1477. Although Dracula had two wives, we only know of one for sure named Jusztina Szilagyi and left three sons in which prolonging Dracula’s bloodline. For this research, Bram Stoker’s Dracula and In Search of Dracula: The History of Dracula and Vampires will primarily be used. Other articles found on scholarly google will be used as supporting sources. The genre of this research will mainly be based on a comparative analysis between the historical Dracula and Stoker’s Dracula, along with a focus on Dracula’s achievements, connections, and politics at both periods of time. The research will rely heavily on historical facts and witnesses, which is then used to see how the two “Draculas” were created and what relation they have with one another. Specifically, what did Stoker take from Vlad Tepes, and was it used accurately in his book. The same research applies both ways as it’s interesting to confirm the facts and myths in Stoker’s Dracula to the historical Dracula. For instance, did Dracula drink human blood? Another question aside from the book’s relation to Dracula would be the legitimacy and clearing up rumors of the real Dracula, such as his first wife being real or not. I want to introduce the real Dracula based on historical facts more interesting than Dracula’s fictional character.
