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Count
Wampyr
Stoker came across the name Dracula in his reading on
Romanian history and chose this to replace the name
(Count Wampyr) that he had originally intended to use
for his villain. However, some Dracula scholars, led by
Elizabeth Miller, have questioned the depth of this
connection. They argue that Stoker in fact knew little
of the historic Vlad III except for his name.
London after midnight
1927
There are
sections in the novel where Dracula refers to his own
background, and these speeches show that Stoker had some
knowledge of Romanian history but certainly one of no
depth.
Stoker includes little details about Vlad III
save for referring to Dracula as "that Voivode Dracula
who won his name against the Turks", a quote which ties
Stoker's Vampire to the Wallachian prince in earnest,
due to Prince Vlad's famed battles with Turks over
Wallachian soil, a thing which Stoker clearly made
reference to.
While Vlad III was an ethnic Vlach, the fictional
Dracula claims to be a Székely. In addition the
vampire's aversion to holy objects is uncharacteristic
of Vlad, who was in fact part of a Christian order and
often invoked the name of God in his actions.
Count Dracula - Carmilla
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