History UsefulNotes / VladTheImpaler

** The most plausible is Poenari Castle, ancestral home of Vlad's House of Basarab, which had been abandoned for some time before Vlad personally decided to renovate and fortify it.
** Castle Bran, near the Transylvania/Wallachia border, gets associated with Vlad pretty often, despite there no being any evidence that Vlad ever set foot in it, though it wouldn't be too implausible for him to have done so. This is largely because it looks a lot like the description of Dracula's castle in Stoker's novel, which is probably not coincidental. Stoker's research into Romania for the novel largely consisted of reading travel guides, and many of them described Castle Bran similarly to the novel. Despite this, the location of the castle in Stoker's novel is almost 200 miles away from Bran Castle near the Borgo Pass.

* While Vlad himself doesn't appear as Count Dracula in ''ComicBook/UltimateMarvel'', he's subjected to RelatedInTheAdaptation on two different fronts as ComicBook/{{Morbius}} is reimagined as Vlad's brother and ComicBook/DoctorDoom is one of Vlad's descendants.

** Castle Bran, near the Transylvania/Wallachia border, gets associated with Vlad pretty often, despite there no being any evidence that Vlad ever set foot in it, though it wouldn't be too implausible for him to have done so. This is largely because it looks a lot like the description of Dracula's castle in Stoker's novel, which is probably not coincidental. Stoker's research into Romania for the novel largely consisted of reading travel guides, and many of them describe Castle Bran similarly to the novel. Despite this, the location of the castle in Stoker's novel is almost 200 miles away from Bran Castle near the Borgo Pass.

* HistoricalHeroUpgrade '''and''' HistoricalVillainUpgrade: He's got it as bad as UsefulNotes/RichardTheLionHeart. He has been depicted as everything from a just, if harsh, leader of his people to a bloodthirsty brute deliberately slaughtering innocents. The truth presumably lies somewhere in between. In Romania, people would rather not mention him at all rather than say something truly bad about him. Mostly because, when it's all said and done, the ''one'' character trait (beside his almost suicidal bravery) that ''everyone'' seems to agree on is his incorruptibility. Which tends to make him stand out quite a bit against ''other'' rulers, both modern and ancient.

* Vlad Tepes is the main antagonist of ''Manga/{{Berserk}}: the Prototype'', Creator/KentaroMiura's first draft his manga. He's portrated as a demonic FatBastard who impales people and have them put on displays on the roads. He also regularly abducts little girls and worships the GodOfEvil Vana.

** The most plausible is Castle Poenari, ancestral home of Vlad's House of Basarab, which had been abandoned for some time before Vlad personally decided to renovate and fortify it.
** Castle Bran, near the Transylvania/Wallachia border, gets associated with Vlad pretty often, despite there no being any evidence that Vlad ever set foot in it (it wouldn't be too implausible for him to have done so, though).

[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vlad_the_Impaler Vlad III Drăculea]] (1431–1476) was a Medieval ruler of Wallachia, part of modern Romania, who is best remembered today for his bloody deeds and for lending his {{UsefulNotes/patronymic}} name to the archetypal vampire {{Dracula}}. Though he wasn't known for biting people's necks and drinking their blood, he was nevertheless well-known for spilling it. A man of extremes in turbulent times, he has been regarded either as a [[WellIntentionedExtremist brutal but fair]] hero, or a completely crazy sociopath. As Voivode (warlord) of Wallachia, he earned the nickname "Vlad the Impaler", or Vlad Țepeș in Romanian, from his practice of [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice impalement,]] which was, and still is, one of the most gruesome ways of dying imaginable.[[note]]Vlad the Impaler usually had a horse attached to each of the victim's legs and a sharpened stake was gradually forced into the body. The end of the stake was usually oiled and care was taken that the stake not be too sharp, else the victim might die too rapidly from shock. Normally the stake was inserted into the body through the buttocks and was often forced through the body until it emerged from the mouth. However, there were many instances where victims were impaled through other bodily orifices or through the abdomen or chest. Infants were sometimes impaled on the stake forced through their mothers' chests. The records indicate that victims were sometimes impaled so that they hung upside down on the stake.[[/note]]

[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vlad_the_Impaler Vlad III Drăculea]] (1431–1476) was a medieval ruler of Wallachia, part of modern Romania, who is best remembered today for his bloody deeds and for lending his {{UsefulNotes/patronymic}} name to the archetypal vampire {{Dracula}}. Though he wasn't known for biting people's necks and drinking their blood, he was nevertheless well-known for spilling it. A man of extremes in turbulent times, he has been regarded either as a [[WellIntentionedExtremist brutal but fair]] hero, or a completely crazy sociopath. As Voivode (warlord) of Wallachia, he earned the nickname "Vlad the Impaler", or Vlad Țepeș in Romanian, from his practice of [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice impalement,]] which was, and still is, one of the most gruesome ways of dying imaginable.[[note]]Vlad the Impaler usually had a horse attached to each of the victim's legs and a sharpened stake was gradually forced into the body. The end of the stake was usually oiled and care was taken that the stake not be too sharp, else the victim might die too rapidly from shock. Normally the stake was inserted into the body through the buttocks and was often forced through the body until it emerged from the mouth. However, there were many instances where victims were impaled through other bodily orifices or through the abdomen or chest. Infants were sometimes impaled on the stake forced through their mothers' chests. The records indicate that victims were sometimes impaled so that they hung upside down on the stake.[[/note]]

[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vlad_the_Impaler Vlad III Drăculea]] (1431–1476) was a medieval ruler of Wallachia, part of modern Romania, who is best remembered today for his bloody deeds and for lending his {{UsefulNotes/patronymic}} name to the archetypal vampire {{Dracula}}. Though he wasn't known for biting people's necks and drinking their blood, he was nevertheless well-known for spilling it. A man of extremes in turbulent times, he has been regarded either as a [[KnightTemplar brutal]] [[WellIntentionedExtremist but fair]] hero, or a completely crazy sociopath. As Voivode (warlord) of Wallachia, he earned the nickname "Vlad the Impaler", or Vlad Țepeș in Romanian, from his practice of [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice impalement,]] which was, and still is, one of the most gruesome ways of dying imaginable.[[note]]Vlad the Impaler usually had a horse attached to each of the victim's legs and a sharpened stake was gradually forced into the body. The end of the stake was usually oiled and care was taken that the stake not be too sharp, else the victim might die too rapidly from shock. Normally the stake was inserted into the body through the buttocks and was often forced through the body until it emerged from the mouth. However, there were many instances where victims were impaled through other bodily orifices or through the abdomen or chest. Infants were sometimes impaled on the stake forced through their mothers' chests. The records indicate that victims were sometimes impaled so that they hung upside down on the stake.[[/note]]

[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vlad_the_Impaler Vlad III Drăculea]] (1431–1476) was a medieval ruler of Wallachia, part of modern Romania, who is best remembered today for his bloody deeds and for lending his {{UsefulNotes/patronymic}} name to the archetypal vampire {{Dracula}}. Though he wasn't known for biting people's necks and drinking their blood, he was nevertheless well-known for spilling it. A man of extremes in turbulent times, he has been regarded either as a [[KnightTemplar brutal]][[WellIntentionedExtremist but fair]] hero, or a completely crazy sociopath. As Voivode (warlord) of Wallachia, he earned the nickname "Vlad the Impaler", or Vlad Țepeș in Romanian, from his practice of [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice impalement,]] which was, and still is, one of the most gruesome ways of dying imaginable.[[note]]Vlad the Impaler usually had a horse attached to each of the victim's legs and a sharpened stake was gradually forced into the body. The end of the stake was usually oiled and care was taken that the stake not be too sharp, else the victim might die too rapidly from shock. Normally the stake was inserted into the body through the buttocks and was often forced through the body until it emerged from the mouth. However, there were many instances where victims were impaled through other bodily orifices or through the abdomen or chest. Infants were sometimes impaled on the stake forced through their mothers' chests. The records indicate that victims were sometimes impaled so that they hung upside down on the stake.[[/note]]

[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vlad_the_Impaler Vlad III Drăculea]] (1431–1476) was a medieval ruler of Wallachia, part of modern Romania, who is best remembered today for his bloody deeds and for lending his {{UsefulNotes/patronymic}} name to the archetypal vampire {{Dracula}}. Though he wasn't known for biting people's necks and drinking their blood, he was nevertheless well-known for spilling it. A man of extremes in turbulent times, he has been regarded either as a [[KnightTemplar brutal but fair]] hero, or a completely crazy sociopath. As Voivode (warlord) of Wallachia, he earned the nickname "Vlad the Impaler", or Vlad Țepeș in Romanian, from his practice of [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice impalement,]] which was, and still is, one of the most gruesome ways of dying imaginable.[[note]]Vlad the Impaler usually had a horse attached to each of the victim's legs and a sharpened stake was gradually forced into the body. The end of the stake was usually oiled and care was taken that the stake not be too sharp, else the victim might die too rapidly from shock. Normally the stake was inserted into the body through the buttocks and was often forced through the body until it emerged from the mouth. However, there were many instances where victims were impaled through other bodily orifices or through the abdomen or chest. Infants were sometimes impaled on the stake forced through their mothers' chests. The records indicate that victims were sometimes impaled so that they hung upside down on the stake.[[/note]]

* ''The New Annotated Dracula'' isn't, strictly speaking, a totally original work (it's just that, the complete text of the novel annotated) but it does take an interesting angle towards Bram Stoker's novel and its proceedings--taking the statement in the beginning of the novel [[LiteraryAgentHypothesis that the story related is (mostly) factual and being related by a third party]] and building from there. Places where character names and origins have been changed, edits made in retrospect for later editions by the persons involved to make their behaviour a little more acceptable...

** Additionally, both the ''Apocrypha'' (as a Berserker) and the ''EXTRA'' versions of Vlad appear as summonable Servants in ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder''. In a case of ShowingTheirWork there are two versions of Lancer Vlad. One as the HistoricalVillainUpgrade version where he's a Chaotic Evil Monster. And the other is his HistoricalHeroUpgrade version where he is a Good Christian King.

With Ottoman support, the boys' father Vlad II Dracul took back his throne, but over the years he tried to play both sides. Eventually he and Mircea II were murdered in 1447 by rival factions in league with Hungary (again). The young Vlad was released in 1448 and became Vlad III, Voivode of Wallachia for the first time, ostensibly also with Ottoman backing. But after just a few months he stepped down and went to Moldavia and then Hungary, where he allied himself with the dominant warlord John Hunyadi. With Hunyadi's support, he claimed the throne of Wallachia again in 1456. It was his second reign where he made his name as both a warrior against the Ottomans and as a bloodthirsty ruler. He fought their incursions into his lands and even took the fight to their own territories beyond the Danube River. He continued to be an ally of Hungary, now led by Hunyadi's son King Matthias Corvinus, but also sought to keep his lands independent.

* Vlad the Impaler engages in BattleRapping against Count Dracula in ''WebVideo/EpicRapBattlesOfHistory''. He's portrayed here as a snarling CardCarryingVillain who relishes in violence and brutality.
-->''Imagine forests of corpses dripping on a buffet\\
You call that a nightmare? [[ButForMeItWasTuesday I call it a Tuesday]]''

* ChurchMilitant: While Vlad was unquestionably Christian and a defender of his faith, there is debate on whether he was Roman Catholic or Eastern Orthodox. Being Romanian, he was born an Orthodox and remained one while his brother converted to Islam. However, some Slavic records claim that he converted to Catholicism under pressure by Matthias Corvinus while in Hungarian captivity, with his Orthodox contemporaries attributing his defeat and death to "apostasy". Modern-day Romanians believe he remained Orthodox all his life and contest the veracity of these claims, considering they were written to vilify him. Either way, he received the blessing from both churches and its known he had contact with the Pope.
* DeathGlare: Well, we can't actually offer proof, but it seems like a pretty safe bet, judging from the reactions of his contemporaries. Most depictions of him tend to make his also into a KubrickStare, SlasherSmile is optional but often added.

* KnightTemplar: He had zero tolerance to criminals, enemies and nobles who would otherwise distablize Walachia and the Christian Kingdom, to a degree he made attempts to purge them at all cost.

* ''Literature/TheConquerorsSaga'' is an AlternateHistory in which Vlad was a woman. Due to this, [[GenderFlip Lada]] Dracul has a considerably harder time to the throne, often prompting her to be even more brutal than her inspiration. Her main motive is her UndyingLoyalty to Wallachia and she does have a sense of humanity, but it's slowly drowned under her [[AmbitionIsEvil ambition]].

* FolkHero: In Romania as well as other parts of Europe for his protection of the Romanian population both south and north of the Danube.

Surprisingly, while German, Russian, Hungarian, and Turkish literature and folklore all portray Dracula as a monster, he's considered a hero in Romania for his opposition to both Hungarian and Ottoman conquest, being voted among the 100 Greatest Romanians as recently as 2006 (compare UsefulNotes/RichardTheLionHeart, UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte or UsefulNotes/GeorgeWashington). This tradition of valorizing Vlad the Impaler dates to the era of romantic nationalism, when Romanian intellectuals, artists, historians, re-interpreted their past to find heroes of nationalism. Vlad the Impaler fit the tenor and purpose of their times. Before then, there's little to no record of Vlad the Impaler being especially popular and well liked by the people of Wallachia and Romania. The earliest Romanian chronicle about Vlad the Impaler discussed his persecution of the Romanian boyars. Romanian folklorists documented the existence of an ongoing Romanian oral tradition among the peasantry which consistently featured Vlad III as an evil feudal lord and boogeyman figure, and the existence and persistence of this tradition from the seventeenth to the early twentieth century suggests that the Voivode's cruelty and misdeeds might have been truly extensive for the peasantry to maintain such an ongoing tradition and that it's not merely the case that his enemies demonized him exclusively. The ameliorative tradition of the Impaler originated among the Romanian intelligentsia, and as such comes top-down rather than the people. Most notably, during the Communist Era, where the Nicolae Ceaușescu regime elevated Dracula as a national hero basing himself on the earlier romantic tradition, and the precedent of a tradition justifying a ruler who indulged in cruelties for the greater good (as romantic nationalists defended Vlad III) was quite useful to Ceaușescu in a manner not dissimilar to UsefulNotes/JosefStalin and his fondness for Ivan the Terrible.

[[caption-width-right:300:The man, the legend. Showing off his BadassMustache and [[CoolHat Crown]].]]

[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vlad_the_Impaler Vlad III Dracula]] (1431–1476) was a medieval ruler of Wallachia, part of modern Romania, who is best remembered today for his bloody deeds and for lending his {{UsefulNotes/patronymic}} name to the archetypal vampire {{Dracula}}. Though he wasn't known for biting people's necks and drinking their blood, he was nevertheless well-known for spilling it. A man of extremes in turbulent times, he has been regarded either as a [[KnightTemplar brutal but fair]] hero, or a completely crazy sociopath. As Voivode (warlord) of Wallachia, he earned the nickname "Vlad the Impaler", or Vlad Țepeș in Romanian, from his practice of [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice impalement,]] which was, and still is, one of the most gruesome ways of dying imaginable.[[note]]Vlad the Impaler usually had a horse attached to each of the victim's legs and a sharpened stake was gradually forced into the body. The end of the stake was usually oiled and care was taken that the stake not be too sharp, else the victim might die too rapidly from shock. Normally the stake was inserted into the body through the buttocks and was often forced through the body until it emerged from the mouth. However, there were many instances where victims were impaled through other bodily orifices or through the abdomen or chest. Infants were sometimes impaled on the stake forced through their mothers' chests. The records indicate that victims were sometimes impaled so that they hung upside down on the stake.[[/note]]

* ''VideoGame/SaintsRowGatOutOfHell'' has Vlad sent to him Hell where he became general of Satan's legions, but after a failed attempt to invade Heaven, Satan punished him to a fate worse than death... By [[TormentByAnnoyance forcing him to listen]] [[CoolAndUnusualPunishment "Wheels On The Bus"]] for all eternity. He joins Johnny and Kinzie as their ally after being freed from prison and clearing out his fortress after it has been taken over by some demonic dudebros.

* He appeared in ''Series/HerculesTheLegendaryJourneys'' episode "Darkness Visible", depicted as a [[AnachronismStew contemporary and friend of Hercules]] during AncientGreece instead of the 15th Century, ruling over Dacia (Romenia during the Antiquity) and its mentioned that [[ArtisticLicenseHistory he was at war with the Turks (despite them not originating until the 11th Century)]].

* [[Manga/SeraphOfTheEnd]] implies that Krul is descended from Vlad. Even her backstory has similarities to his

* Romania produced [[Film/VladTepes a Vlad Tepes movie in 1979.]] It can be found on Website/YouTube with English subtitles.

* ''The New Annotated Dracula'' isn't, strictly speaking, a totally original work (it's just that, the complete text of the novel annotated) but it does take an interesting angle towards Bram Stoker's novel and its proceedings-- taking the statement in the beginning of the novel [[LiteraryAgentHypothesis that the story related is (mostly) factual and being related by a third party]] and building from there. Places where character names and origins have been changed, edits made in retrospect for later editions by the persons involved to make their behaviour a little more acceptable...

* While Vlad himself doesn't appear as Dracula in ''ComicBook/UltimateMarvel'', he's subjected to RelatedInTheAdaptation on two different fronts as ComicBook/{{Morbius}} is reimagined as Vlad's brother and ComicBook/DoctorDoom is one of Vlad's descendants.