Random Grisly Facts About Vlad The Impaler And His Brutal War Tactics (16 items)

(#13) Vlad's Crimes Went Viral

Thanks to the rise of the printing press, the print revolution of the 15th century meant that texts could be widely circulated. Unfortunately for Vlad, this happened right around the time he was using "controversial" tactics in his various battles. Tales of his seeming cruelty and depravity – whether true or exaggerated – circulated to an unprecedentedly wide audience. For better or for worse, these early texts were instrumental in creating the legend of "Vlad the Impaler" outside of Wallachia.
(#15) He Was Actually A Folk Hero In Romania

In the centuries following Vlad's death on the battlefield in the 1470s, his legacy has been mostly revered, not reviled. To some, Vlad was the people's prince who fought to save them from the Ottomans. In the late 18th and 19th centuries – when Europe was stirring with nationalist movements – Vlad was actually embraced as a national hero in Romania. It wasn't until after the popularization of vampire mythology and the presumed connection between Count Dracula and Vlad that he became a villain in history.
(#14) No, He Probably Didn't Dine Amongst His Victims

One of the most famous images of Vlad the Impaler depicts him digging into a rather civilized meal. The catch? He's dining with a close-up view of his latest victims, impaled on large pikes.
This event, though chilling, was probably more legend than fact. Indeed, considering that Vlad was engaged in guerilla warfare, it's highly unlikely that he would have hung around the scene of mass impaling simply to dine in style.
(#6) He Actually Went By A Name Eerily Close To "Dracula"

The name "Dracula" – perhaps the most infamous vampire name in popular imagination –may come directly from Vlad himself. His father was a member of the Order of the Dragon, an organization dedicated to destroying the Ottomans. He went by the nickname "Vlad Dracul," or "Vlad the Dragon." His son inherited the penchant for dragon names, and so signed his name "Vlad Drakulya," or "Son of the Dragon."
Whether or not Bram Stoker actually transformed "Drakulya" into "Dracula" for his famous novel remains a hotly contested issue.
(#10) His Raid Of An Ottoman Camp Was So Confusing, His Enemies Wound Up Killing Each Other

Vlad employed guerilla tactics in order to hold off the giant Ottoman army. One night in 1462, Vlad led his army on a quick, surprise attack on an Ottoman camp, in the hopes of assassinating the sultan. Vlad's men needed to sneak into the camp, and so they dressed up in Ottoman clothes. Though the attacked ended in retreat for Vlad, it caused enough chaos that Ottomans began killing one another, unsure who the real enemy was.
(#1) His Vendetta Against The Ottomans Started When They Took Him As A Hostage

Vlad's youth was spent in the heart of the Ottoman Empire as a hostage. As a result of the conflict between the Ottoman Empire and Vlad's home of Wallachia, the teenaged prince and his younger brother Radu were taken by Sultan Murad II as hostages. As long as their father, the King of Wallachia, didn't resist the Ottomans, they would be fine.
Murad spared their lives and eventually released the Wallachian princes. Though Vlad's time as a hostage may have developed his bloodlust, it didn't seem to bother his younger brother in the slightest. In fact, young Radu seems to have made the most of life in captivity: he befriended many Ottomans and even converted to Islam.