Vlad the Impaler

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The Real Count Dracula May Have Cried Bloody Tears
The Real Count Dracula
May Have Cried Bloody Tears
new study
Aug 11, 2023 11:54 AM CDT

The Real Count Dracula May Have Cried Bloody Tears

Scientists have the peptides to prove it

(Newser) - The brutal 15th-century ruler Count Vlad Draculea may or may not be the inspiration for the fictional Dracula, but he had a blood-themed quirk of his own: Scientists say he likely cried tears tinged with blood. In the journal ACS Analytical Chemistry , researchers say they analyzed three letters written by...

Dracula's Castle Now Being Guarded by Bears

And tourists are being kept away

(Newser) - After 600 or so years, it's once again wise to give Dracula's castle a wide berth. The AP reports the historic Poenari Castle in Romania was closed to tourists late last month "for the safety of visitors." Apparently tourists climbing the nearly 1,500 steps to...

Secret Tunnel by 'Dracula's Dungeon' Uncovered

Blocked tunnel may lead to bath at Tokat's city center

(Newser) - Archaeologists still aren't entirely sure where a secret passageway beneath a castle in Turkey leads, but visitors can now explore it for themselves. Not far from where Vlad the Impaler—the inspiration for Dracula— was reportedly held in one of two dungeons inside Tokat Castle, the tunnel stretches for...

Archaeologist Thinks He's Found 'Dracula's Dungeon'

In Turkey's Tokat Castle

(Newser) - An archaeologist who has been part of the restoration and excavation effort at Turkey's Tokat Castle believes he has uncovered the dungeons where Vlad the Impaler was once held. Ibrahim Cetin tells the Hurriyet Daily News that the two dungeons that were found were "built like a prison....

Historian Who Revealed Real Dracula Dies

Florescu linked legends to Vlad the Impaler

(Newser) - The historian who linked legends of Dracula to sadistic 15th-century Romanian ruler Vlad the Impaler has died at the age of 88. Romanian-born professor Radu Florescu, who fled his homeland on the Orient Express as World War II broke out, gained fame in the '70s with In Search of ...

Hey Twilight Fans: Edward Really Is Related to Dracula

Ancestry.com unveils Robert Pattinson's relation to Dracula

(Newser) - This is sure to send all those Twilight-obsessed tweens into a tizzy: Robert Pattinson, aka Edward Cullen of the Twilight films, is related to Dracula. At least, he’s related to Vlad the Impaler, the inspiration for Bram Stoker’s Dracula character, the AP reports. Twilight author Stephenie Meyer is...

Fangs for the Memories: Dracula's Castle Up for Sale

Heir seeks $135m stake

(Newser) - Count Dracula's Castle, complete with screeching bats, is up for sale—for a mere $135 million stake. Officially known as Bran Castle,  the 700-year-old Transylvanian abode has only a tenuous link to Prince Vlad the Impaler, the bloodthirsty inspiration for writer Bram Stoker's legendary villain, but has became a...

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