The horror was absolutely unmatched when the
Ottomans came across what they thought was trees
from afar. And as they drew closer, they realized
they were not trees. They were on wooden spikes.
I do my best to fact check everything I share
but please don't take any action based on the
information here and definitely don't quote me
in your dissertation. Also, some viewer discretion
is advised. Some stories may include graphic
or potentially triggering content so please take
care when listening. And if I laugh at any point,
just know it's never at the history or the people
involved. Sometimes I just get a little awkward
or the drama is too wild not. Hello, everyone.
It's me, Elsie Mae, coming at you with another
Halloween episode. Third out of four, baby. When
I was a child, me and my family were at a quiz
night. I remember a question coming up, right?
And it was, who was the real Dracula? And I was
like, Dracula is in The Vampire. There was a
real one? There was a real Dracula? What? That's
weird. But my little brain at the time was thinking...
What the heli? Like there's a real vampire? And
you know it's just something that's always interested
me like who was that man and why was he called
Dracula? Did he actually drink blood? Would sunlight
actually hurt him and like burn him? Was he actually
like low -key allergic to garlic? What was the
deal with him? So I thought we could explore
that today because the truth is shocking. Shocking.
If you are into gruesome history, this is the
story for you. It turns out that the truth is
way more twisted and bloody and fascinating than
any of those spooky myths. Vlad III, the man
behind the legend of Dracula, wasn't a supernatural
creature. He was a Walachian prince. a son of
political chaos and one of history's most terrifying
rulers. Today we're going to unpack his life,
his reign and why the world remembers him as
Vlad the Impaler. So let's go, chapter one. My
iPad's acting up and I can't scroll on it. Excuse
me. Okay, so where our story is set. I need to
give you some background information because
we are talking about the mid 15th century, okay?
It is around the 1450s and the 1460s and Europe
was a little bit chaotic. The Ottoman Empire
was expanding fast and Hungary was desperately
trying to hold the line and right in between
them was a place called Wallachia. and it was
caught right in the middle of those two empires,
Hungary and the Ottoman Empire, which is modern
day Romania. So that is where our story is set
for today. and it's to be noted that Hungary
and the Ottoman Empire were always at each other's
throats. So that is a bit of background information
there. So Vlad was born in 1431 and when he was
a child he was sent to live with the Ottomans,
him and his brother. They keep the sons hostage
so that the dad, the ruler of Wallachia, won't
do anything. not an ideal situation because it
meant that Vlad grew up being completely exposed
to a lot of terrible things. He was watching
executions, he was watching military drills and
displays of cruelty. Somewhere in all that darkness
he learnt that fear really controls people far
better than kindness ever does. And what made
it worse is that he actually had a brother and
his brother was favoured over him. I know, it's
a bit sucky. He was treated well, like his brother
was treated well, and Vlad was rejected, ignored,
isolated, and I guess he was like beaten sometimes
for his behavior. He saw firsthand that politics
was not personal and betrayal, cruelty and ambition
would go way further than even family. I know.
So that was at the Ottoman Empire. On the other
hand, his dad was kind of trying to play for
two sides. He was backing Crusaders one moment
and then siding with the Ottomans the next. And
by the time that Vlad finally made it home, he
was not the same boy that left, as you can probably
imagine. Then tragedy struck. Vlad's father was
murdered. He was murdered by the rivals. His
older brother was blinded with a red -hot poker
and then buried alive. So yeah, that's kind of
where the Vlad that we know. starts to take shape.
And I guess he swore that he would have revenge
on those very people that did that to his family.
So he went to work to get that throne, honey.
So chapter two, we have fighting for the throne.
So when he was 17 and got the worst news that
he could possibly get that his father and his
brother were killed, he swore revenge. But Vlad
didn't rush in blindly. Oh no. He returned to
Wallachia with Turkish forces behind him. He
was like, I got them to back me up, so move out
my way. But his enemies? Did they fight back?
No. He was quite lucky. He got them when they
were distracted with something. I guess they're
just, you know, usual political games. I guess
they kind of underestimated him because they
thought he was just a scared little kid. But
no. He walked straight in. He got that throne.
He was bold, cunning, shocking. This boy! was
not to be underestimated. But just to add to
the drama, it turns out his dad's not dead. I
know, that was quite an unexpected plot twist.
So I guess basically his dad turns up again and
is like, son, what you doing? That's my throne.
Like, obviously, guys, this is heavily oversimplified
because there's chaos. Vlad's kind of standing
there ready to rule. His dad just came back.
So anyway, Vlad has to leave. He's exiled. Okay.
And he goes to live somewhere else. Chapter three,
exile and return. So after being overthrown,
Vlad spent plenty years in exile. He was going
between Hungary, Moldova and nearby regions.
He built alliances. He was learning military
strategy and he was sharpening his political
cunning. He found three whole years, I guess,
of peace when he lived with his cousin and his
uncle in Moldova. Now, during my research, I
seen that these were allegedly like some of the
happiest years of his life. But again, quite
dramatic. All that came to a sudden halt when
his uncle was assassinated and threw the region
into chaos. OK, so just to let you guys know,
I need to be slightly quieter because of this
situation. OK, just letting you know this won't
be like a regular thing. Some people in my house
are sleeping and I have to be cautious. Guys,
it's just the reality of having a home studio.
Like, come on. But the show must go on, baby.
So Vlad and his cousin, his cousin was called
Stephen, by the way, Stephen the Great of Moldova.
They were running away from a guy called, I might
say this wrong, so please forgive me, but John
Hoonadi. We're going to go with that. And yeah,
they were hiding from him. I guess it was like
a hide and seek kind of situation, but deadly.
And yeah, he was a powerful Hungarian commander.
So one wrong move. And it was over. I would like
to point out now, I think I've been saying Wallachia
wrong. I think I've been saying Wallachia. I
am so deeply sorry. I'm not very good at pronouncing
things. I do look up things before I say them.
And for some reason in my head, I thought the
W was pronounced a V. So I'm so sorry about that.
But anyway, Vlad was a clever cookie. Okay, and
he knew that he wanted Valakia back and to be
honest he knew that he'd have to play with fire
to do it So he did he started making deals with
the people who murdered his father Like girl
Well, they were tied to his father's murder.
There was no forgiveness there. It was just strategy.
It was business babe fool business. So I'm not
going to lie to you guys. The politics of this
is super confusing to understand. So I'm going
to keep it as simplified as I possibly can. It's
going to be oversimplified. So just be aware
of that. But once Vlad had struck the right alliances,
he went in there and he took the throne. Thank
you very much. He went in there, walked his little
booty in there. and took back his throne. Thank
you very much. But the threats remained. And
the Ottomans, do you remember them? Remember
the Ottomans? Yeah, well they're back. And the
Empire, who once held him captive, because remember
at the start he was sent away to live with the
Ottomans as like an insurance policy. All that
coming back to you now. They were still looming.
And this is the, this is the gruesome bit. I'm
not gonna lie to you. So, if you don't like gruesome
stuff, you may as well skip forward. The thing
is, in the 15th century, things were really gruesome.
I think it was in Britain, people put, you know,
enemies' heads on spikes to keep them out. You
had people boiling people. It was crazy, okay?
So, Vlad had watched the Ottomans impale their
prisoners, and it was outside the city walls.
However, He decided to take it up a notch. Well,
he actually decided to take it up several notches,
but we'll get to that. I guess allegedly what
Vlad did was he made an example from a young
boyar and a boyar, just to put that in there,
was like a Lando owner or a rich noble and he
made an example out of a young boyar. Here is
the really gruesome bit, because what would happen
is they would sharpen wooden spikes. Oh man,
you really don't know. You don't want to know
what they do with the spikes, but I'm going to
tell you anyway. So they would impale people
and put them outside of the city walls to keep
like enemies away, to show them not to mess with
us, to show an example, don't disobey. But what
they would do is they would... sharpen the wooden
spikes, impale the victims allegedly through
the anus. I'm just going to say the anus still
alive. And these victims would be alive on the
stick as as they are impaled. And it is a very
slow. gruesome death because allegedly they could
stay alive for a few days. So they'd stay alive,
dying on a stick, on a very sharp wooden spike,
slowly tearing their insides apart. Then came
the infamous boyar dinner. And the nobles who,
as I mentioned earlier, some were linked to Vlad's
father's murder, they thought it was in the past,
they'd all sorted it. However, Vlad had not forgotten.
and it got very dramatic very quickly. Vlad separated
the victims from their families and some were
just impaled immediately but others were forced
to carry heavy bricks up a mountain to rebuild
his castle. Their clothes would tear and they'd
be hanging off their bodies and their bodies
would be pushed to a level of exhaustion that
they would collapse. and they would just perish.
That revenge was brutal. But it was also strategy
and power. The message was received. Defy Vlad
and that could be your fate. You could just end
up like all of them. Maybe not you, maybe your
family, maybe your neighbour. You know, you never
know who you're going to see murdered next. What
a terrifying concept. So chapter four, the reign
of terror. So Vlad took Wallachia back in 1456
and he was determined to crush the boyars. This
guy was not messing around, okay? You did not
want to be on the bad side of Vlad. Let me tell
you that. His first moves, impale the unfaithful,
replace almost all of his advisors apart from
two. and he introduced a terrifying system. So
thieves beheaded, unfaithful wives skinned alive,
lazy peasants impaled, and military shrinkers
were allegedly boiled alive. And there was another
gruesome story that I came across that really
Again, shows the depth of Vlad's brutal ways.
I just don't have words for this. Like, I actually
am. It's an example of how brutal he was. Legend
has it that Vlad hosted a banquet for beggars.
And as everyone was eating and drinking and I
guess just enjoying the banquet, he locked the
doors and set on fire. And I guess he did this
because he just didn't want those people in his
little society or in his society that he had.
And there was another tale I came across where
two men refused to take off their turbans because
of religious beliefs. I guess Vlad thought, okay,
then you're never taking them off. And allegedly,
Vlad nailed the turbans to their skull. He didn't
stop there. 41 merchants rounded up. 300 Saxons
burned and an attack on Brasov. There was a man
called the Pretender and he tried to take the
throne and of course this didn't end well for
him because Vlad allegedly forced the man to
watch his own grave being dug in front of him.
They gave him a burial ceremony while he was
still alive. He was watching his own funeral
and then he was beheaded. His head dropped into
the grave that was just dug right in front of
him while he was alive. By three years into his
second reign, Vlad had created a climate of fear.
No one dared to cross him. So here is an interesting
piece, because this is where some conflict arises.
So remember how Vlad had a brother called Radu?
I guess in 1462, Radu led 60 to 70 ,000 Ottoman
troops with 120 cannons, roughly. into Wallachia.
Now, Vlad didn't really have the same amount
of numbers in this region. He had 10 ,000 soldiers
and peasants. So it didn't really. Bit of a power
imbalance there. I'm just going to I'm just going
to say what we're all thinking, OK? I'm just
going to say what we're all thinking. So Vlad
knew that he wouldn't win directly. It was good.
He knew that that wasn't going to happen. So
he ordered a strategic retreat into the mountains.
We're getting out of here. We're going to. We're
going to get out of here. We're going to hide
in a mountain for a bit. Wait till this blows
over. Come back. It's going to be fine. So while
they're retreating to the mountains, he is. burning
his paths. He's poisoning water sources so they
can't just come in and start living in in this
area. And I guess allegedly they would ambush
the enemy and then steal some of their soldiers
as in like take some of their soldiers. I guess
it's just like they just took them. The horror
was absolutely unmatched when the Ottomans came
across what they thought was trees from afar
and as they drew closer they realized they were
not trees. They were decaying humans on wooden
spikes. Everyone. It was women, children, men,
some soldiers that were originally from the Ottoman
group who were stolen when they got ambushed.
They were impaled and displayed. Now the psychological
terror clearly worked, but Vlad still had to
flee. And in this time, Radu, his brother, seized
the throne. Vlad was betrayed and he was imprisoned
for 14 years. It's a pretty long time. So he's
had two reigns and now he's in prison. But not
for long because however in exile again Vlad
started to gain some followers He rebuilt the
support and eventually Reconnected with his cousin
Stephen remember him Stevie by the mid to late
1470s Vlad was back on the throne How did you
do that He basically... Guys, I don't know. I
don't know how he did that, but he managed. He
managed somehow. He completed a lifetime of alliances
and betrayals and a full circle of power plays.
I do not know how he did that, but that was it.
That was just... He was back on the throne. Third
reign, here we go! But it only lasted two months.
But by then, he was a legend. As a ruthless,
clever, terrifying ruler. And that was cemented.
That was a fact. People were terrified. Vlad's
lifetime of strategy, revenge and terror made
him a national hero in Romania and an inspiration
for Dracula worldwide. And I know, I was a bit
confused when I heard that too. I was like, okay,
so where are we getting the vampire in this?
I thought we were learning about Dracula today.
But this is, this is the guide that it's based
off of. Vlad's legacy, chapter six. I guess there
was like a pretty big jump there because some
information is so hard to find out, like. Some
of this, this is obviously really really old
information, so sometimes it gets a little confusing
and there's sometimes grey areas, gaps, discussions,
debates. Vlad's final battle, there's kind of
a huge question mark to that. Defeated against
the Ottomans. The details of his death, murky.
Confusing. not really there. No one really knows
what happened. And that's why the legends grew.
Because honestly, where people don't know stuff
and rumors, guys, people will make up stuff and
they'll exaggerate. But sometimes there's no
smoke without fire. So how do we really know
what's happened? You know? So altogether, Vlad
had less than seven years on the throne. I know.
and Vlad was infamous across Europe. And these
stories that I'm telling you just now, they became
a breeding ground for horror literature. And,
you know, writers would exaggerate his deeds
and they, I guess, created a figure perfect for
ghost stories and gothic legends. Enter Dracula!
But here's the thing, and this got me too, because
Vlad Never a vampire. What? Yeah. So, you know
Dracula, right? Obviously. I mean, you might
not have read it. I've not read it, but I've
definitely heard of it. You know, Hotel Transylvania
and stuff like that. Also, I feel like you grow
up knowing about vampires. It's just something
that, you know, you come out of the womb knowing
about. Dracula was written in 1897 by a guy called
Bram Stoker. He was Irish. The connections came
centuries later. It turns out that Stoker actually
knew very little about Romania and the descriptions
didn't really match Vlad's life. Like, at all.
This is another connection. Dracula is Wallachian
for Son of Dracul or Devil. Not bloodsucker.
Not a vampire. I know! I'm so confused! By the
way, let me just throw this out there. Stoker
was almost going to call his book something completely
different. He wasn't even going to call it Dracula.
Vlad just fit the legend. He liked it. He was
like, I want Vlad! It's a great name for a vampire.
So today, Vlad's story is... a little mix of
fact, a little mix of myth, and a big helping
of horror. Some see him as a ruthless defender,
and others see him as a man obsessed with revenge
and power. How many people did he actually kill?
That's the real question. And the truth is, nobody
knows. That is a tale lost in history. Nobody
actually knows how many people, but his reputation
of terror has just completely outlived him. I
mean, it's completely outlived him. Hundreds
and hundreds of years, are you joking? And it's
made him a very fascinating figure in history.
So yeah, that concludes today's story. What do
you think? Had you ever heard of this person
before? I am Elsie May. Thank you so much for
watching. Please enjoy the rest of your day.
If you enjoyed the podcast, please tell your
friends and family. Apart from that, I'll see
you next Wednesday. Bye bye! See ya!