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...During his reign, Vlad III is said to have killed 40,000 to 100,000 people (political rivals, criminals, and anyone that he considered "useless to humanity"), mainly by the gruesome act of impaling.Following a series of skirmishes between Vlad III and the Turks, Mehmed II marched on the city of Târgoviște and discovered the remains of 23,844 impaled Turkish prisoners arranged in concentric circles around the city.In a description of Vlad III by the papal legate, Nicholas of Modrussy: "he was not very tall, but very stocky and strong, with a cruel and terrible appearance, a long straight nose, distended nostrils,...

Willing victims are flocking to get puncture wounds at Romania's Bran Castle as the site - widely believed to be the inspiration for Count Dracula's lair - opens as a vaccination centre. A poster showed vampire fangs replaced with syringes during a coronavirus vaccination drive at the castle this weekend. Health workers with blood-soaked vampire fangs on their scrubs gave out Pfizer jabs to visitors, who can turn up without an appointment every weekend in May. Those who get the jab are handed a certificate hailing their 'boldness and responsibility' and promising they will be welcome at the castle 'for...

History of the real Vlad the Impaler.

Romanian royal home draws vampire tourists; heir wants ‘a happy place’When he lived as a boy in Bran Castle, Dominic Habsburg, now 79 years old, recalls it was “a happy place of light and flowers” that had been a residence to his grandparents, Queen Marie and King Ferdinand I, who once reigned over this

Dracula's castle on sale for 60 mln euros Bucharest (ANTARA News) - Bran Castle, better known as Dracula's Castle, has been put up for sale for 60 million euros (75.6 million dollars) and local authorities in Romania are considering buying it, officials said Wednesday. "Bran Castle is very important for our province's tourism industry. We have set up a commission with five members of the council that will examine the possibility of buying it," Aristotel Cancescu, president of Brasov province's council, was quoted by AFP as saying. The castle was returned in December 2006 to Dominic Habsburg, the grandson of...

Estonian researchers believe they may have finally discovered the whereabouts of “Dracula’s” grave, which is in Italy and not the Romanian Transylvanian Alps as first thought. The inspiration behind Bram Stoker’s 1897 gothic novel “Dracula” is thought to be Vlad III, the 15th century Prince of Wallachia in Eastern Europe. Known posthumously as Vlad the Impaler, the ruler was known for his brand of cruelty across Europe, which included impaling his enemies. Vlad’s ultimate enemy were the Ottomans. Depictions of his endless cruelty made history books, securing his reputation as one of the biggest villains in Turkey’s collective consciousness, as...

Raymond Ibrahim is a Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center. Citing history—or, as shall be seen, pseudohistory—is one of the main ways Islam’s apologists try to ennoble Muhammad’s creed and its adherents. As a sort of counterbalance to purportedly noble Muslims, medieval Christians are regularly presented as the epitome of intolerance and violence. Commonly leading the pack are Vlad the Impaler and Ivan “the Terrible” (both featured in the 2002 book, The Most Evil Men and Women in History). In reality, however, these men—and the culture they lived in—were significantly influenced by Islam; they were surrounded by and...

<p>WASHINGTON — A historic Transylvanian castle that may have once imprisoned Vlad the Impaler — likely inspiration for Bram Stoker's Dracula — still stands today. But what lies beneath it?</p> <p>Because of centuries of rebuilding and additions, archaeologists weren't sure where the castle's original foundation lay.</p>

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 about 100 feet before the path is blocked, reports Hurriyet Daily News. "We have made progress. Since it has an angle of 45 degrees, it is hard to remove stones and earth," culture and tourism director Abdurrahman Akyuz says of the tunnel, found during restoration efforts in 2009. "We think that this tunnel...

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." And while he deems it "hard to estimate" which room the man who served as Dracula's inspiration was held in, "he was around here," he says.

Now you can own Dracula’s castle Transylvania's Bran Castle, long connected with Bram Stoker's indelible creation, is for sale. Count Dracula never lived in Bran Castle, in the Transylvania region of Romania, because he was a fictional character. But look, it’s a Gothic-looking castle in Transylvania — plus, Vlad the Impaler, the historical figure who inspired Bram Stoker’s indelible creation, was reportedly imprisoned here. So it’s no surprise that it’s commonly called “Dracula’s Castle,” and that (like Transylvania’s Hunyad Castle and Poenari Castle in Wallachia) it’s often linked with the vampire legend. And now, you can own it. If you...

Like flaming demons, Wallachians rushed out of the night and into the Turkish camp, striking terror in an army of terrorists. Leading the charge was a gore-spattered chieftain—hewing and hacking a path to the central tents where the Sultan huddled in fear. On he came, Vlad Dracul, raining down slaughter and raging for Mehmed’s blood.On June 17, 1462, outside Targoviste, Romania, the world was given a rare instance of how the good can be accomplished though the grotesque—for God can deploy His enemies as allies. Vlad Dracul III, Prince of Wallachia, can hardly be considered a warrior of faith; but...

Vlad the impaler: Putin may have had affair with ex-spy ChapmanBy ANDY SOLTIS Last Updated: 7:14 AM, April 24, 2012 Vladimir Putin may have had an affair with sexy former spy Anna Chapman — which might have knocked the Russian president’s wife of 29 years out of the spotlight, Kremlin watchers say. Putin, 59, is an ever-present figure in the Russian media but has been shown just twice with his 54-year-old wife, Lyudmila, in the last two years. Ex-Manhattanite Chapman, 30, who was booted to Moscow in a 2010 spy swap, soon emerged as a key player...

The Ukrainian government is negotiating the issue of ruble-denominated government bonds, making the country no longer reliant on IMF assistance. Ukraine’s 2010 IMF assistance package of $15.6 billion was suspended in March 2011 because of Ukraine’s refusal to continue with IMF reforms, in particular raising household utility prices to reduce subsidies to the state gas company Naftohaz Ukrainy. This confirms what the Nikolai Azarov government has been discussing since summer 2011 (see www.kyivpost.com/news/business/bus_general/detail/108197/; ubr.ua/finances/stock-market/ukraina-vypustit-obligacii-v-rubliah-53601). Three November 2011 auctions for three and five-year government bonds with 8.22 and 8.75 percent returns, respectively, failed to attract buyers, and a March issue of...

WASHINGTON — Former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger said Sunday that Russia's president-elect Vladimir Putin is a "patriot" who could turn out to be a constructive partner with the United States on certain issues. Kissinger said Putin, who was elected to a third term as president in an election marred by irregularities and protests against his rule, "is not anti-western." "He is, above all, a Russian patriot who feels humiliated by the experience of the 1990s, which were in the most formative period of his career," Kissinger said in an interview with CNN, referring to the 1991 collapse of...

Vladimir Putin: 'We Have Won. Glory to Russia' Putin claims resounding election win as opposition activists allege widespread fraud 4 March 2012 Vladimir Putin, with Dmitry Medvedev, sheds a tear as he addresses supporters. Putin has claimed a resounding election victory. Photograph: Mikhail Voskresensky /Reuters Vladimir Putin has claimed a resounding victory in Russia's presidential election, provoking a furious response from opposition activists who alleged that the vote was marred by widespread fraud. At a rally in front of the Kremlin an emotional Putin, with tears running down his face and flanked by the outgoing president, Dmitry Medvedev, said: "I...

In China, Russia's Putin calls US a parasite AP– 8 hrs ago BEIJING (AP) — Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is likening the U.S. to a parasite following his meetings with Chinese leaders to push ahead energy deals and draw the once wary neighbors closer. In an interview with Chinese state media released Tuesday, Putin said that the U.S. itself is not a parasite for the world economy but that its dollar monopoly is. Putin said his criticism was meant to help find a solution to problems in the world economy.

Twenty-first-century Russia may look like a liberal democracy, with elections, law courts and parliament. In truth there are two parallel states. One is for show. The other is almost completely corrupt, with part of it run by a clique of secret servicemen who owe their allegiance ultimately to the prime minister, Vladimir Putin, and the small group of former KGB thugs who surround him. Stay in with them, and you stay safe. Fail to pay your dues, and you risk personal destruction. ....the so-called siloviki, the strongmen who control modern Russia, with a career background in the intelligence or security...

The White House Press Office has refused to give the Boston Herald full access to President Obama’s Boston fund-raiser today, in e-mails objecting to the newspaper’s front page placement of a Mitt Romney op-ed, saying pool reporters are chosen based on whether they cover the news “fairly.” “I tend to consider the degree to which papers have demonstrated to covering the White House regularly and fairly in determining local pool reporters,” White House spokesman Matt Lehrich wrote in response to a Herald request for full access to the presidential visit. “My point about the op-ed was not that you ran...

CARACAS, April 2 (Reuters) - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin visited Venezuela on Friday to discuss oil, defense and nuclear energy cooperation with Latin America's main leftist foe of the United States, President Hugo Chavez. They were to launch a $20 billion venture between Russian firms and Venezuelan state company PDVSA to pump 450,000 barrels a day -- almost a fifth of the OPEC member's current output -- from the vast Orinoco heavy oil belt. Putin's 12-hour visit provides a welcome lift for Chavez, who is facing domestic and international criticism for failing to solve Venezuela's economic woes and attempting...