BRAN CASTLE: THE CASTLE OF DRACULA IN TRANSYLVANIA, ROMANIA
Posted on 06/17/2023 7:07:48 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Today — or rather, tonight — in history, Vlad the Impaler launched a midnight raid against Muslim invaders that would cause his name to live on forever as Dracula, the terror of the night.
The year was 1462. Ottoman sultan Muhammad II (“Mehmet”) had demanded tribute, by way of gold and Romanian boys, to serve as his slave soldiers (janissaries). Vlad III Dracula — better known as Vlad Țepeș, or the “Impaler” — the ruler of Wallachia (in modern-day Romania) responded by sending the Muslim emissaries back to Muhammad with their turbans nailed onto their heads.
So it would be war. Muhammad mobilized one of the largest Ottoman armies in history, according to some estimates — between 150,000 and 300,000 — and invaded Wallachia, terrorizing all and sundry and engaging in unspeakable atrocities, especially against women and children. With only some 30,000 men — many of them peasants whose “armor” consisted of sheep’s wool, their weapons axes, scythes, and hammers — Vlad was forced to resort to guerilla tactics. Though he launched several successful sorties against the Islamic invaders, these barely made a dent in the Ottoman force, which consisted of “Allahu Akbar”-hollering jihadists “as numerous as the stars in the sky,” to quote an early source.
Knowing that he could never defeat the invaders, Vlad decided to do the next best thing: decapitate the head of this vast Islamic snake ravaging his country. In an effort to demoralize and disband the Turks, Vlad decided to assassinate the sultan.
Thus, on the pitch black night of June 16-17, 1462, somewhere near the foothills of the Carpathian mountains, where Muhammad and his vast Turkish host were encamped and asleep, Vlad, with anywhere between two thousand and seven thousand horsemen, violently blitzed into the lion’s den in search of the sultan’s head.
(Excerpt) Read more at pjmedia.com ...
I’ve seen that movie, “Dracula Untold”, several times - quite good.
The true bloodline of Queen Elizabeth, Prince (now King) Charles, etc.
Have you seen Dracula 2000?
A somewhat cheesy late 90s horror film that feels like Scream more than Bram Stoker, but has a great performance by Christopher Plummer as Van Helsing and Gerard Butler as Dracula.
The most innovative idea in the film is that Dracula is actually Judas Iscariot, forced to walk the Earth as an undead for betraying Jesus. It also explains why crosses and holy water damage him.
It has a B movie feel, but I always thought that twist was unique.
I remember Love At First Bite, with George Hamilton.
I wonder if Raymond in the source book covers Vlad’s relationship with the Ottomans prior to these events (such as how, after his father and brother were murdered, Vlad attempted to regain control of Wallachia with Ottoman support).
I know.
Ought to give Bone Tomahawk a watch if you like horror. Free on Tubi. It’s probably the best horror movie I’ve seen in a good while.
Recently read a news blip about a movie coming out in August. It's called "Last Voyage of the Demeter."
I'm at the tail-end of a book by Doug Lamoreax called "Dracula's Demeter." The book isn't connected to the movie. According to Wikipedia, the movie "is an adaptation of 'The Captain's Log', a chapter from the 1897 Bram Stoker novel Dracula."
Watched that a while back. Excellent movie.
Tis a pity he couldn’t put the Sultan and all his princes’ heads on pikes.
Some good horror movies:
The Babadook
A Quiet Place
As Above, So Below
The Black Phone
I call it horror because of the scene where David Arquette is butchered. Other than that, it’s a good Western.
Except for nickel-plated guns. That will ruin a western.
I loved it.
Bought the dvd.
Have you seen the 70s PBS version with Louis Jourdan as the count?
Very true to the book.
And nothing has changed in 600 years. Muslims still demand to cut 3700 infidels in half and muslims wage war constantly around the world.
“Never a shortie, always a longie”
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