Vlad was born in small town in Transylvania, part of Romania. His father was member of the Order of the Dragon, a chivalric order founded by king Sigismund to protect Christianity in Eastern Europe. His father was known for bringing image of the dragon on the coins he minted and churches he built. This explains his nickname - Dracul - "The Dragon". Vlad III was named Dracula - that is "Son of dragon" or " Dragon Jr."

His contemporaries mention him as mentally unbalanced person, with many strange habits and ideas. This is explained by all the hardships he suffered during his childhood and teenage years: he was lived several years at the Ottoman court as hostages of his father loyalty; after his father and elder brother assassination he was forced to stray and hide for several yeas - Moldavia, Hungary, distant regions of Transylvania were his shelters.

On August 22, 1456 he manages to prove his rights and ascent to the throne of Wallachia. This day he celebrates by inviting to feast all the boyars and bishops, who were related to his fathers death, and then impaling all of the guests including their wives and servants. Besides those acts of cruelty, Vlad III proved himself as talented ruler: he opposed Ottoman empire, being under constant danger of conquest, refused to pay tributes to sultan and even managed to repel the invasion of 120,000 great army of Turks, led by Sultan Mehmed II.

Romanian and Bulgarian documents from 1481 onwards portray Vlad as a hero, a true leader, who used harsh yet fair methods to reclaim the country from the corrupt and rich boyars. Moreover, all his military efforts were directed against the Ottoman Empire which explicitly wanted to conquer Wallachia. Vlad's reputation for cruelty was actively promoted by Matthias Corvinus, who tarnished Vlad’s reputation and credibility for a political reason. The connection of the name "Dracula" with vampirism was made by Bram Stoker, who probably found the name of his Count Dracula character in William Wilkinson's book, "An Account of the Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia: with various Political Observations Relating to Them". Stoker's books "Dracula" and "Children of the Night" together with famous movie "Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens" binded Vlad's name with popular beliefs of vampires.