- The legend of the vampire was and still is deeply believed in the Balkan region. There have always been
vampire-like creatures in the mythologies of many cultures. However, the vampire, as he became known in Europe and
hence America, largely originated in the Slavic and Greek lands of Eastern Europe.
- Bram Stoker based his novel upon the historical figure of Vlad Dracula.
- Vlad usually had a horse attached to each of the victim's legs and a
sharpened stake was gradually forced into the body.
- Vlad Tepes often had the stakes arranged in various geometric patterns. The most common pattern was a ring of
concentric circles in the outskirts of a city that was his target.
- The height of the spear indicated the rank of the victim, and the corpses were left up for months.
This gruesome sight is remembered in history as "the Forest of the Impaled."
- Ten thousand were impaled in the Transylvanian city of Sibiu in 1460
Definitions
Mythologies: A body or collection of myths belonging to a people and addressing their origin,
history, deities, ancestors, and heroes.
Concentric: having a common center.
Corpses: A dead body, especially the dead body of a human.