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About This Quiz
Halloween is upon us...What better time to test your knowledge on your favorite spooky character! Challenge yourself on the facts and debunk the myths on Dracula, with this quiz!
The Dracula character first arose from the publication of the gothic horror fiction, “Dracula.â€
Fact
Though there is much speculation on the basis of this character. Dracula himself is a character created by the author Bram Stoker!
Myth
Dracula came from Transylvania.
Fact
The blood-sucking Transylvanian vampire count, at the same time exotic and deadly, sexy and repulsive, now rejoicing in his eternal all-powerful evilness, now craving to find the true peace of the grave for his tortured soul, closely attached to his ancestral homeland and castle while willing to try his chances at the opposite end of Europe!
Myth
Dracula was created before the idea of other vampires existing.
Fact
Myth
Although well-known and feared worldwide, it appears that the most highly developed vampire mythology originates from Eastern Europe and the Balkans - including the word "vampire" itself - where traditional beliefs held that the body of an evil person will remain un-corrupt after death and as such ready to rise from its grave on certain nights to haunt and terrorize!!
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The most popular preventative weapon was silver?
Fact
Myth
Silver was a defensive weapon. The use of a cross or garlic could be considered preventative, as it was said to deter Dracula!
“Vampirism†can be a form taken upon by the living.
Fact
On this bloodlust-fuelled eroticism are based the tentative medical explanations of historically-recorded cases of "vampirism" amongst the living which are attributed to "haematophilia", a form of sexual deviation where the sight and taste of the blood flowing freely from the "love-bitten" partner represent the main erotic satisfaction for the addict!
Myth
“Dracul†translates to “man of the lightâ€
Fact
Myth
"Dracul" - word meaning both "the devil" and "the dragon" in Romanian and used here with the latter meaning as a consequence of him wearing an insignia of this beast as a knight of the crusader Order of the Dragon - while the son's favorite method of execution earned him the additional nickname "Tepes" ("the Impaler" in Romanian)!
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Dracula’s other name was “Prince Vlad.â€
Fact
Vlad, or Dracula, was born in 1431 in Transylvania into a noble family. His father was called "Dracul," meaning "dragon" or "devil" in Romanian because he belonged to the Order of the Dragon, which fought the Muslim Ottoman Empire.
Myth
Dracula was Killed by another vampire.
Fact
Myth
He was killed in December 1476 fighting the Turks near Bucharest, Romania, Dracula's head was cut off and displayed in Constantinople.
Dracula was a defender of faith.
Fact
At that time, it was believed that religious charity, and a proper burial, would erase sin and allow entry to heaven. Dracula surrounded himself with priests and monks and founded five monasteries. Over a period of 150 years, his family established 50 monasteries.
Myth
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His favorite means of torture was impaling people.
Fact
Dracula earned another nickname, "Vlad Tepes,†which means "Vlad the Impaler." Dracula's favorite method of torture was to impale people and leave them to writhe in agony, often for days. As a warning to others, the bodies would remain on rods as vultures and blackbirds nibbled the rotting flesh!
Myth
Dracula’s body was buried in the mountains of Transylvania.
Fact
Myth
Dracula was buried at the isolated Snagov Monastery near Bucharest, which was also likely used as a prison and torture chamber. When prisoners prayed before an icon of the Blessed Virgin, a trap door opened dropping them onto sharp stakes below!
Stephanie Meyer was the author of the original horror fiction, “Dracula.â€
Fact
Myth
Stephanie Meyer was the author of the Twilight Saga, but Bram Stoker was the original author that created Dracula! He published the novel in 1897!
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Stoker’s novel details the efforts of Dracula to move to the country of England.
Fact
According to the writing, Dracula wanted to move from Transylvania to England to expand his vampire empire!
Myth
Vlad the Impaler was the only influence for the character, Dracula.
Fact
Myth
No one knows for sure! Pundits say there’s little proof that the terrifying Vlad was anything but a vague influence!
Vlad the Impaler was also known as The count of Transylvania.
Fact
Myth
His other name was the Prince of Wallachia. He lived in the 1400’s and killed many people in all types of horrible ways including impaling them on tall stakes!
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Sweeney Todd was also a character that Dracula could have been based on.
Fact
Myth
Actually it was Jack the Ripper, that could have been a major influence on Stokers character. “The Ripper†had swept through London just before Stoker began creating “Dracula!â€
“Porphyria†(condition that created the basis for vampire-like characteristics) is the craving for iron (in blood).
Fact
Myth
“Porphyria†is actually the sensitivity to the sun! This condition can explain one of the vampires characteristics of being nocturnal, and avoiding the sun.
Dracula was buried in a casket.
Fact
In 1931 archaeologists searching Snagov found a casket partially covered in a purple shroud embroidered with gold. The skeleton inside was covered with pieces of faded silk brocade, similar to a shirt depicted in an old painting of Dracula!! The casket also contained a cloisonné crown, with turquoise stones. A ring, similar to those worn by the Order of the Dragon, was sewn into a shirtsleeve!
Myth
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The contents of the archeological findings are on display in a museum.
Fact
Myth
The contents were taken to the History Museum in Bucharest but have since disappeared without a trace, leaving the mysteries of the real Prince Dracula unanswered!
Dracula was said to have massacred populations of people up into the tens of thousands.
Fact
Nicholas of Modrussa, Papal envoy in Budapest)Hungary, wrote Pope Pius II that Dracula massacred 40,000 men, women, and children of all ages and nationalities in one incident in 1464! The bishop of Erlau, stated in 1475 that Dracula had personally ordered the murders of 100,000 people, or close to one-fifth the population under his rule!
Myth
Dracula is immortal.
Fact
The character doesn’t just have a crazy long lifespan; but his character is considered to be immortal!
Myth
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In ancient times, the traditional method of killing vampires, was draping silver around their body.
Fact
Myth
Silver wouldn’t have killed a vampire. In order to officially kill one, you would need to decapitate them!
Vlad III had a strong taste for blood.
Fact
Just like Dracula, Vlad III (who was the model for the character) had a taste for blood and was said to even dip his bread in it at dinner!
Myth
The first case of the presence of Vampires was in the 1900’s.
Fact
Myth
The first case took place in the mid 1700s! Peter Plogojowitz was a Serbian peasant. He died at the age of 62 and lay in his grave for 10 weeks when villagers reported seeing him at night. They claimed that he came to their beds at night and attacked them. Nine people died within a week. His wife then claimed to have seen him. The woman was extremely scared and quickly left the village!!
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Dracula may have been inspired by a nightmare.
Fact
According to biographer Harry Ludlam, Stoker said he was compelled to pen the tale after dreaming of “a vampire king rising from the tombâ€â€”following a "helping of dressed crab at supper.†While the fare might not have actually had anything to do with what he dreamt that night, Stoker’s private working notes show him revisiting the frightening vision.
Myth
Vampires have NO relation to Frankenstein.
Fact
Myth
In 1816, on a gloomy day in Lake Geneva, Lord Byron proposed a ghost story contest that led to Frankenstein! It was also the birth of The Vampyre by John Polidori, his first-ever vampire story written in English. Polidori was Byron’s personal physician and he may have based his aristocratic bloodsucker on his patient—which would make Lord Byron the basis for the bulk of vampire depictions that followed!
Jack the ripper and Dracula both happened around same period of time.
Fact
Stoker began Dracula in 1890, two years after Jack the Ripper terrorized London. The lurid atmosphere these crimes produced made their way into Stoker’s novel, which was confirmed in the 1901 preface to the Icelandic edition of Dracula!
Myth
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Bram Stoker’s boss (Irving) loved the character of Dracula.
Fact
Myth
Some critics have suggested that the charismatic Irving was the basis for Dracula! Whether or not it was inspired by him, Irving didn’t like Dracula. After seeing a performance of the story, Stoker asked Irving what he thought. Irving would only reply, “Dreadful!â€
Bram Stoker traveled around Transylvania collecting detail for the novel.
Fact
Myth
Stoker set his book in Transylvania but never actually visited the country! He added details from travel books and such!
The novel was almost named another title.
Fact
The working title of the novel was The Dead Un-Dead! From there it was shortened to the The Undead. The title wasn’t changed to Dracula, until right before it was published!
Myth
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Dracula was an instant hit.
Fact
Myth
Dracula wasn’t an instant hit, but Stoker held onto the theatrical copyright. After his death in 1922, a German film company made the now classic Nosferatu, for which they changed the names of the characters, but still didn’t get permission to use the story. Stoker’s widow sued and a German court ordered that every copy of the film be destroyed. Luckily for us, one survived.
The word “Vampire†came to the English language in the 1700’s.
Fact
Vampires came into the English language in 1732, through an English translation of a German report of a much-publicized vampire staking in Serbia. The fear of vampires was so widely spread that even some government officials went out hunting and placing stakes on vampires.
Myth
Vampire myths only occurred in England and Europe.
Fact
Myth
Vampire myths go back thousands of years and occur in almost every culture around the world! The different legends portray many varieties of vampires, from glowing red-eyed monsters with green or pink hair as in China, to the Greek Lamia, which has the upper body of a woman and the lower body of a winged serpent!
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Vampire behavior could have been inspired by rabies.
Fact
Rabies could have been in fact what may have caused the change in people! Humans infected with rabies behave in violent and unpredictable ways!
Myth
You Got:
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The Movie DB