7 Fun Facts About Dracula

Undoubtedly we’ve all heard of the iconic Count Dracula, the quintessential horror villain who can turn into a bat, who sleeps in a coffin, and who really hates the sunlight. First conceived by Bram Stoker in his 1897 gothic horror novel, Dracula has spawned an entire genre of vampire fiction, mythology, and popular culture the world over.

But what do we actually know about the character of Dracula? Let’s dive into some fun (and blood-curdling facts about the Transylvanian count and the original vampire.

#1. “Dracula” actually means “dragon” or “devil”

Dracula doesn’t have a first name and is known simply as Dracula. It turns out that Dracula means ‘devil’ in the Wallachian language, in Romanian, it’s similar to Dracul which means ‘Dragon.’ Anyone who has read the novel Dracula knows that this character is cunning and diabolical so it’s no wonder that Bram Stoker chose this name to embody his iconic vampire.

#2. Dracula may (or may not) have been based on a real prince

Many vampire fans have speculated as to whether or not the character of Dracula from Bram Stoker’s novel was based on the historical person of Vlad III or Vlad the Impaler, the famous 15th-century Romanian prince who liked to skewer his enemies.

Scholars still disagree on this point but what we do know is that Bram Stoker had a copy of the book An Account of the Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia which mentions Vlad the Impaler and several other leaders with some form of the name “Dracula”. While reading from this book, Stoker changed the vampire’s name from Count Wampyr to Dracula, copying from a footnote that read, “DRACULA in Wallachian language means DEVIL.”

#3. Dracula has his very own slot game

Dracula has truly permeated all parts of popular culture when he’s even starring in his own online slot game. This beautifully-designed horror game from NetEnt sends you on an adventure with Dracula himself after he’s moved from Transylvania to London.

Your goal is to find victims for the count, to feed his need for blood as you wrack up big wins along the way. The best part is, you can play Dracula slots at Jackpot City Casino anytime from the comfort of your own home.

#4. Dracula has appeared in more than 200 films

The famous vampire has had quite a cinematic career on the big screen with countless actors depicting Dracula in all sorts of quirky ways. The incredibly-prolific English actor, Christopher Lee, even played Dracula 11 times in a series of Hammer Horror films.

Most film adaptations don’t include all of the characters from the original novel, but the main count is always in attendance. The remarkable number of movies featuring Dracula makes him the most-often portrayed character in film, just a smidge ahead of iconic detective Sherlock Holmes.

#5. Dracula’s first film depiction was as Nosferatu

The first film depiction of Dracula was actually Nosferatu, an unauthorized version by a German film company that was released in 1922, twenty-five years after the novel’s original release (and the same year that Stoker died).

The film’s creators had not acquired rights to any part of the story and although they changed the names of the characters, still did not have permission to produce it. Stoker’s widow sued the company and a German court ordered that every copy of the movie be destroyed. Luckily for posterity, one survived.

#6. It’s harder to kill Dracula than regular vampires

Throughout the book and on the big screen, Dracula brandishes his awesome supernatural powers like hypnosis, telepathy, shape-shifting, the ability to create ‘mists’, and the power to control animals like bats and wolves.

Clearly, with all of these superpowers, Dracula must be more difficult to kill than your typical Twilight vampire. So whereas most vampires in popular culture only need a stake through the heart to do the trick, Dracula actually must first be decapitated and then impaled with a stake.

#7. Dracula had a thick mustache

Now, having watched countless Dracula movies, this one is a little tough to believe. But in the novel, Bram Stoker does describe Dracula with a “heavy mustache” above a “rather cruel-looking [mouth] with peculiarly sharp white teeth.”

The closest the films got was the Gary Oldman iteration which made him look like Vlad the Impaler and a few of the Christopher Lee versions in which he sported a mustache.

“For the dead travel fast.”

When Bram Stoker published his novel, it was not an instant success. It wasn’t really a huge success on the stage as a theatre performance either. It was really the silver screen that made the character of Dracula into what he is today. Either way, it’s great for horror enthusiasts and vampire aficionados to have such a wealth of material to draw from.

It’s hard to believe that anyone named Count Wampyr would have had the same influence on the horror genre and popular culture in general as Count Dracula. Thank goodness Bram Stoker changed it.