Dracula

Field Guide Classification:  Undead (Class A); Vampire Regent (see: Vampire Regent)

Other Aliases:  Vlad Tepesch Dracul, Vlad The Impaler, Count Dracula, Prince of Darkness, Lord of the Undead.

Base Of Operations/Natural Habitat:  Formerly Borgo Pass, Transylvania (now Romania); later Yorkshire, England.

Diet:  Fresh mammalian blood; preferably human. When feeding, the vampire usually bites its victims on the neck, breast, or arm (see also: Known Weaknesses/Methods Of Destruction, below).

Identity:  The general public believes that Dracula did in fact exist, but died in the 15th Century - never becoming a vampire.

Legal Status:  Former prince of Transylvania and Wallachia.

Marital Status:  Married twice.

Known Kin/Relatives/Survivors: None known. It has been hypothesized that Dracula had a daughter (from his first wife) who subsequently became a vampire; but there are no records confirming her existence. There were also accounts of Dracula having a son, who was also a vampire. Travelling under the name "Alucard", this creature was reportedly last seen prowling the Louisiana bayous of the U.S. in 1943. This is pure hearsay however, as there are no tangible records to substantiate those reports. Upon becoming a vampire, it would have been physiologically impossible for Dracula to have sired any offspring. However, Dracula created many vampires during his 400-year reign, and it is possible that some among them would claim him as their "father".

Group Affiliation:  Ruler of all vampires.

Place Of Birth:  Schassburg, Transylvania (now Romania).

Place of Death/Destruction:  Castle Dracula, Transylvania.

History/Lore:  Vlad Dracula was born in in 1430 as the son of Vlad Dracul, who in 1431, became prince of Wallachia, a Romanian principality bordering Transylvania. In 1444, the Turkish sultan Murad II slew Dracula's father, taking Dracula and his brother Radu prisoner. The suffering that Dracula and Radu endured in captivity eventually killed Radu, filling Dracula with an all-consuming hatred for humanity. Dracula escaped in 1449, but not before wreaking vengeance upon his captor, Murad II. Dracula held his late father's throne for 8 months, before losing it once again to the Turks. In 1451 he married the noblewoman Zofia as his father had wished, and she bore him a daughter (whose name remains unknown). Shortly after the birth of their daughter, Dracula ordered Zofia to take the infant and leave forever, while he prepared to wage war with the Turks. Grief-stricken, Zofia committed suicide; and accounts relate that her infant daughter was lost, presumed dead. Unfazed, Dracula continued his war with the Turks, regaining his throne in 1456. He became more ruthless in battle as the months progressed, and his lurid practice of impaling his enemies earned him the name, "Vlad the Impaler". Around this time, Dracula took a new wife by the name of Maria. In 1459, Dracula was felled in battle by the Turkish warlord Turac, who also captured his castle. Upon learning that Turac's soldiers had raped Maria, Dracula drug himself to a nearby gypsy camp, where he sought out an unnamed "gypsy sorceress" rumored to be among them. Mortally wounded, he commanded the old gypsy woman to heal him so that he could wreak his vengeance upon the marauding Turks. The gypsy saw in Dracula a great evil in him brought about by an all-consuming hatred. The gypsy woman told Dracula that she was actually the last of the ancient Atlantean vampires, and that Dracula was beyond all human mediums to recover from his wound - unless he were to cheat death by becoming a vampire. The gypsy woman explained that this would be a way for Dracula to exact his revenge, but it would also have its price. He would live forever to feed on human blood and spread darkness wherever he treads. Filled with hatred and desperate for revenge, Dracula quickly consented. He was then bitten by the gypsy woman, who also mingled her blood with his. Dracula soon rose as a vampire and reclaimed his castle, only to discover his wife Maria was by now dead. Enraged even more, Dracula mercilessly slew Turac and his guards. Not long afterwards, Dracula extended his rule throughout Transylvania and expelled the remaining Turk from his dominions, and his powers as a Vampire Regent quickly manifested themselves due to the coalescing of the gypsy woman's blood with his own. He challenged the most powerful of Vampire Regents of the time. Those who opposed his denouncements were consequently defeated and destroyed in savage hand-to-hand combat. Dracula abdicated his princehood in 1471, when he announced himself as the "King of Vampires". In 1597, Dracula moved to his "current" Castle Dracula near Transylvania's Borgo Pass, located amid the steppes of the Carpathian Mountains. He did not venture into the outside world until the late 1800s, when he came to England searching for "new blood". Purchasing the Carfax Abby estate in Whitby, Yorkshire, Dracula eventually entered into conflict with the vampire hunter Dr. Abraham Van Helsing, Jonathan Harker, and others. Van Helsing managed to track the vampire back to the Count's castle in Transylvania, and finally succeeded in destroying him there. Since becoming a vampire, Dracula has been "killed" many times, only to be resurrected by some means. There have been unsubstantiated accounts of the Count being revived in the late 1800s - early 1900s, but subsequently destroyed yet again by Abraham Van Helsing. Other unconfirmed reports relate stories of the Count prowling the Lower European countryside from the early 1900s to around 1948. Still more unverifiable accounts chronicle Dracula being resurrected in modern times (circa 1972 - 1973) and later destroyed in London, England by a descendant of the Van Helsing family. Letters and journal entries from Abraham Van Helsing, Jonathan Harker and others were collected by Bram Stoker and published in 1897 as the book Dracula, which the general public erroneously believes to be a work of fiction.

Description: Dracula had a lean, muscular build. His face was pale and gaunt, and he has appeared both clean-shaven and bearing a thin moustache and beard. He was always neatly dressed in the attire befitting a nobleman or aristocrat, often adorning himself with a long, black cape or cloak. His wardrobe was usually limited to black or dark colors.

Height/Size:  6' 5"

Weight:  85 lbs.

Eyes:  Dark-brown; often bright red when feeding or enraged.

Hair:  Black.

Powers:  Dracula was the most powerful of all vampires in recorded history, possessing even greater power and strength than the archetypal Vampire Regent (see: Vampire Regent). Most Vampire Regents gain superhuman strength from 10 - 20 times as great as they possessed in normal life. Dracula was able to lift (press) 250lbs. as a mortal. As a Vampire Regent, he possessed incredible strength, able to lift (press) well over 2,500lbs. When he was well-sated and under optimum conditions, he could lift (press) up to 5,000lbs. Dracula was able to summon fog and thunderstorms of great intensity. Although the mystical concentration was fatiguing for him, he could affect an area up to a mile radius. It has been speculated that Dracula may have possessed certain spellcasting abilities or some knowledge of the Black Arts that he cultivated over the centuries. These speculations remain to be proven, and the extent of these powers are as yet unknown. Perhaps the most dangerous power of Dracula was his brilliantly cunning mind; a superb intellect honed by centuries of battle and subterfuge. In life and un-life, Dracula was ever dauntless in his ambitions. He possessed (and more than likely still possesses) many thralls and pawns to do his bidding. There are even several vampire cults that worship him, while awaiting and preparing for his impending return. Without a doubt, he was among mankind's deadliest foes, and no vampire hunter, monster hunter, or occult investigator should ignore the probability of his eventual resurrection.

Known Weaknesses/Methods Of Destruction:  Dracula possessed the same weaknesses and limitations as vampires, with some exceptions (see: Vampire). Although common vampires must rest during the daylight hours, Dracula did not require such rest. He only needed to avoid direct sunlight.  Dracula had a certain level of resistance from the effects of religious objects. Only a great deal of belief can make religious objects effective against Dracula. There are stories of Dracula being able to melt or burn such objects with either his touch or gaze whenever a wielder of insufficient faith confronted him.

See Also:  Vampire Regent and Vampire.