Another Чтение Site 

This novel, in the form of fictional journals and letters, was not the first or even the best 19th Century vampire tale, but is today the best known, due to the endless number of movies based on it. Today we know that Dracula had a medieval counterpart, Vlad the Impaler, who lived in Wallachia (which is to the south of Transylvania), today part of Romania. Although not an actual vampire, Vlad was said to have spilled quite a bit of blood in his day.--J.B. Hare