April Is For #Vampires: Vlad Dudes
Vlad III the Impaler of Transylvania (1431-1476), or Vlad Dracula was the original bad boy. Now of course he wasn't a real vampire, but his sadistic and horrific way of torturing and impaling his enemies, criminals, or anyone who pissed him off gave Bram Stoker the ideal person to base his vampire off of.
A born and bred bad-ass, Vlady-kins was known for impaling not just a few, but tens of thousands of people on giant stakes, creating a Forest of the Impaled, where the rotting corpses were arranged geometrically. He was a grade-A sicko!
He sort of reminds me of a very evil Weird Al Yankovic with the look he's rocking there.
Not to be outdone, a century later Vlad had to make room for the ladies as Countess Elizabeth Bathory (1560-1614) burst onto the scene as the ultimate mean girl. Eager to keep her pretty looks (she was pretty hot, I'll admit it), she murdered and tortured hundreds of girls and bathed in their blood. Today she could have just gotten some Botox - much easier. She did get punished eventually for her naughty behavior, getting bricked into a wing of her palace where she died 4 years later. Her penchant for blood and the fact that her family also ruled over Transylvania earned her the nickname Blood Countess and Countess Dracula, even though she was more a serial killer than a vampire.
These early vampish folks continue to give creepy inspiration to many writers, including me. Way to keep it classy, big, bad Vladys!
Info:
Vlad: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vlad_III_the_Impaler
Elizabeth Bathory: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_B%C3%A1thory
Stay with me all month for April Is For #Vampires as we celebrate the upcoming release of my YA vampire novel, Bloody Little Secrets, coming May, 2011 from DarkSide Publishing.
A born and bred bad-ass, Vlady-kins was known for impaling not just a few, but tens of thousands of people on giant stakes, creating a Forest of the Impaled, where the rotting corpses were arranged geometrically. He was a grade-A sicko!
He sort of reminds me of a very evil Weird Al Yankovic with the look he's rocking there.
These early vampish folks continue to give creepy inspiration to many writers, including me. Way to keep it classy, big, bad Vladys!
Info:
Vlad: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vlad_III_the_Impaler
Elizabeth Bathory: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_B%C3%A1thory
Stay with me all month for April Is For #Vampires as we celebrate the upcoming release of my YA vampire novel, Bloody Little Secrets, coming May, 2011 from DarkSide Publishing.
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