The Economist (US), December 21st, 1991
PITY not Vlad the Impaler. Impating was one of several unsavoury amusements Vlad Tepes, a Transylvanian nobleman of the 15th century, enjoyed. Nevertheless, he has been libelled. There is no evidence that his taste for the sweet salt copper of blood was inhuman. The reason why Dracula ("The little Dragon") found himself tarred with the carmine brush was that he provided Bram Stoker with a convenient way of tying together two disparate ideas. There was vampire folklore throughout southeastern Europe; there was an English tradition of vampires as infernal toffs. Dracula, with both a title and ...
HighBeam Research, Free Preview: 'Vampires: Lord Byron to Count Dracula.'... Full Membership required for unlimited access. Free 7-day trial.
Subscribers: HighBeam content is only available to HighBeam subscribers. Click the link above for more information.
