A closer look
Long before Bram Stoker romanticized vampires, the real-life inspiration was significantly more vile. Vlad III, the Prince of Wallachia, had a legendary penchant for impaling his enemies on giant wooden stakes and leaving them out to rot as a warning. According to historical manuscripts, Vlad actually enjoyed having his dining table set up right in the middle of this screaming, bleeding forest of corpses. He was even rumored to dip his bread into the blood of his victims, cementing his reputation as history's worst dinner date.
