Dracula & Transylvania Quiz: Fact or Myth?

Transylvania is a real historical region in present-day Romania. Its international association with vampires became much stronger after Dracula and its many adaptations.

Stoker never visited Transylvania. He built his setting from books, maps, travel accounts and other research sources.

Vlad III was voivode, or prince, of Wallachia. He had important connections with Transylvania, but he was not its ruler.

Bran’s association with Dracula is far stronger in tourism and popular culture than in Vlad III’s documented history. Vlad did not own Bran Castle or make it his home.

Vlad II became known as Dracul after his association with the Order of the Dragon. His son was known as Drăculea, commonly understood as “son of Dracul.”

Vlad III became notorious for brutal executions, especially impalement, and hostile stories about his cruelty circulated widely. Reliable evidence that he literally drank his victims’ blood is lacking.

Vampire traditions were centuries older, and vampire stories appeared in literature before Stoker’s novel. Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla, for example, was published decades before Dracula.

The name comes from Medieval Latin and refers to land “beyond the forest” or “beyond the woods.”

Dracula is limited by daylight in Stoker’s novel, but sunlight does not instantly burn him to ashes. That familiar rule became much stronger in later vampire movies.

Harker sees the room reflected behind him but no reflection of Dracula, even though the Count is standing close by.

Van Helsing brings garlic flowers and places them around Lucy’s room, including at the windows and around her neck.

Bran Fortress had strategic and economic roles. It helped defend an important mountain route and functioned as a customs point controlling trade through the area.

Bran Castle was given to Queen Marie of Romania in 1920. She restored it and transformed the old fortress into a much-loved royal residence.

When Dracula appeared in 1897, Transylvania was part of the Kingdom of Hungary within Austria-Hungary. It became part of Romania after World War I.

Bistritz is the German name used in the novel for present-day Bistrița in northern Transylvania.

Dracula tells Jonathan Harker that his carriage will meet him at the Borgo Pass. Bran Castle is not named as Count Dracula’s castle in the novel.

Van Helsing says that a branch of wild rose placed on a vampire’s coffin can prevent the vampire from leaving it. It is one of the novel’s less famous vampire rules.

Sighișoara is traditionally identified as Vlad III’s birthplace, and his father was living there around the period of Vlad’s birth. Claims about one exact birthplace house should be treated with more caution.

The boxes contain earth, which is tied to the supernatural conditions governing where Dracula can rest.

The account describes an immense dog springing from the ship, jumping ashore and disappearing into the darkness.

Harker cuts Dracula’s throat with a kukri while Morris drives a Bowie knife into his heart. The famous stake-through-the-heart ending is not how Stoker finishes Dracula.

Poenari Fortress is closely associated with Vlad III and served as an important stronghold. It is far less famous internationally than Bran Castle.

Romanian beliefs about strigoi vary by place and period, but they include dangerous or restless supernatural beings associated with both the living and the dead. They are often compared with vampires, although the folklore is more complex.

Folk traditions surrounding the night before St. Andrew’s Day included beliefs about strigoi, wolves and dangerous supernatural forces. Garlic could be used around doors, windows and gates for protection.

Snagov has long been associated with Vlad’s grave, but archaeological investigation did not conclusively establish that he was buried there. Other locations have been proposed, and his final resting place remains uncertain.