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Halloween is near. Although, it is not a traditional Hungarian celebration, everyone knows vampires come from Transylvania (Erdély) once belonged to Hungary and the language is still spoken there. This reel explores, why we associate an accent, specifically a Hungarian accent with the character of Dracula. 

WHERE DID DRACULA REALLY ORIGINATED?  

1. Who Was Dracula and Where Was He Born?

Birthplace: According to legend, he was born in Sighișoara / Segesvár in the 1430s, though this is not 100% certain and might just be a myth.- It is a charming medival city, not scary at all. See videos about it below. 

Real Identity: Dracula was actually Vlad III (also known as Vlad Țepeș or Vlad the Impaler), the ruler of Wallachia. Wallachia was not Transylvania, but a historically Romanian-populated region located southeast of the Carpathian Mountains (around Bucharest).  

 2. What Does the Name "Dracula" Mean?

The name "Dracula" was not made up later by the public; he inherited it directly from his father, Vlad II:

• The Order of the Dragon: His father, Vlad II, was a member of the Order of the Dragon (Sárkányrend), a chivalric order founded by Sigismund of Luxemburg, King of Hungary. The primary duty of this order was to defend the Hungarian King, Christianity, and Catholicism.

• Name Etymology: rom the Latin a dragon was called draco, draku, adding to that from Romanian -ulea means son of, so dracula literally means "the son of the dragon" (referring to being the son of Vlad II, the member of the Dragon Order).

3. Traumatic Childhood

Vlad had a very difficult childhood because he was taken hostage by the Ottomans (the Turks) to keep his father in check and ensure that Vlad II remained a reliable partner despite his allegiance to the Hungarian king's Order of the Dragon. This severe background heavily shaped his ruthless adult personality.

4. His Cruelty and the Method of Impalement

• A Psychopathic Personality: He is remembered as one of the most brutally cruel rulers in history—essentially a psychopathic and sadistic individual. His main goal was to ensure that nobody ever questioned his authority.
• Impalement as a Trademark: His favorite execution method was impalement. He used it on political rivals, enemy commanders, Ottoman Turks, and even ordinary civilians (such as thieves or adulterers).
  Slow and Terrifying Death: Victims placed on a stake did not die immediately; they suffered in agony for hours or even days. This served as a brutal psychological message to anyone who might oppose him.
• Death Toll: Vlad himself boasted about executing at least 20,000 Turks and Bulgarians. Conservative historical estimates place the number of people he executed by impalement at a minimum of 2,000.

5. Fighting the Turks  - The Scorched Earth Tactic

Upon returning to Wallachia, he launched brutal purges against local nobles (boyars) to secure his power, and built a strong army against the Ottoman Empire.
When Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II invaded Wallachia in 1462, Vlad used a brutal yet remarkably effective scorched-earth tactic: he burned and poisoned everything in the path of the advancing Turkish army, cutting off their food and water supplies, and wearing them down with nocturnal guerrilla raids. He even attempted to assassinate the Sultan himself.

6. Imprisonment by King Matthias Corvinus and Why He Was Released

Captured by Hungary: When news spread across Europe about his immense cruelty alongside his military success against the Turks, King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary marched to the region in 1462, captured Dracula, and threw him into dungeon imprisonment. Even in captivity, his sadistic nature reportedly persisted; historical records from the Bishop of Eger note that Vlad asked his captors for small animals and rats so he could chop them up and impale them.

• Why He Was Released: Years later, Matthias released him due to shifting political interests. The newly appointed Wallachian ruler began cozying up to the Ottomans, so King Matthias decided that "a sadistic madman is better than the Ottomans" and freed Vlad to send him back into battle against the Turks.
• Final Defeat: After reclaiming the throne of Wallachia for a third time, Vlad Dracula lost his life in battle in 1476. His head was severed and sent to Sultan Mehmed II in Constantinople as proof of his death.

Vocabulary for the reel - Szókincs a videóhoz:

Vocabulary for the article -  szókincs a cikkhez:

Start the bellow video at 15 minutes: