Dark History Files
Vlad the Impaler Case File coverPages from the Case File

Case File No. 030 · PDF ebook · 30 pages

Vlad the Impaler

The Real Dracula

The 1499 woodcut, the Ambras portrait, the night attack, and the footnote that gave Bram Stoker his vampire's name.

$5 · PDF ebook · instant download · large-print edition included

🔒 Secure checkout by Stripe: card, Apple Pay or Google Pay. No account needed.
File doesn't work? We fix it or refund you.

Want more? The first 9 Case Files (Nos. 026–034) for $25, or every file plus each new one with the Case File Club ($5.99/month).

Watch the free video first

Not ready to buy? Read 14 real pages first, free.

We'll also email you when a new Case File comes out. Unsubscribe with one click, any time. See our privacy policy.

Why it's worth it

🔎
11 evidence exhibits
Real woodcuts, paintings, charters and manuscripts, shown large, with what to look for in each.
🗺
2 maps drawn for this file
Wallachia and its neighbours, and the sultan's 1462 campaign.
📜
7 stories the Short skipped
Fact-checked details, each marked record, tale or claim.
🖋
The original words
The 1499 pamphlet title, Vlad's own letters, Wilkinson's 1820 footnote and Stoker's lines, with plain-English notes.
✂
Printable woodcut replicas
Four early Dracula title pages and portraits from 1485 to 1500, ready to print and cut out.
🔠
Large-print edition included
Two PDFs, plus every source and image credit listed.

Inside this file

  • The case in one page, and a timeline from 1428 to the 1933 dig at Snagov
  • Exhibits: the 1499 woodcut, the Ambras portrait, the Order of the Dragon, Vlad's own charter, Poenari, Bran, Stoker's notes and more
  • Original words: the pamphlet titles with translations, Vlad's letters and the witnesses, and Wilkinson (1820) to Stoker (1897)
  • Two maps drawn for this file: Vlad's world, and the sultan's campaign of 1462
  • Persons of interest: Vlad, his father, Mehmed II, Matthias Corvinus, Stephen the Great and Bram Stoker
  • Myth vs. record: vampire, Bran Castle, 'Dracula means devil', the 20,000 impaled
  • 7 stories the Short didn't tell, from the nailed turbans to the horse bones at Snagov
  • Printable replicas of four 15th-century woodcuts, a visit-it-today guide, our verdict and every source

$5

Questions

How do I get it? Right after you pay, your download page opens with both PDFs. Bookmark it: it keeps working for 30 days.

Can I print it? Yes. It's made for US letter paper, and the large-print edition is included.

Is this the same as the video? No. The video tells the story; the file holds the evidence, the replicas and the stories we had no time for.

Something wrong? See refunds: we fix it or give your money back.