This portrait of Vlad III, painted in the early 16th century, hangs in the museum at Castle Ambras in Innsbruck, Austria. 
 
 Few names have cast more terror into the human heart than Dracula. The legendary vampire, created by author Bram Stoker in his 1897 novel of the same name, has inspired countless horror movies, television shows and other bloodcurdling tales of vampires. 
 
 Though Dracula is a purely fictional creation, Stoker named his infamous character after a real person who happened to have a taste for blood: Vlad III, Prince of Wallachia or — as he is better known — Vlad the Impaler. The morbid nickname is a testament to the Wallachian prince's favorite way of dispensing with his enemies. 
 
 But other than having the same name, the two Draculas don't really have much in common, according to historians who have studied the link between Stoker's vampire count and Vlad III. 
 
 By most accounts, Vlad III was born in 1431 in what is now Transylvania, the central region of modern-day Romania. However, the link between Vlad the Impaler and Transylvania is tenuous, according to Florin Curta, a professor of medieval history and archaeology at the University of Florida. 
 
 "[Stoker's] Dracula is linked to Transylvania, but the real, historic Dracula — Vlad III — never owned anything in Transylvania," Curta told Live Science. Bran Castle, a modern-day tourist attraction in Transylvania that is often referred to as Dracula's castle, was never the residence of the Wallachian prince, he added. 
 
 "Because the castle is in the mountains in this foggy area and it looks spooky, it's what one would expect of Dracula's castle," Curta said. "But he [Vlad III] never lived there. He never even stepped foot there." 
 
 Vlad III's father, Vlad II, did own a residence in Sighişoara, Transylvania, but it is not certain that Vlad III was born there, according to Curta. It's also possible, he said, that Vlad the Impaler was born in Târgovişte, which was at that time the royal seat of the principality of Wallachia, where his father was a "voivode," or ruler. 
 
 It is possible for tourists to visit one castle where Vlad III certainly spent time. At about age 12, Vlad III and his brother were imprisoned in Turkey. In 2014, archaeologists found the likely location of the dungeon, according to Smithsonian Magazine. Tokat Castle is located in northern Turkey. It is an eerie place with secret tunnels and dungeons that is currently under restoration and open to the public. 
 
 This painting, "Vlad the Impaler and the Turkish Envoys," by Theodor Aman (1831-1891), allegedly depicts a scene in which Vlad III nails the turbans of these Ottoman diplomats to their heads. Credit: Public domain 
 
 In 1431, King Sigismund of Hungary, who would later become the Holy Roman Emperor, inducted the elder Vlad into a knightly order, the Order of the Dragon. This designation earned Vlad II a new surname: Dracul. The name came from the old Romanian word for dragon, "drac." His son, Vlad III, would later be known as the "son of Dracul" or, in old Romanian, Drăculea, hence Dracula. In modern Romanian, the word "drac" refers to another feared creature — the devil, Curta said. 
 
 According to "Dracula: Sense and Nonsense" by Elizabeth Miller, in 1890 Stoker read a book about Wallachia. Although it did not mention Vlad III, Stoker was struck by the word "Dracula." He wrote in his notes, "in Wallachian language means DEVIL." It is therefore likely that Stoker chose to name his character Dracula for the word's devilish associations. 
 
 The theory that Vlad III and Dracula were the same person was developed and popularized by historians Radu Florescu and Raymond T. McNally in their 1972 book "In Search of Dracula." Though far from accepted by all historians, the thesis took hold of the public imagination, according to The New York Times. 
 
 The Order of the Dragon was devoted to a singular task: the defeat of the Turkish, or Ottoman Empire. Situated between Christian Europe and the Muslim lands of the Ottoman Empire, Vlad II's (and later Vlad III's) home principality of Wallachia was frequently the scene of bloody battles as Ottoman forces pushed westward into Europe, and Christian forces repulsed the invaders. 
 
 When Vlad II was called to a diplomatic meeting in 1442 with Ottoman Sultan Murad II, he brought his young sons Vlad III and Radu along. But the meeting was actually a trap: All three were arrested and held hostage. The elder Vlad was released under the condition that he leave his sons behind. 
 
 "The sultan held Vlad and his brother as hostages to ensure that their father, Vlad II, behaved himself in the ongoing war between Turkey and Hungary," said Miller, a research historian and professor emeritus at Memorial University of Newfoundland in Canada. 
 
 Under the Ottomans, Vlad and his younger brother were tutored in science, philosophy and the arts. Vlad also became a skilled horseman and warrior, according to Radu Florescu and Raymond McNally, former professors of history at Boston College, who wrote several books about Vlad III — as well as his alleged connection to Stoker's Dracula — in the 1970s and 1980s. 
 
 "They were treated reasonably well by the current standards of the time," Miller said. "Still, [captivity] irked Vlad, whereas his brother sort of acquiesced and went over on the Turkish side. But Vlad held enmity, and I think it was one of his motivating factors for fighting the Turks: to get even with them for having held him captive." 
 
 While Vlad and Radu were in Ottoman hands, Vlad's father was fighting to keep his place as voivode of Wallachia, a fight he would eventually lose. In 1447, Vlad II was ousted as ruler of Wallachia by local noblemen (boyars) and was killed in the swamps near Bălteni, halfway between Târgovişte and Bucharest in present-day Romania. Vlad's older half-brother, Mircea, was killed alongside his father. 
 
 Not long after these harrowing events, in 1448, Vlad embarked on a campaign to regain his father's seat from the new ruler, Vladislav II. His first attempt at the throne relied on the military support of the Ottoman governors of the cities along the Danube River in northern Bulgaria, according to Curta. Vlad also took advantage of the fact that Vladislav was absent at the time, having gone to the Balkans to fight the Ottomans for the governor of Hungary at the time, John Hunyadi. 
 
 Vlad won back his father's seat, but his time as ruler of Wallachia was short-lived. He was deposed after only two months, when Vladislav II returned and took back the throne of Wallachia with the assistance of Hunyadi, according to Curta. 
 
 Little is known about Vlad III's whereabouts between 1448 and 1456. But it is known that he switched sides in the Ottoman-Hungarian conflict, giving up his ties with the Ottoman governors of the Danube cities and obtaining military support from King Ladislaus V of Hungary, who happened to dislike Vlad's rival — Vladislav II of Wallachia — according to Curta. 
 
 Vlad III's political and military tack truly came to the forefront amid the fall of Constantinople in 1453. After the fall, the Ottomans were in a position to invade all of Europe. Vlad, who had already solidified his anti-Ottoman position, was proclaimed voivode of Wallachia in 1456. One of his first orders of business in his new role was to stop paying an annual tribute to the Ottoman sultan — a measure that had formerly ensured peace between Wallachia and the Ottomans. 
 
 A woodcut from a 1499 pamphlet depicts Vlad III dining among the impaled corpses of his victims. Credit: Public domain 
 
 To consolidate his power as voivode, Vlad needed to quell the incessant conflicts that had historically taken place between Wallachia's boyars. According to legends that circulated after his death, Vlad invited hundreds of these boyars to a banquet and — knowing they would challenge his authority — had his guests stabbed and their still-twitching bodies impaled on spikes. 
 
 This is just one of many gruesome events that earned Vlad his posthumous nickname, Vlad the Impaler. This story — and others like it — is documented in printed material from around the time of Vlad III's rule, according to Miller. 
 
 "In the 1460s and 1470s, just after the invention of the printing press, a lot of these stories about Vlad were circulating orally, and then they were put together by different individuals in pamphlets and printed," Miller said. 
 
 Whether or not these stories are wholly true or significantly embellished is debatable, Miller added. After all, many of those printing the pamphlets were hostile to Vlad III. But some of the pamphlets from this time tell almost the exact same gruesome stories about Vlad, leading Miller to believe that the tales are at least partially historically accurate. Some of these legends were also collected and published in a book, "The Tale of Dracula," in 1490, by a monk who presented Vlad III as a fierce, but just ruler. 
 
 Vlad is credited with impaling dozens of Saxon merchants in Kronstadt (present-day Braşov, Romania), who were once allied with the boyars, in 1456. Around the same time, a group of Ottoman envoys allegedly had an audience with Vlad but declined to remove their turbans, citing a religious custom. Commending them on their religious devotion, Vlad ensured that their turbans would forever remain on their heads by reportedly having the head coverings nailed to their skulls. 
 
 "After Mehmet II — the one who conquered Constantinople — invaded Wallachia in 1462, he actually was able to go all the way to Wallachia's capital city of Târgoviște but found it deserted. And in front of the capital he found the bodies of the Ottoman prisoners of war that Vlad had taken — all impaled," Curta said. 
 
 Vlad's victories over the invading Ottomans were celebrated throughout Wallachia, Transylvania and the rest of Europe — even Pope Pius II was impressed. 
 
 "The reason he's a positive character in Romania is because he is reputed to have been a just, though a very harsh, ruler," Curta said. 
 
 Not long after the impalement of Ottoman prisoners of war, in August 1462, Vlad was forced into exile in Hungary, unable to defeat his much more powerful adversary, Mehmet II. Vlad was imprisoned for a number of years during his exile, though during that same time he married and had two children. 
 
 Vlad's younger brother, Radu, who had sided with the Ottomans during the ongoing military campaigns, took over governance of Wallachia after his brother's imprisonment. But after Radu's death in 1475, local boyars, as well as the rulers of several nearby principalities, favored Vlad's return to power. 
 
 In 1476, with the support of the voivode of Moldavia, Stephen III the Great (1457-1504), Vlad made one last effort to reclaim his seat as ruler of Wallachia. He successfully stole back the throne, but his triumph was short-lived. Later that year, while marching to yet another battle with the Ottomans, Vlad and a small vanguard of soldiers were ambushed, and Vlad was killed. 
 
 There is much controversy over the location of Vlad III's tomb. It is said he was buried in the monastery church in Snagov, on the northern edge of the modern city of Bucharest, in accordance with the traditions of his time. But recently, historians have questioned whether Vlad might actually be buried at the Monastery of Comana, between Bucharest and the Danube, which is close to the presumed location of the battle in which Vlad was killed, according to Curta. 
 
 One thing is for certain, however: unlike Stoker's Count Dracula, Vlad III most definitely did die. Only the harrowing tales of his years as ruler of Wallachia remain to haunt the modern world. 
 
 Additional reporting by Jessie Szalay, Live Science Contributor. 
 
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 Archaeologists in Turkey have uncovered a secret tunnel, storage rooms, a military shelter, and two dungeons during restoration work on Tokat Castle, where Vlad III the Impaler, who served as the inspiration for Bram Stoker’s character Dracula, is believed to have been held captive in the early 15 th century. 
 
 According to Hurriyet Daily News , restoration works were first initiated in 2009, with the latest project having been carried out over the last ten weeks to restore and reinforce its defensive bastions. It was during the most recent excavations that archaeologists unearthed the secret tunnels and dungeons. “The castle is completely surrounded by secret tunnels. It is very mysterious,” said archaeologist İbrahim Çetin, who is working on the excavations. Previous work at the castle uncovered a 100-metre tunnel in the northern façade, which is said to have been used by the king’s daughters to reach the Roman bath near the castle. 
 
 Tunnel unearthed in Tokat Castle, which is said to have been used by the king’s daughters to reach the Roman bath near the castle. Image source . 
 
 Tokat is a town and province in the western region of Pontus. It was conquered by the Seljuk Turks at the end of the 12th century and was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire in 1392. Among the most landmarks of Tokat is the ruined citadel lying on a steep hills above the city, often identified as Tokat Castle or the fortress Dazimon. It is here where historians say that Prince Vlad III and his brother Radu were held captive in 1442. 
 
 Tokat Castle, Turkey. Image source: Travel Photo Report 
 
 Vlad III is the 15th century Prince upon whom Bram Stoker based his 1897 gothic novel ‘Dracula’. Vlad was born sometime between 1428 and 1431, probably in Sighişaora, Transylvania. His patronymic, ‘Dracul’, means Dragon, derived from the membership of his father, Vlad II Dracul, in the Order of the Dragon. This was an order of chivalry founded by Sigismund, the King of Hungary, for the defence of Christianity in Eastern Europe against the Ottoman Empire. 
 
 The Ambras Castle Portrait of Vlad III. Photo source: Wikimedia. 
 
 In 1442, Vlad and his brother Radu, who were only children at the time, were taken as hostages by the Ottomans to ensure the loyalty of their father. It is during this time that historians say the young Princes were held in Tokat Castle. Çetin said that Vlad was probably kept inside one of the newly-discovered dungeons. “It is hard to estimate in which room Dracula was kept, but he was around here,” he said. 
 
 It is during his childhood years in captivity, that Vlad was said to have developed an intense hatred for the Ottomans, leading to his later brutality against them. It is said that as Vlad retreated from a battle against the Ottomans in 1462, he impaled and put on display some 20,000 people outside the city of Targoviste as a deterrent to the pursuing Ottoman forces. This psychological attack worked, as it is claimed that the sight was so repulsive that the Ottomans, after seeing the scale of Vlad's carnage and the thousands of decaying bodies being picked apart by crows, turned back and retreated to Constantinople 
 
 Vlad III, or Vlad the Impaler, as he came to be known, was eventually arrested and held in prison for 12 years. After his brother’s death in 1475, he managed to reclaim the Wallachian throne. The exact date, cause, and location of Vlad’s death is unknown, but is believed to have taken place between October and December 1476, when he disappeared in battle against the Ottomans. 
 
 Featured image: Newly-discovered tunnels and dungeons in Tokat Castle, Turkey. Credit: Doğan News Agency 
 
 By April Holloway 

 Archaeologists believe they have discovered dungeons, tunnels and a military shelter at Tokat Castle in northern Turkey where Vlad the Impaler – who served as the inspiration for Bram Stoker's character Dracula – is believed to have been held hostage in the early 15th century. 
 
 The find was made during restoration works at the castle, which uncovered a secret tunnel leading to the nearby Pervane Baths and a military shelter. Two dungeons were discovered, where Wallachian Prince Vlad III, known as Vlad the Impaler, is believed to have been kept captive by the Ottoman Turks. 
 
 The Turkish newspaper Hurriyet Daily News reported that the restoration works began in 2009, with the latest project having been carried out in the last ten weeks to restore the castle's defensive bastions. It was during these recent excavations that the tunnels and dungeons were found. 
 
 "The castle is completely surrounded by secret tunnels. It is very mysterious," said archaeologist Ibrahim Çetin. "It is hard to estimate in which room Dracula was kept, but he was around here." 
 
 Previous restorations at the castle, in the western region of Pontus, uncovered a 100m tunnel in the northern façade which is believed to have been used by the king's daughters to reach a nearby Roman bath. 
 
 The town of Tokate was conquered by the Seljuk Turks at the end of the 12th century and was incorporated into the Ottoman empire in 1392. Tokat Castle, a ruined citadel also known as the fortress Dazimon, lies on the steep hills above the city. 
 
 Prince Vlad III and his brother Radu are believed to have been held at the castle in 1442 by the Ottomans. Vlad, who was born between 1428 and 1431 in Sighişaora, Transylvania, is the prince who is the inspiration for Bram Stoker's 1897 gothic novel Dracula. 
 
 Vlad's patronymic, Dracul, means dragon – derived from his father Vlad II Dracul, in the Order of the Dragon. This was an order of chivalry founded by Sigismund, the King of Hungary, for the defence of Christianity in Eastern Europe against the Ottoman Empire. 
 
 Vlad earned his name due to his historical reputation of impaling his victims, having developed an intense hatred of the Ottoman's during his captivity. During his lifetime, news of his brutality and excessive cruelty spread abroad to Germany and elsewhere in Europe. 
 
 In 1462, Vlad is said to have retreated from a battle against the Ottoman's and impaled and displayed the bodies of 20,000 people outside the city of Targoviste, in Romania, as a deterrent against the oncoming Ottoman forces. Upon seeing the bodies being picked apart by crows, the forces turned back to Constantinople. 
 
 Vlad the Impaler was eventually arrested and held in prison for 12 years. After his brother's death in 1475, he managed to reclaim the Wallachian throne and he is believed to have died in battle against the Ottomans in 1476.
– An archaeologist who has been part of the restoration and excavation effort at Turkey's Tokat Castle believes he has uncovered the dungeons where Vlad the Impaler was once held. Ibrahim Cetin tells the Hurriyet Daily News that the two dungeons that were found were "built like a prison." And while he deems it "hard to estimate" which room the man who served as Dracula's inspiration was held in, "he was around here," he says. Cetin didn't get much more specific than that, and the specifics of Vlad III and his captivity are equally murky. As LiveScience and Ancient Origins tell it, Vlad, born in 1431, was held by the Ottomans beginning in 1442, after he traveled with his father to a political meeting that ended up being a trap; his father was released, but Vlad and his younger brother were held, reportedly in Tokat Castle. In the years that followed, his father and older brother were brutally killed; at some point, Vlad's captivity ended and he began impaling Ottoman invaders and enemies. LiveScience reports that Vlad is thought to have killed as many as 80,000 people, a quarter of whom were said to have been impaled and then displayed outside the city of Targoviste as a way to deter the invading Turks (it worked). IBT reports archaeologists have been working at the castle since 2009 and previously found a long tunnel that the king's daughters may have used to access a Roman bath. ("Dracula's castle" went up for sale earlier this year.)