7 Real-Life Inspirations For Dracula

My new book, WHO WAS DRACULA? Bram Stoker's Trail of Blood, investigates the question: what real-life characters inspired the infamous Count Dracula?

The answer: Dracula is a pastiche of living historical characters--men who were surrounded by scandals and controversies, larger-than-life personalities who seemed to step from the mists of the nineteenth century and exert their influence, just as Stoker's vampire later seemed to materialize from the shadows of a Transylvanian castle and cast his spell.

As clues, Dracula left a bloody trickle, a trail leading backstage at the Lyceum [Theatre in London] and through the drawing rooms of Victorian London. There was even a distinctive splatter of crimson on American shores.

Read through to discover the seven famous people who influenced Bram Stoker's Count.