Among the many conflicting stories about the legendary Vlad Dracula that have circulated over the centuries, there are nine that turn up in almost all writings about him. They may be changed in minimal ways, but their core content, and thus the story they tell has remained essentially the same. Therefore, these are the ones that are accepted as truth. They are recounted here:
1. The Golden Cup
Although he had the heart and soul of a madman, known for his exceptional cruelty, Vlad Dracula or Vlad III had a strict moral code of conduct which he demanded his subjects follow. He had a passion for honesty and order and tolerated not the slightest deviation from this precisely determined path. As a result, thieves seldom dared to operate within his kingdom for the mere thought of being impaled alive sent shivers of terror up and down their spines. In what could be considered nothing less than an arrogant display of confidence, Vlad was so convinced that his reign of terror had overcome any defiance to his laws, that to prove it he placed a golden cup on display in the central square of Tirgoviste next to a fountain. Travelers could drink water from this cup, but it was never to be removed from the square. It never was. The cup was never stolen or damaged in any way throughout Vlad Dracula's rule.
2. The Burning of the Sick and Poor
Another of Vlad Dracula's rules, which he insisted upon complete obedience to was his demand that all his subjects work hard and contribute to the welfare of the kingdom. When it came to his attention that the large number of poor, homeless, beggars and lame in his country was steadily increasing he decided to do something about it. Since he had no use for these people and considered them worthless drains on society, he had no problem planning a horrible fate for them. He invited all the poor and sick in Wallachia to a great feast in Tirgoviste, under the pretense of taking care of his impoverished and helpless citizens. An enormous feast was prepared for them in the great hall. The unsuspecting guests ate and drank late into the night. At the completion of the feast Vlad ordered the hall boarded up and set afire, effectively turning the place into an inferno from which there was no escape.
3. The Foreign Ambassadors
Two ambassadors of an unknown foreign power visited Vlad at Tirgoviste. When in his presence, they paid homage but refused to remove their turbans due to religious reasons. Not one to tolerate what he considered an open sign of disrespect, Vlad ordered that the turbans be nailed to their heads, so that they should never have to remove them again. It is said that he watched with perverted pleasure as this was done and delighted in the screams of agony from his victims.
4. The Foreign Merchant
One day a merchant from a foreign land visited Tirgoviste. Trusting in the well-known honesty of Vlad's country, he left a cart with some treasure in it unguarded in the street over night. In the morning, he was greatly dismayed to find 160 golden ducats missing. Learning of his loss, Vlad promised the merchant that his money would be returned. During the night he ordered that 160 ducats plus one extra be taken from his own funds and placed in the merchant's cart. When he counted his money the next morning the merchant found that not only had the 160 ducats been returned, but an extra ducat had been added. He then returned to Vlad's court and reported that his money had been returned as promised along with an extra ducat. Meanwhile, the thief had been captured together with the stolen money and imprisoned awaiting impalement. Vlad then informed the merchant that if he had not reported the extra ducat he would have been impaled alongside the thief.
5. The Lazy Woman
While riding by on horseback one day Vlad noticed a man working in the fields wearing a shirt that he deemed to be too short for him. Vlad stopped and asked to see the man's wife. When the woman was brought before him he demanded to know how she spent her days. Quaking with terror, the woman managed to say that she spent her days washing, baking, cleaning, and sewing. Vlad then pointed to her husband's shirt and stated that it was too short, evidence of her laziness and dishonesty. He promptly ordered her to be impaled, despite her husband's objections that she was a good wife. Vlad then ordered another woman to marry the peasant but cautioned her to work hard or she would suffer the same fate.
6. The Nobleman With the Keen Sense of Smell
