Book Description: "The very first appearance of "Count Dracula" is in Bram Stoker's novel DRACULA (1897). But Stoker did not make up the name "Dracula". There was a Dracula in the 15th century: Vlad the Impaler. Stoker didn't know much about him... but he came across his name in a book he was researching entitled AN ACCOUNT OF THE PRINCIPALITIES OF WALLACHIA AND MOLDAVIA (1820). This book has a very short section on a "Voivode Dracula" who fought against the Turks. What attracted Stoker to the name "Dracula" was a footnote by Wilkinson which stated that "Dracula in the Wallachian language means Devil". Not quite accurate, but that is what Stoker saw and copied into his notes. He was originally going to call his vampire "Count Wampyr" but changed it to "Count Dracula.
