by Reuben J. (11th Grade)

Vlad the Impaler: best known as the inspiration for the vampire Dracula, less known for having the fungi genus Vladracula named after him. The name Dracula comes from Vlad’s surname, Dracul, which means dragon. But the real Vlad the Impaler, who by the way had a hat that was a lot cooler than anything that Dracula ever wears (look it up!), was a ruler of Wallachia, in modern day Romania.

Since his throne was threatened both by invading Turks and inward struggles, Vlad spent much of his time fighting and impaling; thus his gruesome title. He also spent some time in Bulgaria, as it is directly between Romania and Turkey! Unfortunately, most of his interactions with Bulgarians seemed to have been violent (like most of his interactions), such as his slaughter of Muslim Bulgarians when he fought there. While generally thought of as a bad role model and having taken a lot of well-deserved flak in the past, he is now a national hero of Romania.