ARTE to air documentary on the historical origins of Dracula

The television network ARTE is hosting a horror-themed Halloween evening, headlined by the German premiere of the documentary “Dracula - Die wahre Geschichte” (Dracula - The True Story).

The film explores the historical figure behind Bram Stoker’s famous literary character: Vlad III, a 15th-century prince of Wallachia. Known as “the Impaler” due to his brutal methods of execution, Vlad III ruled during a period of intense political and religious upheaval at the border of Christian Europe and the expanding Ottoman Empire.

The documentary investigates the historical reality of the prince’s reign and how his reputation for cruelty, spread through early printing, eventually inspired the modern vampire mythos.