13. The Start of the Legend of the Impaler
Vlad Dracula’s father was overthrown once again in 1447. This time, his enemies made sure there would be no restoration, and killed him. The Ottomans marched in and installed Vlad on Wallachia’s throne, but his rule lasted only a few months before he was also overthrown. He regained the throne in 1456, this time with help from the Ottomans’ enemies, the Hungarians. To celebrate, Vlad invited two hundred aristocrats and their families to an Easter Sunday feast in 1457. At some point, he asked his guests how old they were. He wanted to know who had been old enough to have participated in his father’s overthrow back in 1447.
He then ordered those who fit the bill dragged outside, where they were promptly impaled. Victims had large, sharpened, wooden stakes driven through their bodies, often through their butts. The stake was then planted vertically into the ground, so that the victim was left to dangle in the air. Vlad had people impaled in a manner that avoided damage to vital organs, and thus averted immediate death. Instead, the victims suffered hours or even days of agony before they perished. To add an artistic touch to the horror, Vlad arranged the impaled aristocrats in rows that came to be known as “The Forrest of the Impaled”.
