Tales of Count Vlad III the Impaler are many and intensely terrible. He was exceedingly cruel to men and women who crossed his path, but he was also a generous and skilled candymaker during the mid-15th century. Historians at The History Bluff have discovered the true tale behind this innovative man.

Vlad the Impaler served as the inspiration for the fictional character Count Dracula.

As a boy growing up in Sighişoara, Transylvania, Vlad developed a sweet tooth by often visiting an elderly lady who made candies for neighborhood children. From his experiences with her, Vlad became interested in creating new candies for the other children to enjoy. The adults he knew scorned him and questioned aloud why he did not participate in swordplay and other skills befitting his family’s royal status.

Years passed by and Vlad became calloused toward adults. While he ruled the kingdom of Wallachia, he became known for his horrible punishment of everyone above the age of eighteen and became known as Vlad the Impaler. Although he impaled their parents, Vlad was generous to children, always giving them new and exciting candies.

The story of Willy Wonka is inspired by Count Vlad’s innovation with candies.

In December of 1476, Vlad perfected the candy cane, converting it into a hard candy versus the chewy candy version invented by French priests in the early 1400’s.  Later in that same month, Count Vlad was licking a candy cane down to a pointy end. Fittingly, he accidentally pierced the back of his throat with the sharpened candy cane and slowly bled to death.