Count Vlad Dracula "Son of the Dragon" Tepes III of Wallachia, The Impaler, The Devil, The Dark Lord, The Vampire Himself!
Dracula is one of the most famous Monsters in the world and a staple of Gothic Horror. His name becoming synonymous with Vampires, and often raised to the heights by sheer popularity to being the KING of all Vampires.

Much of the inspiration of Dracula came from the historical Vlad the Impaler aka Vlad Dracula "Son of the Dragon". The Kingdom of Wallachia was used as a buffer state for Hungary to keep the Ottoman Empire out of Europe. Vlad was grew up as a prisoner of the Ottomans and grew up to become King of Wallachia fighting the Ottomans and Hungary at separate times for the Independence of his Kingdom. He has become a Heroic figure of Romanian independence, but he was also a cruel and brutal man who was known for his savage methods of torture, particularly Impaling his enemies and keeping them alive for several days.

While seen as horribly vicious, Vlad was not thought of in any association with Vampires until Bram Stoker wrote the book Dracula. Bram himself had never been to Romania but he read some travel guides and became inspired when he heard that Dracula meant "Devil"
Once again...it meant "Son of the Dragon" but whatever...
Something interesting about the Book that has not been replicated in any other retelling of Dracula is that it's a gothic style "Found Footage" story pieced together from Diary entries and newspaper clippings from different character which slowly reveal what's going on as characters start to piece the information together and realize that something spooky is going on. Dracula is also unique in the genre of Gothic horror where the terror which is Dracula follows the protagonist home as he plans to expand his influence into England.