Vlad the impaler
Bram stokers vampire came from Vlad the Impaler. He was the ruler of Wallachia (southern Romania) and was renowned as an honest yet exceedingly cruel leader. His hobby was impaling lots of people, with large ash stakes through the anus and out the mouth. Thats where the myth of the wooden stake killing the vampire came from. The list of tortures he is alleged to have employed is extensive: nails in heads, cutting off of limbs, blinding, strangulation, burning, cutting off of noses and ears, mutilation of sexual organs (especially in the case of women), scalping, skinning, exposure to the elements or to animals, and boiling alive. OUCH. Even when he was unseated from his throne and held in captivity for four years, he still was alledged to have lured birds to his window and mutilated them.