Dracula, Count cultural definition

The title character of Dracula, a novel from the late nineteenth century by the English author Bram Stoker. Count Dracula, a vampire, is from Transylvania, a region of eastern Europe now in Romania. He takes his name from a bloodthirsty nobleman of the Middle Ages. To lay the vampire Dracula's spirit to rest, one must drive a wooden stake through his heart.

• Count Dracula was played in films by the Hungarian-born actor Bela Lugosi, whose elegant, exotic accent has become associated with the character.