Everyone knows the grim story of Count Dracula, an aristocratic demon hunting for fresh human lifeblood, who strikes unsuspecting mortals at night. Is it a legend from medieval Romania or an interpretation by a writer of horror stories in Victorian England?

Now archaeologists, historians and forensic scientists can reveal the truth. The vampire story as we know it is not modelled on a medieval count from Transylvania but rather on the fate of a Bohemian princess from the early 18th century.

In the Czech town of Cesky Krumlov, archaeologists find several bizarrely arranged skeletons. They bear traces of the ‘magia posthuma’, the ritual to avert vampires where the body is impaled and decapitated, with the head placed between the legs. Examinations show that the skeletons originate from the first half of the 18th century, a time when vampire hysteria swept through the eastern parts of the Habsburg Empire.

Whilst researching the archives of the Cesky Krumlov castle, historian Rainer Koeppl discovers amazing connections to Bram Stokers classic novel. The unpublished original first chapter of the book contains a story about a princess from the Krumlov area who confederated with wolves and the undead.

During the time of the vampire hysteria in the 18th century, a very peculiar female character lived at the Krumlov castle, named Eleonore von Schwarzenberg. The castle’s archives show a vivid picture of her personality. Following her husband’s death in a hunting accident, Eleonore lived a secluded life at the castle. She raised wolves and was obsessed with magic potions and occult rites. When she died in 1741 from a mysterious disease, authorities commanded a post-mortem, a unique procedure for a person of high aristocratic status. She was regarded as a victim of ‘vampire sickness’, as conditions of unexplainable physical decay were referred to at the time. Eleonore’s fate left a mark.

The very first piece of literature dealing with vampire myths was a sonnet, also cited by Bram Stoker. Its author, Gottfried August Buerger, was a frequent guest at Krumlov castle and an acquaintance of Eleonore’s son. The sonnet was aptly entitled ‘Eleonore’.

The vampire princess not only inspired horror story writers, but also offers a fascinating insight into a time where vampires were something real in the world of human ideas.