It is the ‘home’ of one of the greatest villains ever to stalk our nightmares – a place where only the brave might venture, and the more nervous might fear a sharp pain in the neck.
Alternatively, it might be seen as a splendid royal palace in a less-seen part of Europe.



Either way, these pictures give a fascinating insight into the fortress that supposedly played host to one of the darkest figures of European mythology – Count Dracula.
Bran Castle – which perches on a dramatic hilltop near Brasov in central Romania – has long been linked to the toothsome vampire. Constructed in the early 14th century, it is open to the public, who are able to peer into its creaky rooms and dark passageways.
Sharp-eyed tourists will point out that Dracula did not exist.
And they would – rather obviously – be correct. The most famous vampire of all was, of course, created by the Irish novelist Bram Stoker in his iconic Gothic novel Dracula, published in 1897.