Vlad the Impaler steps out of Dracula's shadow

Children in Dracula costumes attend the 'Draculade' evening tour at Forchtenstein Castle in Burgenland, Austria. The group being guided through the Austrian fortress are eager to sink their teeth into the gripping life of Vlad Tepes, the notorious 'Vlad The Impaler', whose descendants once held the schloss. Photo: AFP

Cloaked in a black cape like the infamous count himself, 10-year-old Niklas Schuetz runs through the dark corridors of a hill-top castle in search of the truth about Dracula.

"He was a Romanian prince, not a vampire," said the schoolboy, as he tripped by torchlight through the nocturnal gloom of Forchtenstein Castle.