Another story, possibly apocryphal, about Vlad Tepes is recounted in Robert Anton Wilson's Schrodinger's Cat Trilogy.
Two monks were taken in by Vlad during a storm. He gave them a meal, and then asked them what the people of his country thought of him.
The first monk, scared, lied to him saying 'They think you are a wise and benevolent ruler'.
The second monk was honest and said 'They think you are a psychopathic tyrant'.
And then Vlad had one of them killed - but there are two versions of the story, and in each one who he kills differs.
In the novel Simon Moon uses this story as a test to see what type of person you are. If you believe he killed the first monk, you're probably trusting and have faith in authority. If the second you're probably cynical, don't trust the government and are in all probability a realist...