Such sentiments are part of a somewhat schizophrenic response to the whole Dracula phenomenon in Romania. It begins with Vlad himself. Was he a hero or a psychopathic tyrant? Are his atrocities in any way defensible? It depends on what you read. The problem originates, of course, with primary sources, many of which (especially Beheim's poem and the Saxon pamphlets) are heavily biased against him. Many of the stories about Vlad's atrocities that are so well¬known today come from these sources. By contrast, Romanian folk narratives (still told in the villages near his fortress at Poenari) present a very different Vlad: a supporter of the peasants against the treacherous boyars, an upholder of law and order in lawless times, and a valiant defender of his small principality against the might of the Ottoman Empire.