Bran Castle, the alleged inspiration for Dracula’s castle in Bram Stoker’s 1897 classic horror story, is for sale.

The imposing fortress, which dates back to the 13th century, sits atop a craggy rock formation in the Transylvania region of central Romania. The castle was used as a defense against the Ottoman Empire in the 1400s, and over the following centuries it was also used as a customs point. Throughout much of the 20th century, Bran Castle was a royal residence of the Kingdom of Romania.

Bram Stoker never visited Romania, but “he depicted the imaginary Dracula’s castle based upon a description of Bran Castle that was available to him in turn-of-the-century Britain,” according to the castle’s official website.

Mugs bearing a rendition of Dracula are displayed at a souvenir shop at Bran Castle, famous as (Getty Images)

The character of Dracula is purely fictitious, though he may have been partially based on Vlad the Impaler, sometimes known as Vlad Dracul (Vlad the Dragon), who ruled the Wallachia region in the mid 15th century and had a reputation of impaling his enemies.

Today, Bran Castle is a popular tourist destination in Romania and reportedly receives around half a million visitors every year.

Descendants of the Romanian royal family now own the castle, and while they have offered to sell it to the Romanian government for nearly $80 million, they are also entertaining other offers.

“The aim…is to take the whole thing a stage further and make Bran the kind of place people will stay for two or three days,” said Mark Meyer, a lawyer involved with the sale.