At one point, a cult who worshiped the elder Demon Gods apparently fixated on Dracula as a recipient of their power. Dracula gave them the fragments of the Darkhold he had discovered; the cultists (who were low level mystics) repeatedly recast the original spells that created the first Vampires. This increased Dracula's powers considerably, and he lost his vulnerability to sunlight and others. Dracula was able to take full control of their minds (as well as anyone around the world that Dracula had ever hypnotized in the past, at will).