Blood, sex, magic...hold the sugar

Bram Stoker's Dracula: What's at Stake?  (Certainly not a pun)

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Warning, several SPOILERS are contained here-in.  Proceed with caution (which is good advice for any of my blog posts)
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So after years of reading "classic" books, I finally picked up the epitome of Horror classics, Dracula.  This is the unholy grail of Vampire Lore.  But when it comes to America's favorite blood-sucking fiends, there are thousands of fan-boys and screaming tween-age girls who claim they know the rules of the vampire better than anyone.  The surprise:  THEY'VE NEVER READ DRACULA!!!

Every idea we currently hold about the vampire (save one) is a derivative of Dracula, so allow me to clear up some things regarding what Mr. Stoker had to say about the character who's been captured on celluloid more than any other literary character except Sherlock Holmes.

1.  Dracula is not pleasant.  He is not tortured by a lack of love.  He does not meditate on the morals of having to kill in order sustain his own existence.  He is not a rogue-ish, brooding, school-boy that just needs a girl to understand him before becoming the best boyfriend ever.

This is an accurate portrayal of Dracula:

Not this:

This is a Vampire:

This is a punk kid:

Vampire:

Punk:

Scientologist:

2.  Vampires are unholy abominations

I know the common belief is that Vampires are not afraid of God, Jesus, and the forces of light, but the fact is that if you come across a Vampire, and Dracula specifically, it's a good idea to bring a helluva big cross.

3.  Sunlight will kill vampires... but not Dracula.

That's right.  This is the one piece of Vamp lore that is totally new!  Vampires dying in sunlight was started largely by the silent film Nosferatu.  In Dracula, the count is WEAKER during the daylight hours, confined to the form of a man, often needing (but not required to) return to his coffin, but he is not going to melt if the sun catches him. 

However, he's also not going to glow like some reject from 70's roller disco.

4.  Silver is for Werewolves, not Vampires!

A vampire must be killed by a stake.  In the Buffy-verse it has to be wood, in Bram Stoker's Dracula, it can be any material, but it must go into the heart.  Oh, and cutting the head off never hurts.  The vampire hunters in Stoker's novel got the stake through the heart, but Dracula disappeared into mist at sunrise, begging the question, "Is he really dead?"

So, for Vampires, use this:

Not this:

This:

Not this:

Actually, you could probably use that last one on vampires.

I'm glad we've got that straight.

I have to say that I was very lucky when I read Dracula.  I was determined to learn something so I read The New Annotated Dracula edited by Leslie S. Klinger (Buy it here). I cannot recommend this edition enough.  Klinger treats the entire story as though the events portrayed are real, which enhances the sense of conspiracy and paranoia which is already the overtone of the book.  His notes are meticulous, even noting the time of the trains in London, and how Mina Harker's assertment is erroneous because a "certain train" didn't run at "certain time" in 1897.  Crazy!

Stoker writes a story that is told through a series of letters, journal entries, newspaper articles, ship logs, and telegrams.  Consequently, we must ask ourselves, "Who do we trust?"  Not all the characters know what the other character is saying, nor do we know what actually happens to Dracula's victims.  In fact, the only thing we know for sure is that Jonathan Harker was held "Prisoner" by Dracula for about a month and that he was in Mina Harker's room, where he engaged in the "exchange" of blood with her (which is often referred to by Van Helsing as near enough to intercourse as to make spouses of the participants in blood transfusion).  However, the only actual death he is present for is ****SPOILER ALERT****

Quincy Morris, which is done at the hands of Dracula's hungarian servants.

By giving us pieces of the story, Stoker leaves almost every decision up to the reader, including the real mystery of the book: Did Dracula die?  Nothing is answered with certitude.

I think it is this mystery that has made Dracula popular over other vampires.  At the time of Stoker's writing the Vampyre genre had been around awhile, so why did this one, written by a "One Trick Pony" ...

(Sorry, he keeps going back to this idea) remain in continuous publication since 1897?  The puzzle.  Did Jonathan's adulterous orgy drive him mad or did he actually witness Dracula's "wives" eat a baby?  What the hell was he doing lying around in a "flush" state while Dracula clung to Mina's neck?  Where does Quincy keep going?  What the hell is Van Helsing saying anyway?

There is a lot more to talk about when it comes to Dracula.  The theme of "Sexuality as Horror," unreliable narrators, faith in technology, God vs. the Devil, What is the nature of Man, Man's relationship to the supernatural, will "blood" ever be the theme ingredient on Iron Chef?  But that is a lot take in.  Needless to say, there is more going on here then meets the eye.  So for those of you who've written Dracula off as a pointless horror novel, or if you simply aren't a fan of the "horror" genre, do yourself a favor and pick this book up.  I highly recommend it for your book club.  Read this with a mix of men and women, as gender dynamics of the victorian era is a major aspect of the book.

Thanks for reading,

The Giant