30 Facts About Dracula

1. The novel was written by Abraham ‘Bram’ Stoker.


2. Stoker was Irish.


3. In 1878, he married Florence Balcombe, and together they had a son; Irving Noel Thornley Stoker.


4. Shortly after his marriage, they moved to London, where Stoker became the manager of the Lyceum Theatre.


5. His novel Dracula was published in 1897.


6. The original title for the novel was ‘The Dead Un-Dead’.


7. Dracula was published by Archibald Constable and Company.


8. The novel is titled as a ‘classic’ and can be found under the horror/gothic genre.


9. The novel featured the eponymous Count Dracula and his battle with Abraham Van Helsing.


10. Count Dracula’s original name was Count Wampyr.


11. He was inspired by the murderous Vladd II of Wallachia (also known as Vladd the Impaler) and Countess Elizabeth Bathory.


12. In Romanian, Dracula is translated to ‘dragon’ and ‘devil’.


13. The novel is narrated through diary entries, ships logs and letters.


14. The novel was under copyright until 1962 – fifty years after Stoker’s death.


15. While writing, Stoker was influenced by European culture and adventure stories.


16. He was also influenced by the sidhe Irish mythological fairies, who developed a taste for blood.


17. His co-worker at the Lyceum, Henry Irving, was the embodiment for all of Dracula’s mannerisms.


18. Stoker makes multiple references to Whitby – a place where he spent the summer holidays as a child.


19. The novel was preceded by Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu in 1872.


20. Dracula was favoured above Mary Shelley, Edgar Allan Poe and Emily Brontë.


21. In 1914, Dracula’s Guest was published. It was thought to have been a previously cut chapter from the novel.


22. Eight days before the novel’s publication, Stoker released the stage play, which he had also written, at the Lyceum Theatre.


23. An unauthorised film version was entitled Nosferatu and was released in 1922.


24. There has been an estimated 217 Dracula film roles.


25. Actor Christopher Lee has been in 11 Dracula roles.


26. Author Stephen King wrote ‘Salem’s Lot, which was his tribute to Stoker and the vampire genre.


27. DC Comics published Batman & Dracula: Red Rain in 2003.


28. The anime Digimon had its own vampire. He was known as Dracmon (a digital Dracula monster).


29. The novel was the inspiration for the television show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer.


30. Bela Lugusi (Dracula, 1931) was the inspiration for the Sesame Street character, The Count.