Dracula


Dracula
Aliases:	Vlad III Vlad the Impaler Valdislaus Dracula
Continuity:	Dracula Hammer Horror Marvel Universe Universal Monsters Justin Drake ^[1]
Notability:	Antagonist
Gender:	Male
Race:	Vampire
Location:	Castle Dracula, Transylvania
Relatives:	Dracula's brides Marya Zeleska Alucard Frank Drake Lilith Drake
Status:	Undead
Born:	1428 ^[2]
First:	Dracula
Actor:	Bela Lugosi Carlos Villar Christopher Lee Frank Langella Udo Kier Gary Oldman Leslie Nielsen Richard Roxburgh

Dracula is a vampire, who was first popularized in the 1891 Gothic horror novel Dracula by Irish author Bram Stoker. The eponymous vampire antagonist, Dracula, is loosely based on the historical Vlad III of 15th century Wallachia. The story is one of the most-well known examples of Gothic literature and has been adapted and reinterpreted countless times in stage productions, musicals, film, books, video games and even cartoons. The story is one of the most-well known examples of Gothic literature and has been adapted and reinterpreted countless times in stage productions, musicals, film, books, video games and even cartoons. The novel was the prime inspiration behind the 1922 silent film, Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens and the more widely known 1931 movie, Dracula, directed by Tod Browning and starring Bela Lugosi. With this seminal achievement, Bram Stoker redefined the concept of the "gentleman vampire" for modern readers.

Dracula is an American horror film released in 1931 by Universal Pictures. Produced by Carl Laemmle, Jr. and directed by Tod Browning, it adapts the original 1897 Bram Stoker novel Dracula as well as the 1924 stage adaptation of Dracula by John L. Balderston and Hamilton Deane. It is the first authorized film adaptation of Dracula as well as the first horror film "talkie". Dracula launched the career of actor Béla Lugosi, who went on to star in dozens of genre films overs the next two decades. Since then, the character has been presented in various films played by a wide range of actors such as Carlos Villar, John Carradine, Christopher Lee, Udo Kier, Gary Oldman and many, many more.

Novel[]

Dracula is a novel of the Gothic horror and vampire subgenres. It was written by Irish author Bram Stoker and first published by Archibald Constable & Co. in the United Kingdom in 1897. The eponymous vampire antagonist, Dracula, is loosely based on the historical Vlad III of 15th century Wallachia. The story is one of the most-well known examples of Gothic literature and has been adapted and reinterpreted countless times in stage productions, musicals, film, books, video games and even cartoons. The novel was the prime inspiration behind the 1922 silent film, Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens and the more widely known 1931 movie, Dracula, directed by Tod Browning and starring Bela Lugosi. With this seminal achievement, Bram Stoker redefined the concept of the "gentleman vampire" for modern readers.

The story is told in epistolary format, as a series of letters, diary entries, and ships' log entries, whose narrators are the novel's protagonists, and occasionally supplemented with newspaper clippings relating events that are not directly witnessed. The events portrayed in the novel take place largely in England and Transylvania during 1893.

The tale begins with Jonathan Harker, a newly qualified English solicitor, visiting Count Dracula in the Carpathian Mountains on the border of Transylvania, Bukovina, and Moldavia, to provide legal support for a real estate transaction overseen by Harker's employer. At first enticed by Dracula's gracious manners, Harker soon realizes that he is Dracula's prisoner. Wandering the Count's castle against Dracula's admonition, Harker encounters three female vampires, called "the sisters", from whom he is rescued by Dracula. After the preparations are made, Dracula leaves Transylvania and abandons Harker to the sisters. Harker barely escapes from the castle with his life.

Not long afterward, a Russian ship, the Demeter, having weighed anchor at Varna, runs aground on the shores of Whitby. The captain's log narrates the gradual disappearance of the entire crew, until the captain alone remained, himself bound to the helm to maintain course. An animal resembling "a large dog" is seen leaping ashore. The ship's cargo is described as silver sand and boxes of "mould", or earth, from Transylvania.

Soon Dracula is tracking Harker's fiancée, Wilhelmina "Mina" Murray, and her friend, Lucy Westenra. Lucy receives three marriage proposals from Dr. John Seward, Quincey Morris, and the Hon. Arthur Holmwood (later Lord Godalming). Lucy accepts Holmwood's proposal while turning down Seward and Morris, but all remain friends. Dracula communicates with Seward's patient Renfield, an insane man who wishes to consume insects, spiders, birds, and rats to absorb their "life force", and therefore assimilated to Dracula himself. Renfield is able to detect Dracula's presence and supplies clues accordingly.

When Lucy begins to waste away suspiciously, Seward invites his old teacher, Abraham Van Helsing, who immediately determines the cause of Lucy's condition but refuses to disclose it. While both doctors are absent, Lucy and her mother are attacked by a wolf; Mrs. Westenra, who has a heart condition, dies of fright, and Lucy dies soon after. Following Lucy's death, the newspapers report children being stalked in the night by, in their words, a "bloofer lady" (i.e., "beautiful lady"). ^[3] Van Helsing, knowing Lucy has become a vampire, confides in Seward, Lord Godalming, and Morris. The suitors and Van Helsing track her down and, after a confrontation with her, stake her heart, behead her, and fill her mouth with garlic. Around the same time, Jonathan Harker arrives from Budapest, where Mina marries him after his escape, and he and Mina join the coalition against Dracula.

After Dracula learns of Van Helsing's plot against him, he attacks Mina on three occasions, and feeds Mina his own blood to control her. Under his influence, Mina oscillates from consciousness to a semi-trance during which she perceives Dracula's surroundings and actions. After the protagonists sterilize all of his lairs in London by putting pieces of consecrated host in each box of Transylvanian earth, Dracula flees to Transylvania, pursued by Van Helsing and the others under the guidance of Mina. In Transylvania, Van Helsing repulses and later destroys the vampire "sisters". Upon discovering Dracula being transported by Gypsies, Harker shears Dracula through the throat with a kukri while the mortally wounded Quincey stabs the Count in the heart with a Bowie knife. Dracula crumbles to dust, and Mina is restored to health.

The book closes with a note on Mina's and Jonathan's married life and the birth of their son, whom they name after all four members of the party, but address as "Quincey".

Universal Monsters[]

Dracula[]

Almost nothing is known about the early history of Count Dracula save that he was a vampire and a Transylvanian nobleman who lived in an ancient castle with his three vampire brides. In 1931, Dracula sought to purchase a crumbling abbey in Purfleet, England known as Carfax. A London solicitor named Renfield journeyed to Castle Dracula to broker the deal. Renfield found the Count to be extremely polite, but offputting as well. After Dracula greeted the man, he ascended the steps of his castle and appeared to walk through a giant spider web without disturbing so much as a single strand.

He prepared a room for Renfield which included a large dinner set out for him. Renfield invited the Count to join him, but Dracula politely declined. While perusing the documents for the sale of Carfax Abbey, Renfield cut his finger and it began to bleed. Dracula's instinctive need for blood compelled him to draw in close, but he restrained himself from attacking Renfield at this critical juncture.

Later that evening, Dracula's three brides awakened and approached Renfield with the intent of feeding from him. Dracula drove them away, preferring to keep Renfield for himself. Once he was certain that he no longer required the man's legal expertise, Dracula exerted his will upon Renfield, breaking the man's sanity and forcing him to serve as his personal slave.

Dracula booked passage to England and brought with him three large crates filled with soil from Transylvania. As a vampire, Dracula was required to sleep in a coffin lined with dirt from his homeland. When they arrived in England, Dracula arranged to have Renfield committed to a sanitarium run by Doctor Seward.

Dracula formally introduced himself to Doctor Seward as well as his daughter, Mina, her fiancé, John Harker and her friend Lucy Weston at a London opera house. He told them of his purchase of Carfax Abbey and noted that it was located adjacent to Doctor Seward's sanitarium. Lucy was enraptured with the Count, and enjoyed listening to him describe the battlements of his castle in Transylvania.

A short time later, Dracula visited Lucy in her bedroom late at night and bit her on the throat. Lucy died from the injury and her remains were analyzed by a scientist named Professor Van Helsing. He quickly determined that Lucy had been killed by a vampire. Just as he had predicted, Lucy rose from the grave as a vampire.

Dracula then set his sights on Mina Seward. Like with Lucy, he crept into her bedroom late at night and bit her on the throat, drinking her blood. The following day, Mina complained of suffering from bizarre nightmares. Her fiancé, John Harker, kept watch over her at her room at the sanitarium.

Dracula paid a visit to the Seward home and met Professor Van Helsing. During the course of conversation, Van Helsing noticed that Dracula failed to cast a reflection in the mirrored interior of a cigarette case. After the others left the room, Van Helsing addressed Dracula directly. He showed Dracula the cigarette case and the vampire violently slapped it out of his hand. Both men learned the truth about one another. Dracula sneered and complimented Van Helsing on his astuteness. He then turned and left.

Dracula had a second encounter with Van Helsing only a few nights later. Dracula no longer hid the truth about what he was, and confidentally declared his intentions towards Mina. He told him that he has infused Mina with his own blood and that she would now be his. Dracula tried to use his hypnotic powers on Van Helsing, but Van Helsing's will was strong and he broke free of Dracula's control. Producing a crucifix, he drove the vampire away.

Dracula then took the form of a bat and appeared before Mina, ordering her to steal Van Helsing's crucifix, which was the Professor's sole defense against him. In a hypnotic trance, Mina agreed to obey Dracula, but John Harker drove the bat away.

Dracula maintained his control over Mina and led her back to the crypt beneath Carfax Abbey. Renfield appeared before them just as Dracula and Mina ascended a long flight of steps. Hearing the sounds of John and Van Helsing trailing after them, he turned towards Renfield, realizing that his loyal servant had been tricked into leading his enemies to his lair. He strangled Renfield and hurled his dead body down the steps of the abbey.

Dracula retreated into the lower catacombs and went to his coffin. As the sun began to rise, Van Helsing and Jonathan scoured the crypt until they found the coffin containing Dracula's sleeping form. Harker searched for Mina and Van Helsing pounded a wooden stake (made from the splinters of a coffin lid) into Dracula's chest. ^[4] Van Helsing stayed behind to cremate the remains of both Dracula and Renfield. ^[5]

House of Frankenstein[]

Through a means that has never been revealed, Dracula was resurrected, albeit with a slightly different appearance. His sleeping body was sealed inside his coffin and eventually came into the possession of a traveling showman named Bruno Lampini. Lampini claimed to have recovered the remains from Dracula's castle himself, but he may have been lying. While traveling to the village of Reigelberg, Lampini picked up two escaped convicts named Gustav Niemann and Daniel. Niemann required a new identity for himself, so he had Daniel kill Lampini allowing the Niemann the opportunity to take his place. As such, Niemann now possessed the body of Dracula.

At the Crossroads of Reigelberg, Niemann displayed Dracula's coffin as part of Lampini's Chamber of Horrors. After the crowds dispersed, Niemann opened the coffin, revealing a skeleton with a wooden stake through its chest. Niemann removed the stake and Dracula was brought back to life. He held the stake over him and the vampire that if he made any move to attack him, he would drive it back into his heart. Dracula tried to mesmerize Niemann, but the doctor's willpower was too strong. Niemann promised to guard Dracula's coffin during the daylight hours so long as Dracula agreed to help him, and so he did.

Sometime later, Dracula assumed the identity of Baron Latos. He encountered the Hussman family and offered them a ride home in his carriage. They invited him back to their family estate for some wine and conversation. At the home, Dracula became fixated with Rita Hussman. He waited for a moment when the two could be alone and then began to seduce her. Rita was transfixed by Dracula's crescent ring and saw images of dead people within it. Dracula excused himself, but secretly promised Rita that he would return for her before the dawn.

As dawn grew near, Dracula returned to the Hussman estate. He transformed into a bat and attacked Burgomaster Hussman, biting him on the throat, ultimately killing him.

Upstairs, Rita's husband Carl Hussman discovered his wife behaving strangely. In a malaise, she kept staring out of the bedroom window as if hoping that someone would come to her. Carl noticed the ring on her finger and recognized it as Dracula's crest. Carl went back downstairs into the study where he found his dead grandfather. He quickly telephoned Inspector Arnz then returns to Rita's room. Rita was nowhere to be found, however.

Dracula found Rita and placed her inside of his coach and began driving off. Carl met up with the police and they began chasing Dracula's coach. Along the road, Doctor Niemann and Daniel take note of the police pursuing Dracula. Not wishing to be connected with the vampire any longer, Niemann had Daniel unload the vampire's coffin from their wagon. Now Dracula had nowhere to go once the sun rose.

To make matters even more complicated for the vampire, the carriage bolt slipped from his wagon and the vehicle veered off the side of the road down into a gulley. Dracula was thrown from the wagon, but as he desperately scrambled to get back inside, the sun came up over the horizon, killing him. Carl pulled Rita to safety from the overturned carriage and the two embraced. The ring slipped from Rita's finger and they now knew that they were free of Dracula forever.

House of Dracula[]

Abbott and Costello[]

In 1948, Dracula embarked upon a scheme to enslave the Frankenstein Monster. Assuming the alias of Doctor Lejos, he made contact with a female scientist named Sandra Mornay, whose knowledge of the original Frankenstein experiments would prove valuable towards transforming the monster into an obedient slave. Via a European agent (possibly even Dracula himself), he used his own legendary status in order to broker the sale of his coffin and the body of the Frankenstein Monster to a man named Mister McDougal for his House of Horrors museum in La Mirada, Florida.

Two crates arrived at a shipping station in Florida where they were left in the care of two bumbling baggage handlers named Chick Young and Wilbur Grey. At the insistance of Mister McDougal, Chick and Wilbur transported the crates to McDougal's House of Horrors for inspection. Dracula emerged from his coffin and used his powers to hypnotize the dim-witted Wilbur Grey. Wilbur stood still as Dracula used a small electronic device to awaken the Frankenstein Monster. He then had the monster carry his coffin and the two escaped from the museum.

Dracula finally made his way back to a castle on an island just off the coast of La Mirada. He assumed his Doctor Lejos alias and conspired with Doctor Mornay to find the perfect brain to transplant into the monster's body; a brain that would be pliable, easily manipulated and not prone to fits of rage. As it turned out, Doctor Mornay already had the perfect donor in mind -- her own boyfriend, Wilbur Grey.

Dracula met Wilbur, Chick Young and an insurance agent named Joan Raymond, though Wilbur did not recognize Dracula at first. Doctor Mornay was to attend the group to a masquerade party, whereupon she would abduct Wilbur, but at the last minute, she feined a headache and refused to go. Dracula took Sandra to her room to question her, whereupon she said that the experiment is not yet ready and that kidnapping Wilbur was too risky at this juncture. Dracula grew impatient with Sandra's willfullness and turned her into a vampire. He then sent her out to find Wilbur Grey and bring him back to the castle.

Once Wilbur was returned, Dracula had him brought to the castle laboratory where he forced Sandra to begin operating to place Wilbur's brain into the body of the monster. Things quickly devolved into chaos, owing largely to the sudden appearance of the Wolf Man. While Chick Young tried to help his friend Wilbur escape, the Wolf Man attacked Dracula. Dracula managed to keep him at bay by hurling flower pots and chairs at him, but the Wolf Man cornered Dracula on the balcony of the castle. Dracula turned into a bat and tried to escape, but the Wolf Man leaped upon him and the two fell down into the waters below.

Dracula's current whereabouts and activities, or whether he even survived his entanglement with the Wolf Man is unknown.

Hammer Horror[]

Horror of Dracula[]

"I am Dracula and I welcome you to my house. I must apologize for not being here to greet you personally, but I trust you've found everything you needed."

―Count Dracula

Little is known of the true origins of the man known only as Dracula, save that he was a powerful vampire of noble bearing who hailed from the European territory of Transylvania in Romania. Dracula lived in an ancient castle in the mountains, not far from the village of Klausenburg. He had at least one vampire bride enslaved to him, forced to live with him at the castle.

In May of 1885, Dracula solicited the services of a librarian named Jonathan Harker to come visit the castle to index all of Dracula's vast volumes of texts. Harker knew full well what Dracula was and had secretly agreed to go to the castle with the intent of destroying him.

Harker arrived at the castle just before sundown. Dracula was unavailable to greet him, but had a meal prepared for him in his absence. Dracula arrived in the dining hall after sundown and addressed Jonathan. After conversing for a bit, he showed him to his room, making a point to state that he would be unavailable to assist him during the daylight hours. Jonathan showed Dracula a cameo of his fiance, Lucy Holmwood. Though Dracula kept his emotions in check, he became instantly enamored with the young woman.

Harker eventually discovered the young dark-haired woman who also resided in the castle. Though she pretended to be in great duress, she was merely angling to get close to Harker so she could feed upon him. Dracula appeared in the room and lunged at the vampire woman, enraged that she should try to bite his guest. Grabbing her by the wrist, he violently threw her onto the floor. Jonathan tried to protect the woman, but Dracula overpowered him. He awakened in his bedroom hours later with fresh puncture wounds upon his neck.

Investigating the lower crypts of Dracula's castle, he found the woman's coffin and drove a wooden stake into her heart. He was too late to do the same to Dracula however, for as the sun went down, Dracula awakened and made Harker his next vampire victim.

Still smitten with the idea of entrancing Mina Holmwood, Dracula left the castle and went into Klausenburg. He found where Mina had been living and used his vampire mesmerism to seduce her. By this point, Lucy's brother, Arthur Holmwood, and Jonathan's colleague, Professor Van Helsing, were aware of Lucy's condition and suspected that a vampire was responsible. Van Helsing took measures to keep Lucy free of Dracula's influence, but as it turned out, Dracula was able to gain entrance into Lucy's bedroom and took her as his undead bride.

Van Helsing and Arthur Holmwood followed Lucy into a churchyard the following evening. Driving her back towards her crypt, Van Helsing was able to finish her off with a stake through the heart.

With Lucy gone, Dracula began making his move on Arthur's wife, Mina. After biting her and drinking some of her blood, he hypnotized her into helping him procure shelter, and he relocated his coffin to the cellar of the Holmwood estate. Arthur and Van Helsing scoured the countryside trying to track down Dracula's whereabouts, but it wasn't until Arthur's housekeeper, Gerda, told them that Mina had expressly forbidden anyone from entering the cellar that they knew where their enemy could be found. Van Helsing ran down into the cellar and found Dracula's empty coffin. Dracula barged in, but upon seeing Van Helsing, snarled then ran away. Van Helsing placed a cross inside the coffin, insuring that Dracula could never return to it.

Dracula (Hammer Horror) 004 — Dracula's final moments.

Dracula abducted Mina and began traveling back towards his castle. Van Helsing and Arthur took another carriage and tried to catch up with him. Dracula was losing time however as the sun was threatening to rise soon. When Arthur and Van Helsing got to the castle, they found Dracula burying the still-conscious Mina inside of a shallow grave. Van Helsing chased after the vampire, who discarded Mina in favor of finding sanctuary in his castle. The two raced about the dining hall and Van Helsing pulled down a pair of drapes, allowing sunlight to come flooding in. Forming a cross from two candlesticks, he forced Dracula to back up into the cone of sunlight. Unable to move, Dracula turned to dust before Van Helsing's eyes. A breeze entered through the open window, scattering Dracula's ashes.

Although Van Helsing was content to think that Dracula was gone forever, it would only be a matter of time before he learned just how wrong he was.

Marvel Comics[]

Dracula - MU — Dracula from *Legion of Monsters: Morbius*.

The first comic book appearance of Dracula took place in the seventh story in the seventh issue of Suspense, published by Marvel Comics in 1951. The story was called "Dracula Lives!" and introduces a man who is convinced that Dracula is hunting him so he turns to a famous vampire writer for help only to discover that it is actually Dracula in disguise. As this story was written prior to the formation of the "Marvel Universe", it is not considered part of Dracula's definitive origin.

Dracula's first mainstream appearance was the eponymous antagonist of his own ongoing comic book series Tomb of Dracula, which began publication in 1972. The character was re-introduced to readers by writer Gerry Conway and artist Gene Colan. Colan, who would go on to become a regular penciler on the series and is considered one of the prominent comic artists in the genre. Colan based his visual design of Dracula on actor Jack Palance, who played the Count in the 1974 Dan Curtis film Bram Stoker's Dracula. ^[6]

Dracula - TOD 55 — Dracula from *Tomb of Dracula* #55.

Dracula appeared in all seventy issues of Tomb of Dracula as well as several tie-in annual issues published during the original series run from 1972 to 1979. He appeared in the Giant-Size Chillers one-shot special, which evolved into four follow-up issues under the title Giant-Size Dracula. During publication of the first Tomb of Dracula series, Marvel also published a black and white magazine entitled Dracula Lives!. The name is taken from the title of the story in Dracula's first appearance in Suspense #7. The magazine ran for thirteen issues from 1973 to 1975 and also produced one annual issue. A comic adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula novel was serialized in issues 5-8.

Dracula also made appearances in Marvel's sister horror titles The Frankenstein Monster and Werewolf by Night where he would clash against the more heroic title stars, the Frankenstein Monster and werewolf Jack Russell.

Although Dracula's title was by and large an insular series, his stories did cross over into the mainstream Marvel Universe. He was seen as a foil against Marvel's Sorcerer Supreme Doctor Strange in Doctor Strange, Volume 2 #12 and even clashed with the cosmic superhero the Silver Surfer in Tomb of Dracula #50.

Following the discontinuation of the regular series, Marvel revived the title in magazine format, which ran for six issues from 1979 to 1980. Each issue contained at least two Dracula stories, while also featuring other horror backup tales. The series also featured stories relating to Dracula's daughter, Lilith.

Dracula - Avengers Vol 8 14 — A kinder, gentler Vlad Dracul?

Dracula met his first on-panel "death" in the final issue of the first Tomb of Dracula series, but like any good comic villain, he did not remain among the deceased for very long. Dracula was soon resurrected, but without a regular title to appear in, was relegated to guest-villain status appearing in various issues one-issue stories where he fought up against Spider-Man, the Uncanny X-Men and even Thor. Dracula, as well as every other vampire in the Marvel Universe (with the exception of Hannibal King) met their demise at the hands of Doctor Strange who used an occult spell known as the Montessi Formula to eradicate all vampires off the face of the Earth in Doctor Strange, Volume 2 #61.

Dracula was absent from Marvel Comics for over a decade, but was resurrected in the early 1990s when Marvel began banding many of their horror-themed titles together under the "Midnight Sons" imprint. The various Midnight Sons titles also resurrected several supporting cast members from Tomb of Dracula including Frank Drake, Hannibal King and Blade.

Dracula and MI13 — Dracula takes on MI-13.

Throughout the remainder of the 1990s and into the 2000s, Dracula made repeated appearances in various titles, often being killed only to be resurrected once again. Blade became a popular character during this time, owing largely to the Blade film franchise starring Wesley Snipes. Dracula even played a major role in the third film in the series, Blade: Trinity, where he was played by Dominic Purcell. This version of the character, called Drake in the movie, bore little resemblance to the Marvel Comics character however.

In comics, Dracula continued to play a foil for Blade, facing off against him in his numerous comic titles and even was the central villain behind the last major story-arc of the Captain Britain and MI-13 series.

In 2010, Dracula met his end once again at the hands of his own son in the aptly titled Death of Dracula one-shot, which served as a prologue to the "Curse of the Mutants" vampire story that ran through all of Marvel's mutant-related titles in 2010 and 2011.

Appearances[]

Books[]

Gallery[]

References[]

↑ Giant-Size Dracula 4
↑ Year approximated. He could have been born as late as 1431. Its not like they kept great birth records in 15th century Wallachia.
↑ Leonard Wolf (2004). The Essential Dracula, Chapter 13, Note 31. "Bloofer lady" is explained as baby-talk for "beautiful lady".
↑ Dracula (1931)
↑ Dracula's Daughter (1936)
↑ Greenberger, Robert. "Inside the Tome of Dracula", Marvel Spotlight: Marvel Zombies Return (2009), p. 27

[1] Giant-Size Dracula 4

[2] Year approximated. He could have been born as late as 1431. Its not like they kept great birth records in 15th century Wallachia.

[3] Leonard Wolf (2004). The Essential Dracula, Chapter 13, Note 31. "Bloofer lady" is explained as baby-talk for "beautiful lady".

[4] Dracula (1931)

[5] Dracula's Daughter (1936)

[6] Greenberger, Robert. "Inside the Tome of Dracula", Marvel Spotlight: Marvel Zombies Return (2009), p. 27

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