- For other uses, see Dracula (disambiguation).
Dracula is an 1897 Gothic horror novel by Irish author Bram Stoker. It introduced the character of Count Dracula and established many conventions of subsequent vampire fantasy. The novel tells the story of Dracula's attempt to move from Transylvania to England so that he may find new blood and spread the undead curse, and of the battle between him and a small group of men and a woman led by Professor Abraham Van Helsing.
Dracula has been assigned to many literary genres, including vampire literature, horror fiction, the Gothic novel, and invasion literature. The novel has spawned numerous theatrical, film and television interpretations. A 1992 film titled Bram Stoker's Dracula, by American director Francis Ford Coppola, depicts how the Count renounced God and became a vampire after learning of the death of his beloved Elisabeta.
The novel was published 89 years before the first Castlevania game was released.
Plot
In the late 19th Century, English solicitor Jonathan Harker travels to Transylvania to finalize a real estate transaction with Count Dracula. Dracula is purchasing property in London in order to begin a systematic takeover of the British empire.
He travels to England and feeds on the blood of young Lucy Westenra. Despite the efforts of her three suitors, Arthur Holmwood, Quincey Morris, and John Seward, and the Dutch doctor Abraham Van Helsing, Lucy dies and rises as a vampire. She is destroyed and Dracula turns his attentions to her friend, Mina, the wife of Harker (who has escaped from Dracula's castle and married her in Transylvania). Dracula is pursued back to the castle and is stabbed by Quincey, who also dies in the final showdown. The Harkers name their son Quincey in his memory.
In the Castlevania series
- In the series, the reason behind Dracula's revenge against God is for the death of his first wife, Elisabetha, and his war against humanity is due to the death of his second wife, Lisa (a name derived from Elizabeth). It is possible both of these Castlevania characters have names derived from the character in the 1992 film.
- Quincy Morris, who is mentioned in the instruction booklet for Castlevania: Bloodlines to have killed Dracula by plunging a wooden stake through his heart prior to the events of the game, is inspired by Quincey Morris, a character from the novel who did the same, although using a bowie knife instead.
Dracula the Un-dead
Front cover of the English version of the novel.
Dracula the Un-dead, a novel published in 2009, is the official sequel to Dracula. It was written by Dacre Stoker (Bram Stoker's great grand-nephew) and Ian Holt based on Bram Stoker's original notes. It depicts the exploits of Quincey Harker, Jonathan's and Mina's son, and the return of many characters from the first novel after its conclusion, including Abraham Van Helsing and the Count himself.
The book also introduces Elizabeth Báthory into its mythos, which according to her actions in the novel, probably also inspired some of the events portrayed in Castlevania: Bloodlines, aside from the real-life historic character.