Celebrity Of Monsters: Dracula
“I want you to believe...to believe in things that you cannot.”
Any gothic story/fiction lover will most certainly recognize Bram Stoker's Dracula -including myself-. Written in an epistolary form, it was published in 1897 and over time it became a masterpiece, among gothic horror based literary works.
The novel's storytelling draws a line between fiction and reality, leading to an interrogation about the existence of Count Dracula. Bram Stoker's Dracula is often assumed to be interrelated with Vlad Dracula, who is infamous with his brutal ways of murder and drinking their blood as if it was wine. It is likely that Stoker took inspiration from Vlad the 3rd, but they are not fully merged, and his influence remains speculative.
Stoker set Dracula’s castle in the isolated mountains of Translyvania which is known in folklore for its superstitous characters such as vampires, shapeshifters, flying lovers and wizards, making it a perfect setting for a dark, mysterious story. Jonathan Harker travels to Drac's castle located on top of a cliff, covered in mist representing the epitome of gothic architecture. Whilst reading the novel, it becomes a character within itself, employing the otherworldliness and coldness of Dracula.
Supernatural aspects of Dracula embodies hprror and terror, he is a vampire with unholy powers, he can shape-shift, control nocturnal animals and reign people's minds. He defies natural natural laws and crashes human understanding. Furthermore, his very existence blurs the line between life and death, making him a disturbing symbol of undeath and eternal darkness. The idea of an immortal being who feeds on the blood of the living is not only terrifying but also touches on Victorian anxieties about morality and corruption, as Dracula represents the ultimate in physical and moral decay.
Stoker's portrait of a creature who thrives in dark and under the shadows, taking pleasure in tormenting his victims both mentally and physically captures the essence of gothic terror very brilliantly. If you want to feed yourself an eerie, dreamy like quality story, pick up Dracula and start to read!