Dracula, a Gothic novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897, is derived from old vampire legends and is the basis for an entire genre of literature and film. Dracula, the archetypal vampire, is depicted in the novel as having been the origin of the many werewolf legends. The willowy count is believed to have been inspired by the 15th-century Vlad the Impaler, and by Sir Henry Irving, an actor for whom Stoker was a personal assistant. One of Dracula’s most iconic powers is his ability to turn others into vampires by biting them and thus infecting them with the vampiric disease. Stoker’s novel takes the form of an epistolary tale, in which Count Dracula’s characteristics, powers are narrated by multiple narrators. Count Dracula is an undead, centuries-old vampire, and Transylvanian nobleman descended from Attila the Hun. He inhabits a decaying castle in the Carpathian Mountains near the Borgo Pass. Dracula is devilishly handsome and charismatic, with a veneer of dark aristocratic charm. Likewise, he possesses supernatural abilities gained through his intimate dealings with the Devil. Dracula does not cast a shadow or reflect in mirrors. He can defy gravity and possesses superhuman agility, able to climb vertical surfaces upside down. In the novel he also has great hypnotic, telepathic and illusionary powers. This is the rare, long lost original 1897 manuscript – published here for the first time.
