Happy Birthday, Dracula!

Bram Stoker's "Dracula" began to appear in London bookstores for the first time on this day in 1897. When asked about the title of my favorite book, I'll usually say "Dracula." When I say something else, I'm lying.

My favorite edition of this book is Leonard Wolf's "The Annotated Dracula," published in 1975. It's chock full of maps, recipes, trivia and details about the author's research, and is a compelling read. It's a bit dated (the fall of Communism has opened up avenues of research into western Europe that weren't available in 1975) but is still a valuable resource. "The Annotated Dracula" has been out of print for decades, but inexpensive (used) copies are easy to find on Amazon. There's a paperback edition available for just a penny!

Thanks to the rather direct relationship between "Dracula" and DARK SHADOWS, we've had ample opportunity here at the CHS to discuss the King of the Vampires in his many forms. Below is a selection of links about the many adaptions/continuations of Stoker's original tale. Enjoy!

Monster Serial: DRACULA, 1931

VAMPIRES 101: Edward Gorey

Dan Curtis' DRACULA streaming on Hulu Plus

Vampires 101: No Stalgia is Good Stalgia

My Haunted Honeymoon

Vampires 101: Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992)

Venture into the TOMB OF DRACULA

"Unnatural occurrences" plague DRACULA, 1929