DRACULA

October is always the month for “all things scary” so this, together with the recent theatre revival of Dracula starring Cynthia Erivo, inspired the Den to revisit this classic gothic tale. Everyone probably knows the story of Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula’, the name is synonymous with “vampire”, but has this ultimate horror novel, originally published in 1897, stood the test of time?

The story begins when Jonathan Harker, a young lawyer, is sent to Transylvania to inform his client, Count Dracula, that he has inherited property in England. Anyone he meets on his journey to the Count's castle, hints that he should be careful, especially after dark. On first meeting his host, the Count appears to be polite and extremely hospitable but gradually, as Jonathan is drawn into the Count’s strange behaviour of disappearing by day and coming out at night, he realises all is not as it seems. There is no doubt that this part of the story, especially as it is told through diary entries, is spine-chilling and paranormal. As the now imprisoned Jonathan, witnessing the power of the Count, becomes ever desperate to escape, so the fear builds.

The story then moves to England and takes the form of letters between Mina Murray, Jonathan’s fiancée and her friend Lucy Westenra, mainly discussing everyday life. However, when a ship mysteriously disappears and the details of Jonathan's captivity are revealed, the ladies seek help from their enclave of educated suitors and medical practitioners, including the renowned Danish scientist Professor Van Helsing, to hunt down the Count before he can destroy everyone they love. The novel carefully balances the themes of love, religion and science in tackling the destruction of the Count's power.

There is no doubt that this classic still has holding power, however the old-fashioned style of writing can grate. Similarly, the dated Victorian women’s values sometimes feels hard to relate to “oh it did me good to see the way that these brave men worked. How can women help loving men when they are so earnest, so true and so brave!” Yet in terms of a story capable of building tension and suspense as the characters deal with death, fear, love, religion and advanced science, it still stands the test of time.