Dracula (1897) is Bram Stoker’s Gothic horror masterpiece about the undead Transylvanian nobleman, Count Dracula, and his battle with a group of vampire hunters fronted by Professor Abraham von Helsing. Written in the epistolary form, it is comprised of a collection of fictional yet highly convincing diary entries, letters, telegrams, newspaper clippings and ships’ logs. Dracula is deeply entrenched in popular culture and has inspired numerous theatrical, literary and film adaptations. The first film inspired by the novel is F. W. Murnau’s 1922 German classic Nosferatu, which starred Max Schreck as ‘Count Orlok’ because Stoker’s widow did not grant permission for the novel to be adapted. The first authorized film was Tod Browning’s Dracula (1931) starring Bela Lugosi, and more recent adaptations have seen the eponymous Count played by Christopher Lee and Gary Old man.
