Happy Halloween to all of you with blood-pumping hearts. ‘Tis the season to be nervous. That chill running down your spine is not caused by the weather turning cooler; it’s because there are ghosts, ghoulies, monsters, and indescribably horrid creatures roaming throughout the city as Saturday approaches. We know about them because of a book written more than 100 years ago by an Irish lawyer, theater manager, and talent agent named “Bram” (Abraham) Stoker.
Published in 1897, Stoker’s “Dracula” has probably had more influence in the creation of horror stories than any other book, including Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein.” Whereas the creature sewn together by Dr. Frankenstein is often perceived to be a misunderstood collection of parts, Count Dracula is the epitome of evil. Some people believe that Stoker’s Dracula is fashioned on “Vlad (Tepes III), the Impaler,” but while Stoker modified the sobriquet “Vlad Dracul” (Vlad the Dragon), there is very little mention of Vlad III in his notes. Moreover, while Frankenstein’s 8-foot-tall creature possesses incredible strength, Dracula has supernatural powers. But we don’t know that until we become ensnared in the clutch of the author’s prose.
The tale opens with Jonathan Harker, a British lawyer, negotiating the sale of an English estate to Count Dracula. To close the deal, Harker visits Dracula’s castle. He seems to be the only other person in the huge building, and he only sees the Count at certain times of the day. As he roams among the rooms, he encounters supernatural things that amaze and frighten him. Eventually, he comes to understand that he is not a guest but a prisoner. While Harker remains imprisoned, the Count travels to England, where he meets Lucy Westerna.
Over a period of days, Lucy becomes mysteriously ill. She becomes increasingly debilitated and frail, losing blood, and acquiring strange marks on her neck. Professor Abraham Van Helsing diagnoses “something far more dangerous” than some “normal” illness. He is convinced that a vampire is loose and surrounds Lucy with garlic and religious symbols, while administering blood transfusions.
Of course, Count Dracula is to blame. He can transform himself into a vampire bat to feed on human blood. But he can also shift his shape to that of a wolf or some other animal. He can hypnotize people, create illusions, and manipulate the weather. On a return visit to his home, he can be seen crawling up the exterior castle walls, like a lizard.
And, most frightening of all, he can be an elegant man who speaks impeccable English, has faultless manners, and is disarmingly polite. But the reader knows that beneath that sophisticated façade exists a depravity that has been fermenting for thousands of years. Stoker’s style allows readers to experience all of this from various perspectives as more characters become vampires, having been bitten by Dracula.
Stoker’s formula has been reproduced and reinvented so often throughout time in novels and movies that some people may actually believe that vampires exist in the world. And if they do, they are especially apparent on Halloween!
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Puede contactar a Jim Glynn en j_glynn@att.net.