World Dracula Day

May 26: World Dracula Day

Dracula by Bram Stoker
Dracula by Bram Stoker

World Dracula Day commemorates the publication of Bram Stoker’s Dracula on May 26, 1897.

This Gothic horror novel introduced Count Dracula and Professor Abraham Van Helsing. The story tells of Dracula’s attempt to move from Transylvania to England in order to find new blood and spread the vampire curse.

Though received well enough by Victorian readers, Stoker did not make much money from it. In 1922, F. W. Murnau’s unauthorized adaptation of the story was released in theaters under the title Nosferatu. Stoker’s widow sued, which renewed interest in the novel.

Widow Stoker licensed the story to playwright Hamilton Deane. In 1924, this stage adaptation toured England for several years. In 1927, it was revised for Broadway. Bela Lugosi played the title role. In 1931, the play became a movie produced by Universal Studios. Bela Lugosi again played the title role. It was highly successful.

Vampire Trivia

World Dracula Day
Bela Lugos as Dracula
  • The literary vampire first appeared in 18th-century poetry.
  • Other vampire publications before Dracula include Polidori’s The Vampyre (1819), the Penny Dreadful’s Varney the Vampire (1847), Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla (1872).
  • In Dracula, a “necklace of withered garlic blossoms” were supposed to keep Dracula away. (Spoiler: it didn’t.)
  • Aspen is the best wood for stakes as it is the wood of Christ’s cross., and branches of aspen were laid on graves to prevent vampires from rising.
  • In some Slavic folklore, a sprig of juniper will keep vampires out of the home.
  • A jiangshi, a Chinese corpse-hopper, has red eyes and crooked claws. As they grow stronger, they can fly and change into a wolf.
  • In Romania, they are known as strigoi. They can transform into animals and become invisible.

⇴ image from wikipedia and wikipedia, respectively, public domain


World Dracula Day, vampire Button
World Dracula Day, vampire Button
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