Bram Stoker and Vampires

Bram Stoker is best known as the author of Dracula (1897), one of the most famous horror novels of all time.
Abraham Stoker was born on November 8, 1847 in Clontarf, Ireland. He was a sickly child and spent a lot of time in bed, where his mother read him horror stories. However, at Trinity College he excelled in athletics. In 1870 he graduated with honors in mathematics. For ten years he worked in the Irish Civil Service.
Young Bram had always dreamed of becoming a writer. His first story was a dream fantasy called The Crystal Cup (1872). It was published by The London Society. Three years later he wrote a four-part horror story called The Chain of Destiny. He also found time to work as editor for The Irish Echo.

In 1878, Bram got the job of manager at London’s Lyceum Theatre. That same year he married Florence Balcombe, a nineteen-year-old beauty. Within a year, Florence had given birth to their only child, Noel.
In 1879 Stoker became Henry Irving’s manager. He also began writing and publishing novels.

In 1882 he wrote Under the Sunset, which consisted of eight fairy tales for children. His first full-length novel, The Snake’s Pass, was published in 1890.
Dracula appeared in 1897. Stoker spent many hours in the library and even visited the region of Hungary and Romania that Vlad Dracul ruled.
His others horror novels include The Lady of the Shroud (1909) and The Lair of the White Worm (1911).
Bram Stoker died in 1912.
The image of Dracula has become a part of popular culture. It has been an inspiration for many writers and film producers. An evil vampire who wants to take over the world and convert humans into slaves. Bram Stoker based the character of Dracula on the fifteenth century prince, Vlad Tepes Dracul. In his seven years of power, Dracul killed more than 100,000 people. He was also known as Vlad The Impaler.
The film called Dracula was directed by Francis Ford Coppola. It is based on the book version and it stars Anthony Hopkins, Gary Oldman, Wynona Ryder and Keanu Reeves.

Perhaps the closest we have to the Hollywood version of a vampire was a woman called Countess Elizabeth Bathory. She was born in 1560 into one of the most powerful families in the land in Transylvania. She was exceptionally beautiful, and she married a famously cruel warrior, Ferenc Nadasdy, known as the Black Hero of Hungary. He was away so much that Elizabeth began attending orgies at the estate of her aunt, Karla. And it was here that she developed her talent for cruelty and sadism, especially after the death of her husband in 1604. She took pleasure in torturing girls to death. She was convinced that blood could rejuvenate her skin, so she started kidnapping more young girls and then slowly drinking their blood. She was walled up in her own castle and died there four years later.

Bram Stoker and Vampires