Hello, and welcome to week 3 of Fandom Horrorfest 2020! It’s crazy that we’re already at 3 weeks into the spooky season. This week will focus on horror writers, their books, their film adaptations, and the contributions they have made to horror. We wouldn’t have many of our favorite horror movies and games if it weren’t for the writers behind them, so let’s spend a week devoted to the often unsung heroes of horror!
Bram Stoker
As diverse as horror is, it’s a genre that normally plays by its own rules. These rules usually form over time, such as with the slasher genre. The commonplace tropes of near-immortal antagonists and survival girls were formed in the 70s and 80s with classic slashers. Similarly, supernatural horror follows the usual story beats of hauntings and possessions that past movies and writers had long ago established. When it comes to creating rules or establishing a mythos in horror, few creators in the genre come anywhere close to Bram Stoker and the world he created for the modern vampire legend with his landmark novel Dracula.
Vampires were not new when Stoker wrote his novel about everyone’s favorite undead figure. Vampires have appeared in eastern European folklore for centuries upon centuries, and similar stories of such creatures can even be found in ancient Native American and African legends as well. However, much of what we associate with vampire myths has grown out of Stoker’s writings. Garlic, crucifixes, silver, Eucharistic elements, stakes to the heart, hypnotism, blood-drinking–all of these classic elements of vampire mythology existed prior to the novel, but Stoker collected it all together and utilized the vast amounts of legends to establish a definitive interpretation of vampirism through the use of epistolary narrative; that is, the Dracula novel is written as a series of letters. Dracula is one of the most iconic names in horror, and vampire lore has been used and expanded upon in some of our most beloved media, such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and 30 Days of Night. While some writers have tried to upend the traditions of vampirism that we’re all so familiar with–like Stephanie Meyer–the traditions have stuck, and for a couple of good reasons. First, Stoker’s legend is just so engaging that it’s difficult to imagine vampires any other way. Second, I believe there’s something inherently fascinating in the Dracula legend that attracts us to it.
The idea that a force of evil and darkness like Dracula can be combated, not by any complicated or occult means but by a simple knowledge of the earth (garlic) and divine comforts (Christian iconography) gives the reader or viewer a kind of confidence. Dracula is a terrifying antagonist due to his perversion of basic humanity, but the fact that he is thwarted consistently by Van Helsing, a human being with a bright mind and altruistic heart, is a reflection of something that we all yearn to find evidence for: that caring for the greater good of our fellow man is a source of strength against monstrosities that seem so powerful. It’s a classic tale, and the way that vampires in general and the Dracula legend specifically have survived for so long says a lot about how important creativity and storytelling can be in the midst of a conflicted world.
The Dracula story has been adapted to film so many times, it’s almost a little absurd. However, in the midst of dozens of movies, TV shows, and mini-series, one actor stands above the rest. The late Sir Christopher Lee not only plays a terrific Dracula, but he has played the character more times than any other actor. I personally recommend 1958’s The Horror of Dracula and 1966’s Dracula: Prince of Darkness. The Netflix series Dracula is also an excellent retelling of Stoker’s original work as well if you want something a little more recent.
