Okay, let me start by saying that I love horror books, movies, activities…the whole nine yards. Being a mom with young(ish) kids still at home, I don’t get to watch horror movies a lot. But I can read whatever I want without offense, right? (Just another reason to love books!)
For our October read, my book club chose Dracul by Dacre Stoker, Bram’s nephew, and J. D. Barker, who has created a name for himself in the horror genre.
I confess that I have already read this book, passed it around, hooked other people on it, and am now rereading it for my book club. It’s that good.
Created as a prequel to Bram’s original Dracula, I was skeptical. I’m a firm believer in not screwing up something that already works, the way they did when they released the 2024 version of Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot film. But the premise–that it’s based on Bram’s actual journal and events that were supposed to have occurred–intrigued me. What if Bram Stoker really did meet vampires and try to sell his manuscript as the true story it was? That would mean vampires are real and that my mother was right! Wait…I don’t know if that’s good or bad…
The main character in this book is Bram himself and, the events are set in August of 1868. The book itself is divided into three parts.
Part I: Interspersed throughout the beginning is the story of Bram as a sickly young boy, who was healed by Ellen Crone, a.k.a his mysterious Nanna Ellen. This tale is told through memories as Bram records them in his journal while sitting upon a single chair in a dilapidated awaiting the escape of the monster he has locked behind the door of the opposite room. the narrative is also told through letters penned by his sister, Matilda.
Part II: We now have various personal accounts–via letters and journal entries–that move the narrative along. The journals of both Bram and his brother, Thornley, along with ____ and letters to Ellen written by Matilda. These meticulous journals create a record of conversations between the characters as if we were witnessing them firsthand. Of course, this is not how one generally recounts stories in a journal–recounting dialogue and expressions word for word, I mean–but it allows the reader a clearer understanding of the nuances involved in the story and with each character.
Here we realize all three siblings have witnessed and/or interacted with both an unaged Ellen and a previously deceased neighbor, Patrick O’Cuiv, who was tried for the murder of his family and found hanging in his cell, having committed suicide. The deceased O’Cuiv was later spied jumping over the edge of a boat…and not dead after all.
Enlisting the help of Arminius Vambery (think Van Helsing), himself an enigmatic character with a sketchy past, they go on a hunt for Ellen Crone and Patrick O’Cuiv. They realize the two are joined by Patrick’s surviving daughter in an unholy alliance.
Enter the Man enigmatic Man in Black (NOT Johnny Cash, by the way), who it just so happens was once Ellen’s cruel husband and who still yearns to love and punish her. He is seeking Ellen and knows she is seeking her true love. He is also our Dracula, the original undead of the tale. To punish Ellen for not loving him, he turned her lover into the undead, then quartered him and hid his tortured and living body parts to various corners of the earth.
Throughout Part II, Bram continues to guard the door behind which some monster was trapped, one we learn is Ellen’s undead true love. Well, the pieces of him they could find. Wolves, the Man in Black, and Bram’s now undead sister-in-law haunt his slumber along with his waking moments. He is, however, able to make it through the night and rejoin the rest of his party (his siblings and Vambry) for the remainder of their adventure.
Part III: This is where we venture to a small town outside of Munich to rescue Ellen’s true love from the grip the Man In Black has on his dismembered corpse. It is also when we learn her deal with the Man to keep her lover safe once he is resurrected.
Having researched one of Bram’s origin tales for Dracula that does not involve Vlad the Impaler, I found this account of events to be very interesting. This count is much darker and the story does not revolve around love but also of possession and revenge. This is a Dracula I can get behind.
But, wait…how does it end? You’ll just have to read it to find out!
The Pondering Pot 