Dracula's Guest, Part Two

04/23/25 • 23 min

Welcome to Celebrate Poe - Episode 365 - Dracula’s Guest, Part Two
And welcome to the second part and conclusion of Bram Stoker’s Dracula Guest.
As I looked there came a cold shiver in the air, and the snow began to fall. I thought of the miles and miles of bleak country I had passed, and then hurried on to seek the shelter of the wood in front. Darker and darker grew the sky, and faster and heavier fell the snow, till the earth before and around me was a glistening white carpet the further edge of which was lost in misty vagueness. The road was here but crude, and when on the level its boundaries were not so marked, as when it passed through the cuttings; and in a little while I found that I must have strayed from it, for I missed underfoot the hard surface, and my feet sank deeper in the grass and moss. Then the wind grew stronger and blew with ever increasing force, till I was fain to run before it. The air became icy-cold, and in spite of my exercise I began to suffer. The snow was now falling so thickly and whirling around me in such rapid eddies that I could hardly keep my eyes open. Every now and then the heavens were torn asunder by vivid lightning, and in the flashes I could see ahead of me a great mass of trees, chiefly yew and cypress all heavily coated with snow.
I was soon amongst the shelter of the trees, and there, in comparative silence, I could hear the rush of the wind high overhead. Presently the blackness of the storm had become merged in the darkness of the night. By-and-by the storm seemed to be passing away: it now only came in fierce puffs or blasts. At such moments the weird sound of the wolf appeared to be echoed by many similar sounds around me.

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Dracula’s Guest, Part One

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Welcome to Celebrate Poe - Episode 363 - Dracula’s Guest, Part One
Finally - this podcast is beginning a series of episodes about Bram Stoker’s Dracula. First, I am going to delve into - at some detail - what is often felt to be the first chapter of Bram Stoker’s Dracula and was first published as "Dracula's Guest” in the short story collection Dracula's Guest and Other Weird Stories (1914). Again, It was believed to have been intended as the first chapter for novel Dracula, but was deleted prior to publication as the original publishers felt it was superfluous to the story. I will start with some commentary about Dracula’s Guest, the first part of the story, and then finish the story - or chapter - or whatever it is - in the following episode.
In the preface to the original edition of Dracula's Guest and Other Weird Stories, Stoker's widow Florence wrote, "To his original list of stories in this book, I have added an hitherto unpublished episode from Dracula. It was originally excised owing to the length of the book, and may prove of interest to the many readers of what is considered my husband's most remarkable work."

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Vampire Brides

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Welcome to Celebrate Poe - Episode 365 - Vampire Brides
Let’s jump into Bram Stoker’s 1897 Gothic novel - Dracula. Now the character of Count Dracula draws from draws from historical figures, folklore, and literary innovation, and is widely believed to be inspired by Vlad III Dracula (Vlad the Impaler), a 15th-century Wallachian prince known for his brutal tactics against Ottoman invaders. The name "Dracula" derives from Vlad II Dracul, Vlad III’s father, who belonged to the Order of the Dragon (Dracul meaning "dragon" or "devil" in Romanian).
Now Bram Stoker - though we don’t have any solid proof of this - likely encountered the name of Vlad the impaler - the 15th century Wallachian prince known for his brutal tactics against Ottoman invaders - in his research for his novel, but there is no proof that Stoker’s modeled the Count directly on him. Scholars note Stoker’s notes mention neither Vlad nor Transylvanian history in depth. He may have just liked the sound of the name.
In fact, Stoker blended vampire folklore with Gothic tropes, possibly inspired by actors Sir Henry Irving (for Dracula’s aristocratic demeanor) and Jacques Damala. Many scholars believe he lesbian vampire tale Carmilla (1872) also influenced the novel’s tone.

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