Dracula 1931

Bela Lugosi smoking on the set of Dracula 1931

Bela Lugosi in Dracula (1931)

"More effective than Wolfbane"

This class uses a range of literary texts to trace the growth of the vampire trope from its first appearance in English-language fiction in the early years of the nineteenth century. Centering on classic works by Lord Byron, John Polidori, Sheridan le Fanu, Bram Stoker, and others, we learn about the formation of the modern literary canon, the folklore of the undead, and the creation of one of the most prolific popular culture genres—vampire fiction—which reached its first apotheosis

Dracula (1931) [800 x 1143]

BELA LUGOSI , DRACULA 1931

This week (May 26th to be exact) marks the 125th anniversary of the release of Bram Stoker’s novel, Dracula. It went on sale for the first time in London bookshops on that day in 1897. Since (to …

The following is excerpted from the introduction to LIFE’s new special issue Vampires: Their Undying Appeal, available at newsstands and online: The most consequential night in the history of fright occurred in June of 1816 at Villa Diodati on the banks of Lake Geneva, where the Romantic poets Lord Byron and Percy Shelley were vacationing ... Read more

A dramatic Monaghan deathbed scene and a bloodsucking Derry chieftain suggest Dracula was Irish, analysts say.