Halloween Treat! Bram Stoker -- Author of Dracula

Halloween treat -- Bram Stoker, author of Dracula, perhaps the most acclaimed horror novel ever. Born in Dublin in 1847, Bram Stoker published his masterpiece, Dracula, in 1897. The book was a success, and its popularity has grown for over a century. A classic horror novel, Dracula inspired the creation of adaptations such as the 1931 film Dracula, starring Bela Lugosi. Stoker introduced the vampire character of Count Dracula and  tells the story of Dracula's attempt to move from Transylvania to England and the battle between Dracula and a group of men and women led by Professor Abraham Van Helsing. Written in the Victorian era, the novel touches on familiar issues: reason and science vs. religion and superstition, the rise of feminism, race, world domination, and breaking sexual taboos. Stoker did not invent the vampire, but he defined its modern form. Dracula has many supernatural abilities. He has superhuman strength equivalent to 20 men. Like all undead, he is immortal, but he can be killed by traditional vampire methods of wooden stakes, iron and/or steel weapons, wild rose, or holy water. The definitive way to kill him is by decapitating him preceded by impalement through the heart. The Count can defy gravity and has superhuman agility; he can climb upside down vertical surfaces in a reptilian manner. He has powerful hypnotic and telepathic abilities and is able to command animals such as bats and rats. Dracula can manipulate the weather, creating mists to mask his presence. He can take the form of bat, wolf, large dog, or fog. He can vanish and reappear somewhere else. He requires nothing but fresh blood, which rejuvenates him. “The blood is the life!” Dracula has not been out of print since it was published in 1897. After the interview, check out After Hours at Jersey Coastal Live.