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Hellhound
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For other uses, see Hellhound (disambiguation).



 Goddess Hel and the hound Garmr by Johannes Gehrts, 1889
A hellhound is a supernatural dog in folklore. A wide variety of ominous or hellish supernatural dogs occur in mythologies around the world, similar to the oft-seen dragon. Features that have been attributed to hellhounds include black fur, glowing red - or sometimes yellow - eyes, super strength or speed, ghostly or phantom characteristics, foul odor, and sometimes even the ability to talk. Certain European legends state that if someone stares into a hellhound's eyes three times or more, that person will surely die. In cultures that associate the afterlife with fire, hellhounds may have fire-based abilities and appearance. They are often assigned to guard the entrances to the world of the dead, such as graveyards and burial grounds, or undertake other duties related to the afterlife or the supernatural, such as hunting lost souls or guarding a supernatural treasure. In European legends, seeing a hellhound or hearing it howl may be an omen or even a cause of death.
Some supernatural dogs, such as the Welsh Cŵn Annwn, were actually believed to be benign. However, encountering them was still considered a sign of imminent death.


Contents  [hide]
1 Examples from folklore
2 Barghest
3 Bearer of Death
4 Black Shuck 4.1 Appearance in Bungay and Blythburgh
5 Dip
6 Cŵn Annwn
7 Moddy Dhoo
8 Gwyllgi
9 Yeth Hound
10 Church Grim 10.1 Church Grim in Fiction
11 Gytrash
12 Fiction 12.1 In anime and manga
12.2 In film
12.3 In games
12.4 In literature
12.5 In television
12.6 In internet phenomena
13 See also
14 References
15 External links

Examples from folklore[edit]
The most famous hellhound is probably Cerberus from Greek mythology. Hellhounds are also famous for appearing in Northern European mythology and folklore as a part of the Wild Hunt. These hounds are given several different names in local folklore, but they display typical hellhound characteristics. The myth is common across Great Britain, and many names are given to the apparitions: Moddey Dhoo of the Isle of Man, Gwyllgi of Wales, and so on (see Black dog (ghost)). The earliest mention of these myths are in both Walter Map's De Nugis Curianium (1190) and the Welsh myth cycle of the Four Branches of the Mabinogi (ca. tenth to thirteenth century)[citation needed].
In southern Mexican and Central American folklore, the Cadejo is a big black dog that haunts travellers who walk late at night on rural roads. The term is also common in American blues music, such as in Robert Johnson's "Hellhound on my Trail"
In Greek mythology the hellhound belonged to Hades, the Greek god of death and the underworld, its name in Greek mythology is Cerberus, it has three heads but is still black with razor sharp teeth and super strength, it is used to guard the gates of hell.
Barghest[edit]
Main article: Barghest
Barghest, Bargtjest, Bo-guest, Bargest or Barguest is the name often given in the north of England, especially in Yorkshire, to a legendary monstrous black dog with huge teeth and claws, though in other cases the name can refer to a ghost or Household elf, especially in Northumberland and Durham (see Cauld Lad of Hylton). One is said to frequent a remote gorge named Troller's Gill. There is also a story of a Barghest entering the city of York occasionally, where, according to legend, it preys on lone travellers in the city's narrow Snickelways. Whitby is also associated with the spectre.[1] A famous Barghest was said to live near Darlington who was said to take the form of a headless man (who would vanish in flames), a headless lady, a white cat, a dog, rabbit and black dog. Another was said to live in an "uncannie-looking" dale between Darlington and Houghton, near Throstlenest.[2]
The derivation of the word barghest is disputed. Ghost in the north of England was once pronounced guest, and the name is thought to be burh-ghest: town-ghost. Others explain it as German Berg-geist (mountain spirit), or Bär-geist (bear-spirit), in allusion to its alleged appearance at times as a bear. Another mooted derivation is 'Bier-Geist', the 'spirit of the funeral bier'.
Bearer of Death[edit]
The Bearer of Death is a term used in describing the Hellhound. Hellhounds have been said to be as black as coal and smell of burning brimstone. They tend to leave behind a burned area wherever they go. Their eyes are a deep, bright, and almost glowing red. They have razor sharp teeth, super strength and speed, and are commonly associated with graveyards and the underworld. Hellhounds are called The Bearers of Death because they were supposedly created by ancient demons to serve as heralds of death. According to legend, seeing one leads to a person's death. Sometimes it is said to be once; other times it requires three sightings for the curse to take effect and kill the victim. These factors make the Hellhound a feared symbol and worthy of the name “Bearer of Death”. The Hellhound has been seen several times throughout history, and it is not specific to any one place. The most recent sightings occurred in Connecticut, Kentucky, Louisiana, Ohio, and Vilseck, Germany, in or near cemeteries.[3]
Black Shuck[edit]
Main article: Black Shuck
Black Shuck or Old Shuck is the name given to a ghostly black dog said to roam the Norfolk, Essex, and Suffolk coastline. Black Shuck is sometimes referred to as the Doom Dog.
For centuries, inhabitants of England have told tales of a large black dog with malevolent flaming eyes (or in some variants of the legend a single eye) that are red or alternatively green. They are described as being 'like saucers'. According to reports, the beast varies in size and stature from that of simply a large dog to being the size of a horse.
There are legends of Black Shuck roaming the Anglian countryside since before Vikings. His name may derive from the Old English word scucca meaning "demon", or possibly from the local dialect word shucky meaning "shaggy" or "hairy". The legend may have been part of the inspiration for the Sherlock Holmes novel The Hound of the Baskervilles.
It is said that his appearance bodes ill to the beholder, although not always. More often than not, stories tell of Black Shuck terrifying his victims, but leaving them alone to continue living normal lives; in some cases it has supposedly happened before close relatives to the observer die or become ill. In other tales he's considered relatively benign, and said to accompany women on their way home in the role of protector rather than a portent of ill omen.[4]
Sometimes Black Shuck has appeared headless, and at other times he appears to float on a carpet of mist. According to folklore, the spectre often haunts graveyards, sideroads, crossroads and dark forests. Black Shuck is also said to haunt the coast road between West Runton and Overstrand.
Appearance in Bungay and Blythburgh[edit]
One of the most notable reports of Black Shuck is of his appearance at the churches of Bungay and Blythburgh in Suffolk. On 4 August 1577, at Blythburgh, Black Shuck is said to have burst in through the church doors. He ran up the nave, past a large congregation, killing a man and boy and causing the church tower to collapse through the roof. As the dog departed, he left scorch marks on the north door that remain to this day. Two men were touched by the beast and fell down dead
The encounter on the same day at Bungay was described in "A Strange and Terrible Wonder" by the Reverend Abraham Fleming in 1577:

This black dog, or the devil in such a linenesse (God hee knoweth al who worketh all,) running all along down the body of the church with great swiftness, and incredible haste, among the people, in a visible forum and shape, passed between two persons, as they were kneeling uppon their knees, and occupied in prayer as it seemed, wrung the necks of them both at one instant clene backward, in so much that even at a moment where they knelled, they strangely died.
Other accounts attribute the event to lightning or the Devil. The scorch marks on the door are referred to by the locals as "the devil’s fingerprints", and the event is remembered in this verse:

All down the church in midst of fire, the hellish monster flew, and, passing onward to the quire, he many people slew.
The appearance in Chignal St James/Chignal Smealy, small villages near Chelmsford, Essex are said to have occurred many years ago. All those said to have seen the red-eyed devil dog are rumored to have met an untimely end within a year, matching the legend that all that see Black Shuck perish within a year of looking into his eyes. These are, of course, all rumors and superstition—however, many websites provide directories of Black Shuck sightings. In recent times, Black Shuck sightings in the Chignal area have been put down to sightings of roaming black dogs that belong to residents, such as The Three Elms pub's large black labradoodle and the Gardening Express nursery terrier cross.
Dip[edit]
In Catalan myth, Dip is an evil, black, hairy dog, an emissary of the Devil, who sucks people's blood. Like other figures associated with demons in Catalan myth, he is lame in one leg. Dip is pictured on the escutcheon of Pratdip.
Cŵn Annwn[edit]
In Welsh mythology and folklore, Cŵn Annwn (/ˌkuːn ˈænʊn/; "hounds of Annwn") were the spectral hounds of Annwn, the otherworld of Welsh myth. They were associated with a form of the Wild Hunt, presided over by Gwynn ap Nudd (rather than Arawn, king of Annwn in the First Branch of the Mabinogi). Christians came to dub these mythical creatures as "The Hounds of Hell" or "Dogs of Hell" and theorised they were therefore owned by Satan.[5][6] However, the Annwn of medieval Welsh tradition is an otherworldly paradise and not a hell or abode of dead souls.
In Wales, they were associated with migrating geese, supposedly because their honking in the night is reminiscent of barking dogs. They are supposed to hunt on specific nights (the eves of St. John, St. Martin, Saint Michael the Archangel, All Saints, Christmas, New Year, Saint Agnes, Saint David, and Good Friday), or just in the autumn and winter. Some say Arawn only hunts from Christmas to Twelfth Night.[citation needed] The Cŵn Annwn also came to be regarded as the escorts of souls on their journey to the Otherworld. The hounds are sometimes accompanied by a fearsome hag called Mallt-y-Nos, "Matilda of the Night". An alternative name in Welsh folklore is Cŵn Mamau ("Hounds of the Mothers").
In other traditions similar spectral hounds are found, e.g., Gabriel Hounds (England), Ratchets (England), Yell Hounds (Isle of Man), related to Herne the Hunter's hounds, which form part of the Wild Hunt.
Hunting grounds for the Cŵn Annwn are said to include the mountain of Cadair Idris, where it is believed "the howling of these huge dogs foretold death to anyone who heard them".[citation needed]
According to Welsh folklore, their growling is loudest when they are at a distance, and as they draw nearer, it grows softer and softer. Their coming is generally seen as a death portent.
Moddy Dhoo[edit]
The Moddy Dhoo, also referred to as Mauthe Dhoog, is known to inhabit only one locale; Peel Castle on the Isle of Man. The most famous interaction occurred between the dog and a guard. The guard, emboldened by alcohol, determined that he would find and deal with this haunter. So off he went alone down the corridors of the castle. Shortly thereafter, his screams were heard. When he was found, he mentioned only the dog. Several days later he died.[7]
Gwyllgi[edit]
The gwyllgi (Welsh pronunciation: [ˈɡwɪɬɡi]; compound noun of either gwyllt "wild" or gwyll "twilight" + ci "dog"[1]) is a mythical dog from Wales that appears as a frightful apparition of a mastiff with baleful breath and blazing red eyes.
It is referred to as "The Dog of Darkness" or "The Black Hound of Destiny",[citation needed] the apparition's favourite haunt being lonely roads at night. It is said to resemble a mastiff.
Yeth Hound[edit]
The yeth hound, also called the yell hound is a Black dog found in Devon folklore. According to Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, the yeth hound is a headless dog, said to be the spirit of an unbaptised child, which rambles through the woods at night making wailing noises. The yeth hound is also mentioned in The Denham Tracts.
Church Grim[edit]
The Church Grim, Kirk Grim, Kyrkogrim (Swedish) or Kirkonväki (Finnish) is a figure from English and Scandinavian folklore. They are said to be the attendant spirits of churches, overseeing the welfare of their particular church. English Church Grims are said to enjoy loudly ringing the bells. They may appear as black dogs or as small, misshapen, dark-skinned people.[8]
The Swedish Kyrkogrim are said to be the spirits of animals sacrificed by early Christians at the building of a new church.[9] In parts of Europe, including Britain and Scandinavia, a completely black dog would be buried alive on the north side of the grounds of a newly built church, creating a guardian spirit, the church grim, to protect the church from the devil.[8]
Church Grim in Fiction[edit]
The Church-grim by Eden Philpotts is a short story published in the September 1914 edition of The Century Magazine, New York.
In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Sybill Trelawney, the divination teacher, associates Harry's tea leaves with the Grim, which she calls "...a black dog who haunts churchyards." The Church Grim inspired the creation of the Grim, which the book depicts as an omen of death.
Gytrash[edit]



 The title character in Charlotte Brontë's 1847 novel Jane Eyre is reminded of a Gytrash when she first sees Mr Rochester's black horse Mesrour and his black and white dog Pilot. Illustration by F. H. Townsend for the second edition of the book.
The Gytrash /ɡaɪˈtræʃ/, a legendary black dog known in northern England, was said to haunt lonely roads awaiting travellers.[10] Appearing in the shape of horses, mules, or dogs, the Gytrash haunt solitary ways and lead people astray. They are usually feared, but they can also be benevolent, guiding lost travelers to the right road.
In some parts of Lincolnshire and Yorkshire the gytrash was known as the 'Shagfoal' and took the form of a spectral mule or donkey with eyes that glowed like burning coals. In this form the beast was believed to be purely malevolent.

As this horse approached, and as I watched for it to appear through the dusk, I remembered certain of Bessie's tales, wherein figured a North-of-England spirit called a "Gytrash," which, in the form of horse, mule, or large dog, haunted solitary ways, and sometimes came upon belated travellers, as this horse was now coming upon me.
It was very near, but not yet in sight; when, in addition to the tramp, tramp, I heard a rush under the hedge, and close down by the hazel stems glided a great dog, whose black and white colour made him a distinct object against the trees. It was exactly one form of Bessie's Gytrash – a lion-like creature with long hair and a huge head [...], with strange pretercanine eyes [...]. The horse followed, – a tall steed [...]. Nothing ever rode the Gytrash: it was always alone [...].
— Excerpt from Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre, chapter xii[11]
The Gytrash's emergence as Rochester's innocuous dog Pilot has been interpreted as a subtle mockery of the mysteriousness and romanticism that surrounds his character and clouds Jane's perception.[12] Brontë's reference in 1847 is probably the earliest reference to the beast and forms the basis for subsequent citations.[13]
Fiction[edit]
Hellhounds are a common monstrous creature in fantasy fiction and horror fiction, though they sometimes appear in other genres such as detective novels, or other uses.
In anime and manga[edit]
In the Berserk manga, the dark side or shadow of Guts's personality is represented as a hellhound or black dog.
Alucard of the manga series Hellsing can transform into a Hellhound.
In the Japanese manga One Piece, the Marine Admiral Akainu can use a magma-based ability called Meigou. Meigou translates to Dark Dog, but the official English translation calls it Hellhound.
In the anime/ manga Kuroshitsuji or "Black Butler" there is a hellhound named Pluto. He can turn into a human, but cannot talk.
In Beyblade: Metal (series), Myreille Psychiokieus has a bey was know Hellhound who was a spirit of bey like Doji or Ryuga.
In film[edit]
A Hellhound named Sammael is one of the main antagonists in the first Hellboy film.
Hellhounds appear in the motion picture The Omen.
Hellhounds appear in the movie Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief as pets of Persephone and Hades, differing from the books' portrayal of them.
A Hellhound named Thorn is the guardian of the vampire Max in The Lost Boys.
In games[edit]
In "Call of Duty: World at War," "Call Of Duty: Black Ops," and "Call of Duty: Black Ops II" in Zombies mode.
In Heroes of Might and Magic III, the hell hound is a recruit-able 3rd-level unit from the Inferno town that can be upgraded into a Cerberus.
Hellhound is also a creature of chaos in the game Master of Magic.
In Neverwinter Nights, the hellhound is available as a familiar for wizards and sorcerers.
In the video game NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams, one of the bosses for Will's dream is called Cerberus and is, as stated by Reala, a hellhound
Houndour and Houndoom, two of the Pokémon creatures, are based on the concept of a hellhound.
In the MMORPG RuneScape, there are many Hellhounds.
In the video game The Witcher the Hellhound is a boss monster.
Hellhounds are creatures that appear in The Elder Scrolls: Arena
Hellhounds are minions of the Burning Legion in Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos
Hellhounds called Skinned Hound appear in The Elder Scrolls IV: Shivering Isles, a DLC for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.
Hellhounds called Death Hound appear in Dawnguard, the first DLC for Skyrim.
In War Commander (Real-Time-Strategy-Game) on Facebook, Hellhounds refers to a rogue faction (computer AI).
In Dungeon Keeper, Hellhounds are a species of creature that can be attracted to your dungeon by means of the Scavenger Room. They are said to be useful guards and good at locating enemies. They are interpreted as having two heads and the ability to breathe fire.
In Dragon's Dogma, Fire-breathing Hellhounds start to appear on land after you defeat the dragon.
In Ultima Online, Hellhounds are a type of hostile creature spawn that appear in a few dungeon areas.
In Don't Starve,Hounds a wolf like enemy are based on Hellhounds
In Age of Mythology Hellhounds come out of Hekate's god power Tartarian, which creates a gate to tartarus, in addition the Greek titan is a three-headed Hellhound resembling Cerberus, the Hellhound that guards the greek underworld. [14]
In literature[edit]
In Rick Riordan's book Percy Jackson, the inventor Daedalus has a pet hellhound called Mrs.O'Leary,who later becomes Percy's pet.
In Piers Anthony's fantasy novel On A Pale Horse, Satan sends hellhounds to attack Zane (Death) and bring him back to hell. The hounds are immortal but are dispatched by Death's magical scythe.
Hellhounds are the pets of Harpies in Anne Bishop's The Black Jewels Series, and hellhounds (called Shadow Hounds) appear in Anne Bishop's Tir Alainn trilogy.
The Witches has barghests being demonic creatures along with the Witches. Barghests, however, are always male and Witches are always female. Barghests are never described, but could be seen as dogs.
Arthur Conan Doyle's The Hound of the Baskervilles
Hellhounds feature in Laurell K. Hamilton's Merry Gentry series.
In Anthony Horowitz's book Raven's Gate, the protagonist, Matt, is pursued through a forest by demonic canines, after being discovered eavesdropping on a witchcraft ritual. The dogs are described as having rotten flesh, and emerge from the witch's bonfire.
Hellhounds (called darkhounds) appear several times in Robert Jordan's fantasy book series The Wheel of Time. Darkhounds are a particularly nasty form of Shadowspawn. They look like very large dogs or wolves. Their saliva is deadly poison – a single drop on the skin can kill. They are extremely difficult to kill and once they sense their prey they never give up. The only thing that stops them is rain or running water. They leave footprints in stone but none in soft ground.
Frank Belknap Long's Cthulhu Mythos-related short story "Hounds of Tindalos".
Hellhounds appear in Roger Zelazny's 1970 new wave fantasy novel Nine Princes in Amber.
Hellhounds appear in Christopher Moore's A Dirty Job.
In Neil Gaiman's and Terry Pratchet's novel Good Omens, Adam (The Antichrist) receives a hellhound companion that he simply names "Dog."
In television[edit]
In the animated television series League of Super Evil, the League has a pet hellhound (usually referred to as a Doom Hound) named Doomageddon who is usually chaotically evil and disobedient, sometimes becoming a cause of, though at times a solution to, their problems.
Hellhounds appear in the television show Supernatural (e.g., in episode 5.10 "Abandon All Hope"). They are used and controlled by demons to drag souls to hell (usually after a deal for the victim's soul has accrued). Only the person being attacked can see or hear the hellhound. They are usually never shown, until the eighth season as dark shadows with red eyes.
In "Haunted Highway" two investigators search for cryptids/spirits that locals call "Hellhounds".
Hellhounds appeared in the twentieth episode of season three of Buffy the Vampire Slyer - "The Prom". They have a more human-like appearance and feed on the brains of their victims.
In internet phenomena[edit]
Creepypasta has the image "Smile.jpg" or Smile Dog, a picture of a demonic-looking husky with human teeth. It's said to incite insanity or death, and while it is unknown whether the picture is associated with the Devil or not, the dog seems to share similar characteristics of the hellhound. It is unknown if the dog is really a hellhound or not.
See also[edit]
Barghest
Black dog (ghost)
Black Shuck
Cadejo
Cerberus
Devil Dog (Teufelhunde)
Fenrir
Garmr
Warg
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ Jeffrey Shaw, Whitby Lore and Legend, (1923)
2.Jump up ^ Henderson, William (1879). "Ch. 7". Notes on the folk-lore of the northern counties of England and the borders (2nd ed.). Folk-Lore Society. p. 275.
3.Jump up ^ Hellhound. animal.discovery.com
4.Jump up ^ The Tollesbury Midwife
5.Jump up ^ Pugh, Jane (1990). Welsh Ghostly Encounters. Gwasg Carreg Gwalch. ISBN 0-86381-791-2.
6.Jump up ^ Celtic Mythology. Geddes and Grosset. 1999. ISBN 1-85534-299-5.
7.Jump up ^ Rose, Carol. Giants, Monsters & Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth. New York: Norton, 2000. Print
8.^ Jump up to: a b Arrowsmith, Nancy A Field Guide to the Little People, London:Pan 1978 ISBN 0-330-25425-1
9.Jump up ^ Scandinavian Folk Belief and Legend, Reimund Kvideland, Henning K. Sehmsdorf, p247, 1991, ISBN 0-8166-1967-0 accessed 2008-10-20
10.Jump up ^ Brewer, E. Cobham (1894) [First Published in 1870]. Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable.
11.Jump up ^ Brontë, Charlotte (1847) [First Published in 1847]. "Chapter XII". Jane Eyre. London, England: Smith, Elder & Co. Retrieved 15 November 2008.
12.Jump up ^ Dr. Sally Minogue (1999). "Introduction". Jane Eyre. p. xv. ISBN 978-1-85326-020-9.
13.Jump up ^ Wood, Dr. Juliette. Gytrash (PDF). p. 2. Retrieved 13 January 2009.
14.Jump up ^ http://aom.heavengames.com/gameinfo/atlanteans/powers/godpowers/
External links[edit]
Hellhounds, Werewolves, Trolls and the Germanic Underworld
 


Categories: European legendary creatures
Mythological dogs
Greek legendary creatures
Greek mythology








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Our Privacy Policy is changing on 6 June 2014.
 To learn more, click here.
Close
Hellhound
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search

For other uses, see Hellhound (disambiguation).



 Goddess Hel and the hound Garmr by Johannes Gehrts, 1889
A hellhound is a supernatural dog in folklore. A wide variety of ominous or hellish supernatural dogs occur in mythologies around the world, similar to the oft-seen dragon. Features that have been attributed to hellhounds include black fur, glowing red - or sometimes yellow - eyes, super strength or speed, ghostly or phantom characteristics, foul odor, and sometimes even the ability to talk. Certain European legends state that if someone stares into a hellhound's eyes three times or more, that person will surely die. In cultures that associate the afterlife with fire, hellhounds may have fire-based abilities and appearance. They are often assigned to guard the entrances to the world of the dead, such as graveyards and burial grounds, or undertake other duties related to the afterlife or the supernatural, such as hunting lost souls or guarding a supernatural treasure. In European legends, seeing a hellhound or hearing it howl may be an omen or even a cause of death.
Some supernatural dogs, such as the Welsh Cŵn Annwn, were actually believed to be benign. However, encountering them was still considered a sign of imminent death.


Contents  [hide]
1 Examples from folklore
2 Barghest
3 Bearer of Death
4 Black Shuck 4.1 Appearance in Bungay and Blythburgh
5 Dip
6 Cŵn Annwn
7 Moddy Dhoo
8 Gwyllgi
9 Yeth Hound
10 Church Grim 10.1 Church Grim in Fiction
11 Gytrash
12 Fiction 12.1 In anime and manga
12.2 In film
12.3 In games
12.4 In literature
12.5 In television
12.6 In internet phenomena
13 See also
14 References
15 External links

Examples from folklore[edit]
The most famous hellhound is probably Cerberus from Greek mythology. Hellhounds are also famous for appearing in Northern European mythology and folklore as a part of the Wild Hunt. These hounds are given several different names in local folklore, but they display typical hellhound characteristics. The myth is common across Great Britain, and many names are given to the apparitions: Moddey Dhoo of the Isle of Man, Gwyllgi of Wales, and so on (see Black dog (ghost)). The earliest mention of these myths are in both Walter Map's De Nugis Curianium (1190) and the Welsh myth cycle of the Four Branches of the Mabinogi (ca. tenth to thirteenth century)[citation needed].
In southern Mexican and Central American folklore, the Cadejo is a big black dog that haunts travellers who walk late at night on rural roads. The term is also common in American blues music, such as in Robert Johnson's "Hellhound on my Trail"
In Greek mythology the hellhound belonged to Hades, the Greek god of death and the underworld, its name in Greek mythology is Cerberus, it has three heads but is still black with razor sharp teeth and super strength, it is used to guard the gates of hell.
Barghest[edit]
Main article: Barghest
Barghest, Bargtjest, Bo-guest, Bargest or Barguest is the name often given in the north of England, especially in Yorkshire, to a legendary monstrous black dog with huge teeth and claws, though in other cases the name can refer to a ghost or Household elf, especially in Northumberland and Durham (see Cauld Lad of Hylton). One is said to frequent a remote gorge named Troller's Gill. There is also a story of a Barghest entering the city of York occasionally, where, according to legend, it preys on lone travellers in the city's narrow Snickelways. Whitby is also associated with the spectre.[1] A famous Barghest was said to live near Darlington who was said to take the form of a headless man (who would vanish in flames), a headless lady, a white cat, a dog, rabbit and black dog. Another was said to live in an "uncannie-looking" dale between Darlington and Houghton, near Throstlenest.[2]
The derivation of the word barghest is disputed. Ghost in the north of England was once pronounced guest, and the name is thought to be burh-ghest: town-ghost. Others explain it as German Berg-geist (mountain spirit), or Bär-geist (bear-spirit), in allusion to its alleged appearance at times as a bear. Another mooted derivation is 'Bier-Geist', the 'spirit of the funeral bier'.
Bearer of Death[edit]
The Bearer of Death is a term used in describing the Hellhound. Hellhounds have been said to be as black as coal and smell of burning brimstone. They tend to leave behind a burned area wherever they go. Their eyes are a deep, bright, and almost glowing red. They have razor sharp teeth, super strength and speed, and are commonly associated with graveyards and the underworld. Hellhounds are called The Bearers of Death because they were supposedly created by ancient demons to serve as heralds of death. According to legend, seeing one leads to a person's death. Sometimes it is said to be once; other times it requires three sightings for the curse to take effect and kill the victim. These factors make the Hellhound a feared symbol and worthy of the name “Bearer of Death”. The Hellhound has been seen several times throughout history, and it is not specific to any one place. The most recent sightings occurred in Connecticut, Kentucky, Louisiana, Ohio, and Vilseck, Germany, in or near cemeteries.[3]
Black Shuck[edit]
Main article: Black Shuck
Black Shuck or Old Shuck is the name given to a ghostly black dog said to roam the Norfolk, Essex, and Suffolk coastline. Black Shuck is sometimes referred to as the Doom Dog.
For centuries, inhabitants of England have told tales of a large black dog with malevolent flaming eyes (or in some variants of the legend a single eye) that are red or alternatively green. They are described as being 'like saucers'. According to reports, the beast varies in size and stature from that of simply a large dog to being the size of a horse.
There are legends of Black Shuck roaming the Anglian countryside since before Vikings. His name may derive from the Old English word scucca meaning "demon", or possibly from the local dialect word shucky meaning "shaggy" or "hairy". The legend may have been part of the inspiration for the Sherlock Holmes novel The Hound of the Baskervilles.
It is said that his appearance bodes ill to the beholder, although not always. More often than not, stories tell of Black Shuck terrifying his victims, but leaving them alone to continue living normal lives; in some cases it has supposedly happened before close relatives to the observer die or become ill. In other tales he's considered relatively benign, and said to accompany women on their way home in the role of protector rather than a portent of ill omen.[4]
Sometimes Black Shuck has appeared headless, and at other times he appears to float on a carpet of mist. According to folklore, the spectre often haunts graveyards, sideroads, crossroads and dark forests. Black Shuck is also said to haunt the coast road between West Runton and Overstrand.
Appearance in Bungay and Blythburgh[edit]
One of the most notable reports of Black Shuck is of his appearance at the churches of Bungay and Blythburgh in Suffolk. On 4 August 1577, at Blythburgh, Black Shuck is said to have burst in through the church doors. He ran up the nave, past a large congregation, killing a man and boy and causing the church tower to collapse through the roof. As the dog departed, he left scorch marks on the north door that remain to this day. Two men were touched by the beast and fell down dead
The encounter on the same day at Bungay was described in "A Strange and Terrible Wonder" by the Reverend Abraham Fleming in 1577:

This black dog, or the devil in such a linenesse (God hee knoweth al who worketh all,) running all along down the body of the church with great swiftness, and incredible haste, among the people, in a visible forum and shape, passed between two persons, as they were kneeling uppon their knees, and occupied in prayer as it seemed, wrung the necks of them both at one instant clene backward, in so much that even at a moment where they knelled, they strangely died.
Other accounts attribute the event to lightning or the Devil. The scorch marks on the door are referred to by the locals as "the devil’s fingerprints", and the event is remembered in this verse:

All down the church in midst of fire, the hellish monster flew, and, passing onward to the quire, he many people slew.
The appearance in Chignal St James/Chignal Smealy, small villages near Chelmsford, Essex are said to have occurred many years ago. All those said to have seen the red-eyed devil dog are rumored to have met an untimely end within a year, matching the legend that all that see Black Shuck perish within a year of looking into his eyes. These are, of course, all rumors and superstition—however, many websites provide directories of Black Shuck sightings. In recent times, Black Shuck sightings in the Chignal area have been put down to sightings of roaming black dogs that belong to residents, such as The Three Elms pub's large black labradoodle and the Gardening Express nursery terrier cross.
Dip[edit]
In Catalan myth, Dip is an evil, black, hairy dog, an emissary of the Devil, who sucks people's blood. Like other figures associated with demons in Catalan myth, he is lame in one leg. Dip is pictured on the escutcheon of Pratdip.
Cŵn Annwn[edit]
In Welsh mythology and folklore, Cŵn Annwn (/ˌkuːn ˈænʊn/; "hounds of Annwn") were the spectral hounds of Annwn, the otherworld of Welsh myth. They were associated with a form of the Wild Hunt, presided over by Gwynn ap Nudd (rather than Arawn, king of Annwn in the First Branch of the Mabinogi). Christians came to dub these mythical creatures as "The Hounds of Hell" or "Dogs of Hell" and theorised they were therefore owned by Satan.[5][6] However, the Annwn of medieval Welsh tradition is an otherworldly paradise and not a hell or abode of dead souls.
In Wales, they were associated with migrating geese, supposedly because their honking in the night is reminiscent of barking dogs. They are supposed to hunt on specific nights (the eves of St. John, St. Martin, Saint Michael the Archangel, All Saints, Christmas, New Year, Saint Agnes, Saint David, and Good Friday), or just in the autumn and winter. Some say Arawn only hunts from Christmas to Twelfth Night.[citation needed] The Cŵn Annwn also came to be regarded as the escorts of souls on their journey to the Otherworld. The hounds are sometimes accompanied by a fearsome hag called Mallt-y-Nos, "Matilda of the Night". An alternative name in Welsh folklore is Cŵn Mamau ("Hounds of the Mothers").
In other traditions similar spectral hounds are found, e.g., Gabriel Hounds (England), Ratchets (England), Yell Hounds (Isle of Man), related to Herne the Hunter's hounds, which form part of the Wild Hunt.
Hunting grounds for the Cŵn Annwn are said to include the mountain of Cadair Idris, where it is believed "the howling of these huge dogs foretold death to anyone who heard them".[citation needed]
According to Welsh folklore, their growling is loudest when they are at a distance, and as they draw nearer, it grows softer and softer. Their coming is generally seen as a death portent.
Moddy Dhoo[edit]
The Moddy Dhoo, also referred to as Mauthe Dhoog, is known to inhabit only one locale; Peel Castle on the Isle of Man. The most famous interaction occurred between the dog and a guard. The guard, emboldened by alcohol, determined that he would find and deal with this haunter. So off he went alone down the corridors of the castle. Shortly thereafter, his screams were heard. When he was found, he mentioned only the dog. Several days later he died.[7]
Gwyllgi[edit]
The gwyllgi (Welsh pronunciation: [ˈɡwɪɬɡi]; compound noun of either gwyllt "wild" or gwyll "twilight" + ci "dog"[1]) is a mythical dog from Wales that appears as a frightful apparition of a mastiff with baleful breath and blazing red eyes.
It is referred to as "The Dog of Darkness" or "The Black Hound of Destiny",[citation needed] the apparition's favourite haunt being lonely roads at night. It is said to resemble a mastiff.
Yeth Hound[edit]
The yeth hound, also called the yell hound is a Black dog found in Devon folklore. According to Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, the yeth hound is a headless dog, said to be the spirit of an unbaptised child, which rambles through the woods at night making wailing noises. The yeth hound is also mentioned in The Denham Tracts.
Church Grim[edit]
The Church Grim, Kirk Grim, Kyrkogrim (Swedish) or Kirkonväki (Finnish) is a figure from English and Scandinavian folklore. They are said to be the attendant spirits of churches, overseeing the welfare of their particular church. English Church Grims are said to enjoy loudly ringing the bells. They may appear as black dogs or as small, misshapen, dark-skinned people.[8]
The Swedish Kyrkogrim are said to be the spirits of animals sacrificed by early Christians at the building of a new church.[9] In parts of Europe, including Britain and Scandinavia, a completely black dog would be buried alive on the north side of the grounds of a newly built church, creating a guardian spirit, the church grim, to protect the church from the devil.[8]
Church Grim in Fiction[edit]
The Church-grim by Eden Philpotts is a short story published in the September 1914 edition of The Century Magazine, New York.
In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Sybill Trelawney, the divination teacher, associates Harry's tea leaves with the Grim, which she calls "...a black dog who haunts churchyards." The Church Grim inspired the creation of the Grim, which the book depicts as an omen of death.
Gytrash[edit]



 The title character in Charlotte Brontë's 1847 novel Jane Eyre is reminded of a Gytrash when she first sees Mr Rochester's black horse Mesrour and his black and white dog Pilot. Illustration by F. H. Townsend for the second edition of the book.
The Gytrash /ɡaɪˈtræʃ/, a legendary black dog known in northern England, was said to haunt lonely roads awaiting travellers.[10] Appearing in the shape of horses, mules, or dogs, the Gytrash haunt solitary ways and lead people astray. They are usually feared, but they can also be benevolent, guiding lost travelers to the right road.
In some parts of Lincolnshire and Yorkshire the gytrash was known as the 'Shagfoal' and took the form of a spectral mule or donkey with eyes that glowed like burning coals. In this form the beast was believed to be purely malevolent.

As this horse approached, and as I watched for it to appear through the dusk, I remembered certain of Bessie's tales, wherein figured a North-of-England spirit called a "Gytrash," which, in the form of horse, mule, or large dog, haunted solitary ways, and sometimes came upon belated travellers, as this horse was now coming upon me.
It was very near, but not yet in sight; when, in addition to the tramp, tramp, I heard a rush under the hedge, and close down by the hazel stems glided a great dog, whose black and white colour made him a distinct object against the trees. It was exactly one form of Bessie's Gytrash – a lion-like creature with long hair and a huge head [...], with strange pretercanine eyes [...]. The horse followed, – a tall steed [...]. Nothing ever rode the Gytrash: it was always alone [...].
— Excerpt from Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre, chapter xii[11]
The Gytrash's emergence as Rochester's innocuous dog Pilot has been interpreted as a subtle mockery of the mysteriousness and romanticism that surrounds his character and clouds Jane's perception.[12] Brontë's reference in 1847 is probably the earliest reference to the beast and forms the basis for subsequent citations.[13]
Fiction[edit]
Hellhounds are a common monstrous creature in fantasy fiction and horror fiction, though they sometimes appear in other genres such as detective novels, or other uses.
In anime and manga[edit]
In the Berserk manga, the dark side or shadow of Guts's personality is represented as a hellhound or black dog.
Alucard of the manga series Hellsing can transform into a Hellhound.
In the Japanese manga One Piece, the Marine Admiral Akainu can use a magma-based ability called Meigou. Meigou translates to Dark Dog, but the official English translation calls it Hellhound.
In the anime/ manga Kuroshitsuji or "Black Butler" there is a hellhound named Pluto. He can turn into a human, but cannot talk.
In Beyblade: Metal (series), Myreille Psychiokieus has a bey was know Hellhound who was a spirit of bey like Doji or Ryuga.
In film[edit]
A Hellhound named Sammael is one of the main antagonists in the first Hellboy film.
Hellhounds appear in the motion picture The Omen.
Hellhounds appear in the movie Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief as pets of Persephone and Hades, differing from the books' portrayal of them.
A Hellhound named Thorn is the guardian of the vampire Max in The Lost Boys.
In games[edit]
In "Call of Duty: World at War," "Call Of Duty: Black Ops," and "Call of Duty: Black Ops II" in Zombies mode.
In Heroes of Might and Magic III, the hell hound is a recruit-able 3rd-level unit from the Inferno town that can be upgraded into a Cerberus.
Hellhound is also a creature of chaos in the game Master of Magic.
In Neverwinter Nights, the hellhound is available as a familiar for wizards and sorcerers.
In the video game NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams, one of the bosses for Will's dream is called Cerberus and is, as stated by Reala, a hellhound
Houndour and Houndoom, two of the Pokémon creatures, are based on the concept of a hellhound.
In the MMORPG RuneScape, there are many Hellhounds.
In the video game The Witcher the Hellhound is a boss monster.
Hellhounds are creatures that appear in The Elder Scrolls: Arena
Hellhounds are minions of the Burning Legion in Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos
Hellhounds called Skinned Hound appear in The Elder Scrolls IV: Shivering Isles, a DLC for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.
Hellhounds called Death Hound appear in Dawnguard, the first DLC for Skyrim.
In War Commander (Real-Time-Strategy-Game) on Facebook, Hellhounds refers to a rogue faction (computer AI).
In Dungeon Keeper, Hellhounds are a species of creature that can be attracted to your dungeon by means of the Scavenger Room. They are said to be useful guards and good at locating enemies. They are interpreted as having two heads and the ability to breathe fire.
In Dragon's Dogma, Fire-breathing Hellhounds start to appear on land after you defeat the dragon.
In Ultima Online, Hellhounds are a type of hostile creature spawn that appear in a few dungeon areas.
In Don't Starve,Hounds a wolf like enemy are based on Hellhounds
In Age of Mythology Hellhounds come out of Hekate's god power Tartarian, which creates a gate to tartarus, in addition the Greek titan is a three-headed Hellhound resembling Cerberus, the Hellhound that guards the greek underworld. [14]
In literature[edit]
In Rick Riordan's book Percy Jackson, the inventor Daedalus has a pet hellhound called Mrs.O'Leary,who later becomes Percy's pet.
In Piers Anthony's fantasy novel On A Pale Horse, Satan sends hellhounds to attack Zane (Death) and bring him back to hell. The hounds are immortal but are dispatched by Death's magical scythe.
Hellhounds are the pets of Harpies in Anne Bishop's The Black Jewels Series, and hellhounds (called Shadow Hounds) appear in Anne Bishop's Tir Alainn trilogy.
The Witches has barghests being demonic creatures along with the Witches. Barghests, however, are always male and Witches are always female. Barghests are never described, but could be seen as dogs.
Arthur Conan Doyle's The Hound of the Baskervilles
Hellhounds feature in Laurell K. Hamilton's Merry Gentry series.
In Anthony Horowitz's book Raven's Gate, the protagonist, Matt, is pursued through a forest by demonic canines, after being discovered eavesdropping on a witchcraft ritual. The dogs are described as having rotten flesh, and emerge from the witch's bonfire.
Hellhounds (called darkhounds) appear several times in Robert Jordan's fantasy book series The Wheel of Time. Darkhounds are a particularly nasty form of Shadowspawn. They look like very large dogs or wolves. Their saliva is deadly poison – a single drop on the skin can kill. They are extremely difficult to kill and once they sense their prey they never give up. The only thing that stops them is rain or running water. They leave footprints in stone but none in soft ground.
Frank Belknap Long's Cthulhu Mythos-related short story "Hounds of Tindalos".
Hellhounds appear in Roger Zelazny's 1970 new wave fantasy novel Nine Princes in Amber.
Hellhounds appear in Christopher Moore's A Dirty Job.
In Neil Gaiman's and Terry Pratchet's novel Good Omens, Adam (The Antichrist) receives a hellhound companion that he simply names "Dog."
In television[edit]
In the animated television series League of Super Evil, the League has a pet hellhound (usually referred to as a Doom Hound) named Doomageddon who is usually chaotically evil and disobedient, sometimes becoming a cause of, though at times a solution to, their problems.
Hellhounds appear in the television show Supernatural (e.g., in episode 5.10 "Abandon All Hope"). They are used and controlled by demons to drag souls to hell (usually after a deal for the victim's soul has accrued). Only the person being attacked can see or hear the hellhound. They are usually never shown, until the eighth season as dark shadows with red eyes.
In "Haunted Highway" two investigators search for cryptids/spirits that locals call "Hellhounds".
Hellhounds appeared in the twentieth episode of season three of Buffy the Vampire Slyer - "The Prom". They have a more human-like appearance and feed on the brains of their victims.
In internet phenomena[edit]
Creepypasta has the image "Smile.jpg" or Smile Dog, a picture of a demonic-looking husky with human teeth. It's said to incite insanity or death, and while it is unknown whether the picture is associated with the Devil or not, the dog seems to share similar characteristics of the hellhound. It is unknown if the dog is really a hellhound or not.
See also[edit]
Barghest
Black dog (ghost)
Black Shuck
Cadejo
Cerberus
Devil Dog (Teufelhunde)
Fenrir
Garmr
Warg
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ Jeffrey Shaw, Whitby Lore and Legend, (1923)
2.Jump up ^ Henderson, William (1879). "Ch. 7". Notes on the folk-lore of the northern counties of England and the borders (2nd ed.). Folk-Lore Society. p. 275.
3.Jump up ^ Hellhound. animal.discovery.com
4.Jump up ^ The Tollesbury Midwife
5.Jump up ^ Pugh, Jane (1990). Welsh Ghostly Encounters. Gwasg Carreg Gwalch. ISBN 0-86381-791-2.
6.Jump up ^ Celtic Mythology. Geddes and Grosset. 1999. ISBN 1-85534-299-5.
7.Jump up ^ Rose, Carol. Giants, Monsters & Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth. New York: Norton, 2000. Print
8.^ Jump up to: a b Arrowsmith, Nancy A Field Guide to the Little People, London:Pan 1978 ISBN 0-330-25425-1
9.Jump up ^ Scandinavian Folk Belief and Legend, Reimund Kvideland, Henning K. Sehmsdorf, p247, 1991, ISBN 0-8166-1967-0 accessed 2008-10-20
10.Jump up ^ Brewer, E. Cobham (1894) [First Published in 1870]. Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable.
11.Jump up ^ Brontë, Charlotte (1847) [First Published in 1847]. "Chapter XII". Jane Eyre. London, England: Smith, Elder & Co. Retrieved 15 November 2008.
12.Jump up ^ Dr. Sally Minogue (1999). "Introduction". Jane Eyre. p. xv. ISBN 978-1-85326-020-9.
13.Jump up ^ Wood, Dr. Juliette. Gytrash (PDF). p. 2. Retrieved 13 January 2009.
14.Jump up ^ http://aom.heavengames.com/gameinfo/atlanteans/powers/godpowers/
External links[edit]
Hellhounds, Werewolves, Trolls and the Germanic Underworld
 


Categories: European legendary creatures
Mythological dogs
Greek legendary creatures
Greek mythology








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Count Dracula
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Count Dracula
Dracula character
Bela lugosi dracula.jpg
Count Dracula as portrayed by Béla Lugosi in 1931's Dracula
Created by
Bram Stoker
Portrayed by
Bela Lugosi (Dracula, 1931)
Lon Chaney, Jr. ("Son of Dracula")
Christopher Lee (Dracula, 1958)
Louis Jourdan (Count Dracula, 1977)
Frank Langella (Dracula, 1979)
Duncan Regehr (The Monster Squad)
George Hamilton (actor) (Love at First Bite, 1979)
Gary Oldman (Dracula, 1992)
Leslie Nielsen (Dracula, 1995)
Gerard Butler (Dracula, 2000)
Richard Roxburgh (Van Helsing)
Langley Kirkwood (Dracula 3000)
Thomas Kretschmann (Dracula 3D)
Jonathan Rhys Meyers (Dracula TV series)
Dominic Purcell (Blade:Trinity)
Adam Sandler (Hotel Transylvania, 2012)
Luke Evans (Dracula Untold)
Information

Species
Vampire
Gender
Male
Spouse(s)
Brides of Dracula
Nationality
Székely
Count Dracula is the title character and primary antagonist of Bram Stoker's 1897 Gothic horror novel Dracula. He is considered thus to be both the prototypical and the archetypical vampire in subsequent works of fiction. Some aspects of the character are believed to have been inspired by the 15th-century Romanian general and Wallachian Prince Vlad III the Impaler, who was also known as Dracula. Other character aspects have been added or altered in subsequent popular media fictional works. The character has subsequently appeared frequently in popular culture, from films to animated media to breakfast cereals.


Contents  [hide]
1 Stoker's creation 1.1 Characteristics
1.2 Powers and weaknesses
2 Character development subsequent to the novel
3 Modern and postmodern analyses of the character
4 See also
5 Notes
6 References
7 External links

Stoker's creation[edit]
Bram Stoker's novel takes the form of an epistolary tale, in which Count Dracula's characteristics, powers, abilities and weaknesses are narrated by multiple narrators, from different perspectives.[1] The most informative of these narrators are Jonathan Harker, John Seward, and Mina Harker.
Count Dracula is a centuries-old vampire, sorcerer, and Transylvanian nobleman, who claims to be a Székely descended from Attila the Hun. He inhabits a decaying castle in the Carpathian Mountains near the Borgo Pass. Unlike the vampires of Eastern European folklore, which are portrayed as repulsive, corpse-like creatures, Dracula exudes a veneer of aristocratic charm. In his conversations with Jonathan Harker, he reveals himself as deeply proud of his boyar heritage and nostalgic for the past times, which he admits have become only a memory of heroism, honor and valor in modern times.
Details of his early life are obscure, but it seems that Dracula studied the black arts at the academy of Scholomance in the Carpathian Mountains, overlooking the town of Sibiu (also known as Hermannstadt) and became proficient in alchemy and magic.[2] Taking up arms, as befitting his rank and status as a voivode, he led troops against the Turks across the Danube. According to Van Helsing: "He must indeed have been that Voivode Dracula who won his name against the Turk, over the great river on the very frontier of Turkey-land. If it be so, then was he no common man: for in that time, and for centuries after, he was spoken of as the cleverest and the most cunning, as well as the bravest of the sons of the land beyond the forest."[3] Dead and buried in a great tomb in the chapel of his castle, Dracula returns from death as a vampire and lives for several centuries in his castle with three beautiful female vampires beside him.[4] They seem to bear a possible family resemblance [5] though whether they be his lovers, sisters, daughters, or vampires made by him is not made clear in the narrative.



Max Schreck as Count Orlok, the first confirmed cinematic representation of Dracula.
As the novel begins in the late 19th century, Dracula acts on a long contemplated plan for world domination, and infiltrates London to begin his reign of terror. He summons Jonathan Harker, a newly qualified English solicitor, to provide legal support for a real estate transaction overseen by Harker's employer. Dracula at first charms Harker with his cordiality and historical knowledge, and even rescues him from the clutches of the three female vampires in the castle. In truth, however, Dracula wishes to keep Harker alive long enough to complete the legal transaction and to learn as much as possible about England.
Dracula leaves his castle and boards a Russian ship, the Demeter, taking along with him boxes of Transylvanian soil, which he needs in order to regain his strength. During the voyage to Whitby, a coastal town in northern England, he sustains himself on the ship's crew members. Only one body is later found, that of the captain, who is found tied up to the ship's helm. The captain's log is recovered and tells of strange events that had taken place during the ship's journey. Dracula leaves the ship in the form of a dog.
Soon the Count is menacing Harker's fiancée, Wilhelmina "Mina" Murray, and her friend, Lucy Westenra. There is also a notable link between Dracula and Renfield, a patient in an insane asylum compelled to consume insects, spiders, birds, and other creatures—in ascending order of size—in order to absorb their "life force". Renfield acts as a kind of sensor, reacting to Dracula's proximity and supplying clues accordingly. Dracula begins to visit Lucy's bed chamber on a nightly basis, draining her of blood while simultaneously infecting her with the curse of vampirism. Not knowing the cause for Lucy's deterioration, her three suitors call upon John Seward's mentor, the Dutch doctor Abraham Van Helsing. Van Helsing soon deduces her condition's supernatural origins, but does not speak out. Despite an attempt at keeping the vampire at bay with garlic, Dracula attacks Lucy's house one final time, leaving her mother dead and transforming Lucy herself into one of the undead.
After Lucy attacks several children, Van Helsing and Lucy's former suitors John Seward, Arthur Holmwood and Quincey Morris enter her crypt and kill her to save her soul. Later, Harker joins them and they enter Dracula's residences at Carfax and Piccadilly, destroying his boxes of earth, depriving the Count of his ability to rest. Dracula leaves England to return to his homeland, but not before biting Mina.
The final section of the novel details the heroes racing Dracula back to Transylvania, and in a climactic battle with Dracula's gypsy bodyguards, finally destroying him. Despite the popular image of Dracula having a stake driven through his heart to kill him, Mina's narrative describes his throat being cut through by Jonathan Harker's kukri and his heart pierced by Morris' Bowie knife (Mina Harker's Journal, 6 November, Dracula Chapter 27). His body then turns into dust, but not before Mina Harker sees an expression of peace on Dracula's face.
Characteristics[edit]
Although early in the novel Dracula dons a mask of cordiality, he often flies into fits of rage when his plans are interfered with. When the three vampire women who live in his castle attempt to seduce Jonathan Harker, Dracula physically assaults one and ferociously berates them for their insubordination. He then relents and talks to them more kindly, telling them that he does indeed love each of them.
Dracula is very passionate about his warrior heritage, emotionally proclaiming his pride to Harker on how the Székely people are infused with the blood of heroes. He does express an interest in the history of the British Empire, speaking admiringly of its people. He has a somewhat primal and predatory worldview; he pities ordinary humans for their revulsion to their darker impulses.
Though usually portrayed as having a strong Eastern European accent, the original novel only specifies that his spoken English is excellent, though strangely toned.
His appearance varies in age. He is described early in the novel as thin, with a long white mustache, pointed ears and sharp teeth. It is also noted later in the novel (Chapter 11 subsection "The Escaped Wolf") by a zookeeper that sees him that he has a hooked nose and a pointed beard with a streak of white in it. He is dressed all in black and has hair on his palms. Jonathan Harker described him as an old man; "cruel looking" and giving an effect of "extraordinary pallor".[6] When angered the Count showed his true bestial nature, his blue eyes flaming red.

I saw... Count Dracula... with red light of triumph in his eyes, and with a smile that Judas in hell might be proud of.
— Jonathan Harker's Journal, Dracula, Chapter 4
As the novel progresses, Dracula is described as taking on a more and more youthful appearance.
Powers and weaknesses[edit]
Count Dracula is portrayed in the novel using many different supernatural abilities. He has superhuman strength which, according to Van Helsing, is equivalent to that of 20 strong men. Being undead, he is immune to conventional means of attack. Like all undead, he is immortal, though he can be killed by the traditional vampire methods (wooden stakes, iron and/or steel weapons, wild rose, holy water, etc.)[citation needed] The only definite way to kill him is by decapitating him preceded by impalement through the heart. The Count does not have to seek victims regularly, and has the ability to remain inactive for centuries. The Count can defy gravity to a certain extent and possesses superhuman agility; being able to climb upside down vertical surfaces in a reptilian manner. He has powerful hypnotic and telepathic abilities, and is also able to command nocturnal animals such as bats and rats. Dracula can also manipulate the weather, usually creating mists to hide his presence, but also storms such as in his voyage in the Demeter. He can travel onto "unhallowed" ground such as the graves of suicides and those of his victims. He can shapeshift at will, his featured forms in the novel being that of a bat, a wolf, a large dog and fog. He is able to pass through tiny cracks or crevices while retaining his human form, described by Van Helsing as the ability to become "so small". He also has the ability to vanish and reappear somewhere else. He requires no other sustenance but fresh blood, which has the effect of rejuvenating him.[7]
According to Van Helsing:

The Nosferatu do not die like the bees when they sting once. He is only stronger, and being stronger, have yet more power to work evil.
—Mina Harker's journal, Dracula, Chapter 18
One of Dracula's most mysterious powers is the ability to transfer his vampiric condition by biting others, who become the vampires after death. According to Van Helsing:

They cannot die, but must go on age after age adding new victims and multiplying the evils of the world. For all that die from the preying of the Un-dead become themselves Un-dead, and prey on their kind. And so the circle goes on ever widening, like as the ripples from a stone thrown in the water. Friend Arthur, if you had met that kiss which you know of before poor Lucy die, or again, last night when you open your arms to her, you would in time, when you had died, have become nosferatu, as they call it in Eastern europe, and would for all time make more of those Un-Deads that so have filled us with horror.
He slowly transforms Lucy into a vampire and, following her destruction, sets his sights on Mina. To punish Mina he forces her to drink his blood; this act gives him telepathic link to her thoughts, however this link is used against him, as Mina is able to predict his movements.

The sun that rose on our sorrow this morning guards us in its course. Until it sets to-night, that monster must retain whatever form he now has. He is confined within the limitations of his earthly envelope. He cannot melt into thin air nor disappear through cracks or chinks or crannies. If he go through a doorway, he must open the door like a mortal.
—Johnathan Harker's journal, Dracula, Chapter 22
Dracula's powers are not unlimited, however. He is much less powerful in daylight and is only able to shift his form at dawn, noon, and dusk (he can shift freely at night). The sun is not fatal to him, though, as sunlight does not burn and destroy him upon contact.
He is repulsed by garlic, crucifixes, and sacramental bread, and he can only cross running water at low or high tide. He is also unable to enter a place unless invited to do so; once invited, however, he can approach and leave the premises at will.
While universally feared by the local people of Transylvania and even beyond, he somehow commands the loyalty of gypsies and a band of Slovaks who transport his boxes on their way to London and to serve as an armed convoy bringing his coffin back to the Castle. The Slovaks and gypsies appear to know his true nature, for they laugh at Jonathan Harker, who tries to communicate his plight, and betray Harker's attempt to send a letter through them by giving it to the Count.
Count Dracula is depicted as the "King Vampire", and can control other vampires who were his own victims but also, as per the story "Dracula's Guest", those in farther away lands such as Styria who may or may not have been Dracula's victims. His death can release the curse on any living victim of eventual transformation into vampire. But Van Helsing reveals that were he to successfully escape, his continued existence would ensure that even if he did not victimize Mina Harker further, she would transform into a vampire upon her eventual natural death.
He also requires Transylvanian soil to be nearby to him in order to successfully rest; otherwise, he will not be able to recover his strength. Dracula's powers and weaknesses vary greatly in the many adaptations. Previous and subsequent vampires from different legends have had similar vampire characteristics.
Character development subsequent to the novel[edit]
Main article: Dracula in popular culture



 Statue of Béla Lugosi as Count Dracula, at the Hollywood Wax Museum
Dracula is arguably one of the most famous characters in popular culture. He has been portrayed by more actors in more visual media adaptations of the novel than any other horror character.[8] Actors who have played him include Max Schreck, Béla Lugosi, John Carradine, Christopher Lee, Francis Lederer, Denholm Elliott, Jack Palance, Louis Jourdan, Frank Langella, Klaus Kinski, Gary Oldman, Leslie Nielsen, George Hamilton, Keith-Lee Castle, Gerard Butler, Richard Roxburgh, Marc Warren, Rutger Hauer, Stephen Billington, Thomas Kretschmann and Dominic Purcell. Lon Chaney Jr. played either Dracula or his progeny in the Universal film, "Son of Dracula." Of all the foregoing, it is generally conceded that actor Bela Lugosi's stage and 1931 movie portrayal of Dracula has, in appearance, speech, public personality, mannerisms and dress, overshadowed Stoker's original conception of these character aspects.
The character is closely associated with the western cultural archetype of the vampire, and remains a popular Halloween costume.
Count Dracula appears in Mad Monster Party? voiced by Allen Swift. This version is shown to be wearing a monocle. Count Dracula is among the monsters that Baron Boris von Frankenstein invites to the Isle of Evil in order to show off the secret of total destruction and announce his retirement from the Worldwide Organization of Monsters.
In Sesame Street there is a character called Count von Count who was based on Bela Lugosi's interpretation of Count Dracula.
Count Dracula appears in Mad Mad Mad Monsters (a "prequel of sorts" to Mad Monster Party?) voiced again by Allen Swift. He and his son are invited by Baron Henry von Frankenstein to attend the wedding of Frankenstein's Monster and it's mate at the Transylvania Astoria Hotel.
Count Dracula is the primary antagonist of the Castlevania video game series.
In 2003, Count Dracula, as portrayed by Lugosi in the 1931 film, was named as the 33rd greatest movie villain by the American Film Institute.
Dracula appears as the lead character of Dracula the Un-dead, a novel by Stoker's great-grand nephew Dacre presented as a sequel to the original. Set twenty-five years after the original novel, Dracula has gone to Paris as an actor with the name Vladimir Basarab. He appears to be an anti-hero as he tries to protect his and Mina's son Quincey Harker against another vampire Elizabeth Bathory. At the end of the novel he was able to kill Bathory but was wounded by her and falls down a cliff with Mina, presumably dying. Sometime later Quincey went on a ship to America, hoping for a better life. Unknown to him, boxes labeled as property of Vladimir Basarab are also loaded on board. The ocean liner is later revealed to be the RMS Titanic.
Count Dracula appears in the 2012 CGI animated comedy film Hotel Transylvania voiced by Adam Sandler. Here, he has a daughter named Mavis (voiced by Selena Gomez) and a deceased wife named Martha (voiced by Jackie Sandler). Count Dracula is good friends with Frankenstein (voiced by Kevin James) and his wife Eunice (voiced by Fran Drescher), Wayne and Wanda Werewolf (voiced by Steve Buscemi and Molly Shannon), Murray the Mummy (voiced by Cee Lo Green) and Griffin the Invisible Man (voiced by David Spade). To keep his daughter and the world's monsters safe from humans following Martha's death at the hands of an angry mob, Dracula has a hotel built called Hotel Transylvania as a haven which is surrounded by a graveyard and a spooky forest as a way to keep humans out. Once the construction is finished, Count Dracula gets all of the world's most famous monsters to go check into Hotel Transylvania, a safe haven for all of the famous monsters to get away from humankind. When a human named Jonathan (voiced by Andy Samberg) stumbles onto Hotel Transylvania, Dracula works to attempt to get him away from the hotel, keep him disguised as a way to keep the monsters from finding out, and keeping him from being made into a delicacy by Chef Quasimodo (voiced by Jon Lovitz). By the end of the movie, Dracula ends up accepting that Mavis is in love with Jonathan while seeing that not all humans are bad like the ones that he had previously encountered in the past.
Modern and postmodern analyses of the character[edit]



 Portrait of Vlad III Dracula.
Already in 1958, Cecil Kirtly proposed that Count Dracula shared his personal past with the historical Transylvanian-born Voivode Vlad III Dracula of Wallachia, also known as Vlad the Impaler or Vlad Țepeș. Following the publication of In Search of Dracula by Radu Florescu and Raymond McNally in 1972, this supposed connection attracted much popular attention.
Historically, the name "Dracula" is the given name of Vlad Ṭepeș' family, a name derived from a secret fraternal order of knights called the Order of the Dragon, founded by Sigismund of Luxembourg (king of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia, and Holy Roman Emperor) to uphold Christianity and defend the Empire against the Ottoman Turks. Vlad II Dracul, father of Vlad III, was admitted to the order around 1431 because of his bravery in fighting the Turks and was dubbed Dracul (Dragon) thus his son became Dracula (son of the dragon). From 1431 onward, Vlad II wore the emblem of the order and later, as ruler of Wallachia, his coinage bore the dragon symbol.[9]
Stoker came across the name Dracula in his reading on Romanian history, and chose this to replace the name (Count Wampyr) that he had originally intended to use for his villain. However, some Dracula scholars, led by Elizabeth Miller, have questioned the depth of this connection as early as 1998. They argue that Stoker in fact knew little of the historic Vlad III except for the name "Dracula". While having a conversation with Jonathan Harker in Chapter 3, Dracula refers to his own background, and these speeches show elements which Stoker directly copied from Wilkinson's book. Stoker mentions the Voivode of the Dracula race who fought against the Turks after the defeat of Cossova, and was later betrayed by his brother, historical facts which unequivocally point to Vlad III, described as "Voïvode Dracula" by Wilkinson:

Who was it but one of my own race who as Voivode crossed the Danube and beat the Turk on his own ground? This was a Dracula indeed! Woe was it that his own unworthy brother, when he had fallen, sold his people to the Turk and brought the shame of slavery on them! Was it not this Dracula, indeed, who inspired that other of his race who in a later age again and again brought his forces over the great river into Turkey-land; who, when he was beaten back, came again, and again, though he had to come alone from the bloody field where his troops were being slaughtered, since he knew that he alone could ultimately triumph! (Chapter 3, pp 19)
The Count's intended identity is later commented by Professor Van Helsing, referring to a letter from his friend Arminius:

He must, indeed, have been that Voivode Dracula who won his name against the Turk, over the great river on the very frontier of Turkey-land. (Chapter 18, pp 145)
This indeed encourages the reader to identify the Count with the Voivode Dracula first mentioned by him in Chapter 3, the one betrayed by his brother: Vlad III Dracula, betrayed by his brother Radu the Handsome, who had chosen the side of the Turks. But as noted by the Dutch author Hans Corneel de Roos, in Chapter 25, Van Helsing and Mina drop this rudimentary connection to Vlad III and instead describe the Count's personal past as that of "that other of his race" who lived "in a later age". By smoothly exchanging Vlad III for a nameless double, Stoker avoided that his main character could be unambiguously linked to a historical person traceable in any history book.
Similarly, the novelist did not want to disclose the precise site of the Count's residence, Castle Dracula. As confirmed by Stoker's own handwritten research notes, the novelist had a specific location for the Castle in mind while writing the narrative: an empty mountain top in the Transylvanian Kelemen Alps near the former border with Moldavia.[10] Efforts to promote the Poenari Castle (ca. 200 km away from the novel's place of action near the Borgo Pass) as the "real Castle Dracula" have no basis in Stoker’s writing; Stoker did not know this building. Regarding the Bran Castle near Brașov, Stoker possibly saw an illustration of Castle Bran (Törzburg) in Charles Boner's book on Transylvania.[11] Although Stoker may have been inspired by its romantic appearance, neither Boner, nor Mazuchelli nor Crosse (who also mention Terzburg or Törzburg) associate it with Vlad III; for the site of his fictitious Castle Dracula, Stoker preferred an empty mountain top.
Furthermore, Stoker's detailed notes reveal that the novelist was very well aware of the ethnic and geo-political differences between the "Roumanians" or "Wallachs"/"Wallachians", descendants of the Dacians on the one hand, and the Székelys or Szeklers, allies of the Magyars or Hungarians on the other hand, whose interests were opposed to that of the Wallachians. In the novel's original typewritten manuscript, the Count speaks of throwing off the "Austrian yoke", which corresponds to the Szekler political point of view. This expression is crossed out, however, and replaced by "Hungarian yoke" (as appearing in the printed version), which matches the historical perspective of the Wallachians. This has been interpreted by some to mean that Stoker opted for the Wallachian, not the Szekler interpretation, thus lending more consistency to the Romanian identity of his Count: although not identical with Vlad III, the Vampire is portrayed as one of the "Dracula race".[12]
It has been suggested by some that Stoker was influenced by the legend of Countess Elizabeth Báthory, who was born in the Kingdom of Hungary and accused of the murder of 80 young women.[13]
See also[edit]

Portal icon Novels portal
Dracula
Dracula in popular culture
Tables of vampire traits
Count Orlok
Carmilla
Varney the Vampire
Vlad III the Impaler
Elizabeth Báthory
Mina Harker
List of fictional vampires
Alucard (Hellsing)
Notes[edit]
1.Jump up ^ Carol N. Senf "Dracula: The Unseen Face in the Mirror" in the Norton Critical Edition of Dracula (1997) by Bram Stoker, edited by Nina Auerbach and David J. Skal: 421-31
2.Jump up ^ Dracula Chapter 18 and Chapter 23
3.Jump up ^ Mina Harker's Journal, 30 September, Dracula, Chapter 18
4.Jump up ^ Dracula Chapter 27
5.Jump up ^ Dracula Chapter 3
6.Jump up ^ Dracula, Chapter 2
7.Jump up ^ Dracula, Chapter 18
8.Jump up ^ Guinness World Records Experience
9.Jump up ^ Vlad III Encyclopedia Britannica
10.Jump up ^ Hans Corneel de Roos, The Dracula Maps, in: The Ultimate Dracula, Moonlake Editions, Munich, 2012.
11.Jump up ^ Charles Boner, Transylvania: Its Product and Its People. London: Longmans, 1865. Referred to by Marius Crişan, The Models for Castle Dracula in Stoker’s Sources on Transylvania, Journal of Dracula Studies Nr 10 (2008)
12.Jump up ^ Hans Corneel de Roos, Stoker's Vampire Trap: Vlad the Impaler and his Nameles Double, Linkoeping University Electronic Press, Linköping Electronic Articles in Computer and Information Science, ISSN 1401-9841, Vol. 15 (2012): no. 2. 2012, p. 7.
13.Jump up ^ bathory.org/miller02.html
References[edit]
Clive Leatherdale (1985) Dracula: the Novel and the Legend. Desert Island Books.
Bram Stoker (1897) Dracula. Norton Critical Edition (1997) edited by Nina Auerbach and David J. Skal.
Senf, Carol. Dracula: Between Tradition and Modernism (Twayne, 1998).
Senf, Carol A. Bram Stoker. University of Wales Press, 2010.
External links[edit]
Count Dracula at the Internet Movie Database
Bram Stoker Online Full text, PDF and audio versions of Dracula.


[hide]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Bram Stoker's Dracula


Characters



Original novel

Count Dracula  (Count Orlok)
   ·
 Abraham Van Helsing ·
 Jonathan Harker ·
 Mina Harker ·
 Lucy Westenra ·
 Arthur Holmwood ·
 Dr. John Seward ·
 Quincey Morris ·
 Renfield ·
 Brides
 


Other works

Adri Nital ·
 Alucard ·
 Count Alucard ·
 Count Orlok ·
 Count von Count ·
 Doctor Sun ·
 Draculaura ·
 Eva ·
 Hamilton Slade ·
 Janus ·
 Postmortem ·
 Turac
 


Historical

Vlad Călugărul ·
 Vlad the Impaler ·
 Vlad II Dracul
 


Films


Universal
 series
Dracula (1931) ·
 Drácula (1931 Spanish version) ·
 Dracula's Daughter (1936) ·
 Son of Dracula (1943) ·
 House of Frankenstein (1944) ·
 House of Dracula (1945) ·
 Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)
 

Hammer
 series
Dracula (1958) ·
 The Brides of Dracula (1960) ·
 Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966) ·
 Dracula Has Risen from the Grave (1968) ·
 Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970) ·
 Scars of Dracula (1970) ·
 Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972) ·
 The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973) ·
 The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires (1974)
 

Dracula
 2000
Dracula 2000 (2000) ·
 Dracula II: Ascension (2003) ·
 Dracula III: Legacy (2005)
 

Parodies
Mad Monster Party? (1967) ·
 Blacula (1972) ·
 Mad Mad Mad Monsters (1972) ·
 Blood for Dracula (1974) ·
 Vampira (1974) ·
 Love at First Bite (1979) ·
 Fracchia contro Dracula (1985) ·
 The Monster Squad (1987) ·
 Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995) ·
 Monster Mash (1995) ·
 Monster Mash (2000) ·
 Hotel Transylvania (2012)
 

Other
Dracula's Death (1921) ·
 Nosferatu (1922) ·
 The Return of the Vampire (1944) ·
 Drakula İstanbul'da (1953) ·
 Blood of Dracula (1957) ·
 The Return of Dracula (1958) ·
 Batman Dracula (1964) ·
 Billy the Kid Versus Dracula (1966) ·
 Batman Fights Dracula (1967) ·
 Dracula (1968) ·
 Blood of Dracula's Castle (1969) ·
 Count Dracula (1970) ·
 Los Monstruos del Terror (1970) ·
 Cuadecuc, vampir (1971) ·
 Vampyros Lesbos (1971) ·
 Dracula vs. Frankenstein (1971) ·
 Bram Stoker's Dracula (1973) ·
 Count Dracula's Great Love (1974) ·
 Son of Dracula (1974) ·
 Dracula in the Provinces (1975) ·
 Dracula and Son (1976) ·
 Count Dracula (1977) ·
 Dracula's Dog (1978) ·
 Doctor Dracula (1978) ·
 Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979) ·
 Dracula (1979) ·
 Nocturna: Granddaughter of Dracula (1979) ·
 The Halloween That Almost Wasn't (1979) ·
 The Monster Squad (1987) ·
 Dracula's Widow (1988) ·
 Scooby-Doo! and the Reluctant Werewolf (1988) ·
 Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) ·
 Shadow of the Vampire (2000) ·
 Zora the Vampire (2000) ·
 Dracula: Pages from a Virgin's Diary (2002) ·
 Dracula (2002) ·
 Dark Prince: The True Story of Dracula (2002) ·
 The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003) ·
 Van Helsing (2004) ·
 Van Helsing: The London Assignment (2004) ·
 Dracula 3000 (2004) ·
 The Vulture's Eye (2004) ·
 Blade: Trinity (2004) ·
 The Batman vs. Dracula (2005) ·
 Bram Stoker's Dracula's Curse (2006) ·
 Dracula (2006) ·
 Bram Stoker's Dracula's Guest (2008) ·
 The Librarian: Curse of the Judas Chalice (2008) ·
 House of the Wolf Man (2009) ·
 Young Dracula (2011) ·
 Dracula Reborn (2012) ·
 Dracula 3D (2012) ·
 Saint Dracula 3D (2012) ·
 Hotel Transylvania (2012) ·
 Dracula 2012 (2013) ·
 Dracula: The Dark Prince (2013) ·
 Dracula Untold (2014)
 


Television


Series
Draculas ring (1978) ·
 Drak Pack (1980) ·
 Count Duckula (1988–1993) ·
 Dracula: The Series (1990–1991) ·
 Little Dracula (1991–1999) ·
 Ace Kilroy (2011-2012) ·
 Young Dracula (2011-2014)  (characters ·
 episodes)
   ·
 Dracula (2013-2014) ·
 Penny Dreadful (2014)
 

Episodes
"Treehouse of Horror IV" (1993) ·
 "Treehouse of Horror XXI" (2010) ·
 "Buffy vs. Dracula" (2000)
 


Other
 novels
The Dracula Tape and sequels (1975–2002) ·
 Anno Dracula series (1992–present)  (Anno Dracula ·
 The Bloody Red Baron ·
 Dracula Cha Cha Cha)
   ·
 Dracula's Guest and Other Weird Stories (1914) ·
 The Revenge of Dracula (1978) ·
 Little Dracula (1986) ·
 Dracula the Undead (1997) ·
 The Historian (2005) ·
 The Book of Renfield (2005) ·
 Bloodline (2005) ·
 Young Dracula and Young Monsters (2006) ·
 Fangland (2007) ·
 Dracula the Un-dead (2009)
 

Plays
Dracula (1924) ·
 Dracula (1977) ·
 Dracula (1995) ·
 Dracula (1996)
 

Musicals
Dracula (Czech musical) (1995) ·
 Dracula: A Chamber Musical (1997) ·
 Dracula, the Musical (2004) ·
 Dracula – Entre l'amour et la mort (2006) ·
 Dracula: the Musical (2010) ·
 Dracula – L'amour plus fort que la mort (2011)
 

Comics
The Tomb of Dracula ·
 Dracula (Marvel Comics) ·
 Dracula (Dell Comics) ·
 Dracula Lives ·
 Hellsing ·
 The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen ·
 Sword of Dracula ·
 Batman & Dracula: Red Rain ·
 Victorian Undead ·
 Wolves at the Gate ·
 X-Men: Apocalypse vs. Dracula ·
 Purgatori
 

Video
 games
Castlevania series  (1986–present ·
 Dracula)
   ·
 Ghost Manor (1983) ·
 Dracula (1986) ·
 Dracula the Undead (1991) ·
 The Count (1991) ·
 Dracula Hakushaku (1992) ·
 Bram Stoker's Dracula (1993) ·
 Bram Stoker's Dracula (handheld) (1993) ·
 Dracula Unleashed (1993) ·
 Dracula: Resurrection (1999) ·
 Dracula 2: The Last Sanctuary (2000) ·
 Van Helsing (2004) ·
 Dracula 3: The Path of the Dragon (2008) ·
 Dracula: Origin (2008) ·
 Vampire Season Monster Defense (2012) ·
 Dracula 4: The Shadow of the Dragon (2013) ·
 Dracula 5: The Blood Legacy (2013) ·
 The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing (2013) ·
 Drac's Night Out (unreleased)
 

Pinball
Dracula (1979) ·
 Bram Stoker's Dracula (1993)
 

Other games
The Fury of Dracula
 

Castles
Castle Dracula ·
 Bran Castle ·
 Poenari Castle ·
 Corvin Castle
 

Albums
Akumajō Dracula Famicom Best ·
 Dracula ·
 Dracula 2000 ·
 Iubilaeum Anno Dracula 2001 ·
 Perfect Selection: Dracula Battle ·
 Transylvania ·
 Van Helsing
 

Songs
"Dracula/The Rose" ·
 "Love Song for a Vampire"
 

Audio dramas
Legend of the Cybermen
 

Related topics
Dracula in popular culture ·
 Van Helsing's Factory ·
 Don Dracula ·
 Transylvanian Society of Dracula ·
 Dracula Society ·
 Dracula tourism ·
 Lugosi v. Universal Pictures
 

 


Categories: Dracula
Dracula characters
Dracula in written fiction
Fictional alchemists
Fictional counts and countesses
Fictional hypnotists
Fictional shapeshifters
Fictional telepaths
Fictional vampires
Fictional versions of real people
Horror film characters
Monsters
Literary villains
Fictional Hungarian people
Fictional characters introduced in 1897
Characters in British novels of the 19th century
Video game bosses






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Count Dracula
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Count Dracula
Dracula character
Bela lugosi dracula.jpg
Count Dracula as portrayed by Béla Lugosi in 1931's Dracula
Created by
Bram Stoker
Portrayed by
Bela Lugosi (Dracula, 1931)
Lon Chaney, Jr. ("Son of Dracula")
Christopher Lee (Dracula, 1958)
Louis Jourdan (Count Dracula, 1977)
Frank Langella (Dracula, 1979)
Duncan Regehr (The Monster Squad)
George Hamilton (actor) (Love at First Bite, 1979)
Gary Oldman (Dracula, 1992)
Leslie Nielsen (Dracula, 1995)
Gerard Butler (Dracula, 2000)
Richard Roxburgh (Van Helsing)
Langley Kirkwood (Dracula 3000)
Thomas Kretschmann (Dracula 3D)
Jonathan Rhys Meyers (Dracula TV series)
Dominic Purcell (Blade:Trinity)
Adam Sandler (Hotel Transylvania, 2012)
Luke Evans (Dracula Untold)
Information

Species
Vampire
Gender
Male
Spouse(s)
Brides of Dracula
Nationality
Székely
Count Dracula is the title character and primary antagonist of Bram Stoker's 1897 Gothic horror novel Dracula. He is considered thus to be both the prototypical and the archetypical vampire in subsequent works of fiction. Some aspects of the character are believed to have been inspired by the 15th-century Romanian general and Wallachian Prince Vlad III the Impaler, who was also known as Dracula. Other character aspects have been added or altered in subsequent popular media fictional works. The character has subsequently appeared frequently in popular culture, from films to animated media to breakfast cereals.


Contents  [hide]
1 Stoker's creation 1.1 Characteristics
1.2 Powers and weaknesses
2 Character development subsequent to the novel
3 Modern and postmodern analyses of the character
4 See also
5 Notes
6 References
7 External links

Stoker's creation[edit]
Bram Stoker's novel takes the form of an epistolary tale, in which Count Dracula's characteristics, powers, abilities and weaknesses are narrated by multiple narrators, from different perspectives.[1] The most informative of these narrators are Jonathan Harker, John Seward, and Mina Harker.
Count Dracula is a centuries-old vampire, sorcerer, and Transylvanian nobleman, who claims to be a Székely descended from Attila the Hun. He inhabits a decaying castle in the Carpathian Mountains near the Borgo Pass. Unlike the vampires of Eastern European folklore, which are portrayed as repulsive, corpse-like creatures, Dracula exudes a veneer of aristocratic charm. In his conversations with Jonathan Harker, he reveals himself as deeply proud of his boyar heritage and nostalgic for the past times, which he admits have become only a memory of heroism, honor and valor in modern times.
Details of his early life are obscure, but it seems that Dracula studied the black arts at the academy of Scholomance in the Carpathian Mountains, overlooking the town of Sibiu (also known as Hermannstadt) and became proficient in alchemy and magic.[2] Taking up arms, as befitting his rank and status as a voivode, he led troops against the Turks across the Danube. According to Van Helsing: "He must indeed have been that Voivode Dracula who won his name against the Turk, over the great river on the very frontier of Turkey-land. If it be so, then was he no common man: for in that time, and for centuries after, he was spoken of as the cleverest and the most cunning, as well as the bravest of the sons of the land beyond the forest."[3] Dead and buried in a great tomb in the chapel of his castle, Dracula returns from death as a vampire and lives for several centuries in his castle with three beautiful female vampires beside him.[4] They seem to bear a possible family resemblance [5] though whether they be his lovers, sisters, daughters, or vampires made by him is not made clear in the narrative.



Max Schreck as Count Orlok, the first confirmed cinematic representation of Dracula.
As the novel begins in the late 19th century, Dracula acts on a long contemplated plan for world domination, and infiltrates London to begin his reign of terror. He summons Jonathan Harker, a newly qualified English solicitor, to provide legal support for a real estate transaction overseen by Harker's employer. Dracula at first charms Harker with his cordiality and historical knowledge, and even rescues him from the clutches of the three female vampires in the castle. In truth, however, Dracula wishes to keep Harker alive long enough to complete the legal transaction and to learn as much as possible about England.
Dracula leaves his castle and boards a Russian ship, the Demeter, taking along with him boxes of Transylvanian soil, which he needs in order to regain his strength. During the voyage to Whitby, a coastal town in northern England, he sustains himself on the ship's crew members. Only one body is later found, that of the captain, who is found tied up to the ship's helm. The captain's log is recovered and tells of strange events that had taken place during the ship's journey. Dracula leaves the ship in the form of a dog.
Soon the Count is menacing Harker's fiancée, Wilhelmina "Mina" Murray, and her friend, Lucy Westenra. There is also a notable link between Dracula and Renfield, a patient in an insane asylum compelled to consume insects, spiders, birds, and other creatures—in ascending order of size—in order to absorb their "life force". Renfield acts as a kind of sensor, reacting to Dracula's proximity and supplying clues accordingly. Dracula begins to visit Lucy's bed chamber on a nightly basis, draining her of blood while simultaneously infecting her with the curse of vampirism. Not knowing the cause for Lucy's deterioration, her three suitors call upon John Seward's mentor, the Dutch doctor Abraham Van Helsing. Van Helsing soon deduces her condition's supernatural origins, but does not speak out. Despite an attempt at keeping the vampire at bay with garlic, Dracula attacks Lucy's house one final time, leaving her mother dead and transforming Lucy herself into one of the undead.
After Lucy attacks several children, Van Helsing and Lucy's former suitors John Seward, Arthur Holmwood and Quincey Morris enter her crypt and kill her to save her soul. Later, Harker joins them and they enter Dracula's residences at Carfax and Piccadilly, destroying his boxes of earth, depriving the Count of his ability to rest. Dracula leaves England to return to his homeland, but not before biting Mina.
The final section of the novel details the heroes racing Dracula back to Transylvania, and in a climactic battle with Dracula's gypsy bodyguards, finally destroying him. Despite the popular image of Dracula having a stake driven through his heart to kill him, Mina's narrative describes his throat being cut through by Jonathan Harker's kukri and his heart pierced by Morris' Bowie knife (Mina Harker's Journal, 6 November, Dracula Chapter 27). His body then turns into dust, but not before Mina Harker sees an expression of peace on Dracula's face.
Characteristics[edit]
Although early in the novel Dracula dons a mask of cordiality, he often flies into fits of rage when his plans are interfered with. When the three vampire women who live in his castle attempt to seduce Jonathan Harker, Dracula physically assaults one and ferociously berates them for their insubordination. He then relents and talks to them more kindly, telling them that he does indeed love each of them.
Dracula is very passionate about his warrior heritage, emotionally proclaiming his pride to Harker on how the Székely people are infused with the blood of heroes. He does express an interest in the history of the British Empire, speaking admiringly of its people. He has a somewhat primal and predatory worldview; he pities ordinary humans for their revulsion to their darker impulses.
Though usually portrayed as having a strong Eastern European accent, the original novel only specifies that his spoken English is excellent, though strangely toned.
His appearance varies in age. He is described early in the novel as thin, with a long white mustache, pointed ears and sharp teeth. It is also noted later in the novel (Chapter 11 subsection "The Escaped Wolf") by a zookeeper that sees him that he has a hooked nose and a pointed beard with a streak of white in it. He is dressed all in black and has hair on his palms. Jonathan Harker described him as an old man; "cruel looking" and giving an effect of "extraordinary pallor".[6] When angered the Count showed his true bestial nature, his blue eyes flaming red.

I saw... Count Dracula... with red light of triumph in his eyes, and with a smile that Judas in hell might be proud of.
— Jonathan Harker's Journal, Dracula, Chapter 4
As the novel progresses, Dracula is described as taking on a more and more youthful appearance.
Powers and weaknesses[edit]
Count Dracula is portrayed in the novel using many different supernatural abilities. He has superhuman strength which, according to Van Helsing, is equivalent to that of 20 strong men. Being undead, he is immune to conventional means of attack. Like all undead, he is immortal, though he can be killed by the traditional vampire methods (wooden stakes, iron and/or steel weapons, wild rose, holy water, etc.)[citation needed] The only definite way to kill him is by decapitating him preceded by impalement through the heart. The Count does not have to seek victims regularly, and has the ability to remain inactive for centuries. The Count can defy gravity to a certain extent and possesses superhuman agility; being able to climb upside down vertical surfaces in a reptilian manner. He has powerful hypnotic and telepathic abilities, and is also able to command nocturnal animals such as bats and rats. Dracula can also manipulate the weather, usually creating mists to hide his presence, but also storms such as in his voyage in the Demeter. He can travel onto "unhallowed" ground such as the graves of suicides and those of his victims. He can shapeshift at will, his featured forms in the novel being that of a bat, a wolf, a large dog and fog. He is able to pass through tiny cracks or crevices while retaining his human form, described by Van Helsing as the ability to become "so small". He also has the ability to vanish and reappear somewhere else. He requires no other sustenance but fresh blood, which has the effect of rejuvenating him.[7]
According to Van Helsing:

The Nosferatu do not die like the bees when they sting once. He is only stronger, and being stronger, have yet more power to work evil.
—Mina Harker's journal, Dracula, Chapter 18
One of Dracula's most mysterious powers is the ability to transfer his vampiric condition by biting others, who become the vampires after death. According to Van Helsing:

They cannot die, but must go on age after age adding new victims and multiplying the evils of the world. For all that die from the preying of the Un-dead become themselves Un-dead, and prey on their kind. And so the circle goes on ever widening, like as the ripples from a stone thrown in the water. Friend Arthur, if you had met that kiss which you know of before poor Lucy die, or again, last night when you open your arms to her, you would in time, when you had died, have become nosferatu, as they call it in Eastern europe, and would for all time make more of those Un-Deads that so have filled us with horror.
He slowly transforms Lucy into a vampire and, following her destruction, sets his sights on Mina. To punish Mina he forces her to drink his blood; this act gives him telepathic link to her thoughts, however this link is used against him, as Mina is able to predict his movements.

The sun that rose on our sorrow this morning guards us in its course. Until it sets to-night, that monster must retain whatever form he now has. He is confined within the limitations of his earthly envelope. He cannot melt into thin air nor disappear through cracks or chinks or crannies. If he go through a doorway, he must open the door like a mortal.
—Johnathan Harker's journal, Dracula, Chapter 22
Dracula's powers are not unlimited, however. He is much less powerful in daylight and is only able to shift his form at dawn, noon, and dusk (he can shift freely at night). The sun is not fatal to him, though, as sunlight does not burn and destroy him upon contact.
He is repulsed by garlic, crucifixes, and sacramental bread, and he can only cross running water at low or high tide. He is also unable to enter a place unless invited to do so; once invited, however, he can approach and leave the premises at will.
While universally feared by the local people of Transylvania and even beyond, he somehow commands the loyalty of gypsies and a band of Slovaks who transport his boxes on their way to London and to serve as an armed convoy bringing his coffin back to the Castle. The Slovaks and gypsies appear to know his true nature, for they laugh at Jonathan Harker, who tries to communicate his plight, and betray Harker's attempt to send a letter through them by giving it to the Count.
Count Dracula is depicted as the "King Vampire", and can control other vampires who were his own victims but also, as per the story "Dracula's Guest", those in farther away lands such as Styria who may or may not have been Dracula's victims. His death can release the curse on any living victim of eventual transformation into vampire. But Van Helsing reveals that were he to successfully escape, his continued existence would ensure that even if he did not victimize Mina Harker further, she would transform into a vampire upon her eventual natural death.
He also requires Transylvanian soil to be nearby to him in order to successfully rest; otherwise, he will not be able to recover his strength. Dracula's powers and weaknesses vary greatly in the many adaptations. Previous and subsequent vampires from different legends have had similar vampire characteristics.
Character development subsequent to the novel[edit]
Main article: Dracula in popular culture



 Statue of Béla Lugosi as Count Dracula, at the Hollywood Wax Museum
Dracula is arguably one of the most famous characters in popular culture. He has been portrayed by more actors in more visual media adaptations of the novel than any other horror character.[8] Actors who have played him include Max Schreck, Béla Lugosi, John Carradine, Christopher Lee, Francis Lederer, Denholm Elliott, Jack Palance, Louis Jourdan, Frank Langella, Klaus Kinski, Gary Oldman, Leslie Nielsen, George Hamilton, Keith-Lee Castle, Gerard Butler, Richard Roxburgh, Marc Warren, Rutger Hauer, Stephen Billington, Thomas Kretschmann and Dominic Purcell. Lon Chaney Jr. played either Dracula or his progeny in the Universal film, "Son of Dracula." Of all the foregoing, it is generally conceded that actor Bela Lugosi's stage and 1931 movie portrayal of Dracula has, in appearance, speech, public personality, mannerisms and dress, overshadowed Stoker's original conception of these character aspects.
The character is closely associated with the western cultural archetype of the vampire, and remains a popular Halloween costume.
Count Dracula appears in Mad Monster Party? voiced by Allen Swift. This version is shown to be wearing a monocle. Count Dracula is among the monsters that Baron Boris von Frankenstein invites to the Isle of Evil in order to show off the secret of total destruction and announce his retirement from the Worldwide Organization of Monsters.
In Sesame Street there is a character called Count von Count who was based on Bela Lugosi's interpretation of Count Dracula.
Count Dracula appears in Mad Mad Mad Monsters (a "prequel of sorts" to Mad Monster Party?) voiced again by Allen Swift. He and his son are invited by Baron Henry von Frankenstein to attend the wedding of Frankenstein's Monster and it's mate at the Transylvania Astoria Hotel.
Count Dracula is the primary antagonist of the Castlevania video game series.
In 2003, Count Dracula, as portrayed by Lugosi in the 1931 film, was named as the 33rd greatest movie villain by the American Film Institute.
Dracula appears as the lead character of Dracula the Un-dead, a novel by Stoker's great-grand nephew Dacre presented as a sequel to the original. Set twenty-five years after the original novel, Dracula has gone to Paris as an actor with the name Vladimir Basarab. He appears to be an anti-hero as he tries to protect his and Mina's son Quincey Harker against another vampire Elizabeth Bathory. At the end of the novel he was able to kill Bathory but was wounded by her and falls down a cliff with Mina, presumably dying. Sometime later Quincey went on a ship to America, hoping for a better life. Unknown to him, boxes labeled as property of Vladimir Basarab are also loaded on board. The ocean liner is later revealed to be the RMS Titanic.
Count Dracula appears in the 2012 CGI animated comedy film Hotel Transylvania voiced by Adam Sandler. Here, he has a daughter named Mavis (voiced by Selena Gomez) and a deceased wife named Martha (voiced by Jackie Sandler). Count Dracula is good friends with Frankenstein (voiced by Kevin James) and his wife Eunice (voiced by Fran Drescher), Wayne and Wanda Werewolf (voiced by Steve Buscemi and Molly Shannon), Murray the Mummy (voiced by Cee Lo Green) and Griffin the Invisible Man (voiced by David Spade). To keep his daughter and the world's monsters safe from humans following Martha's death at the hands of an angry mob, Dracula has a hotel built called Hotel Transylvania as a haven which is surrounded by a graveyard and a spooky forest as a way to keep humans out. Once the construction is finished, Count Dracula gets all of the world's most famous monsters to go check into Hotel Transylvania, a safe haven for all of the famous monsters to get away from humankind. When a human named Jonathan (voiced by Andy Samberg) stumbles onto Hotel Transylvania, Dracula works to attempt to get him away from the hotel, keep him disguised as a way to keep the monsters from finding out, and keeping him from being made into a delicacy by Chef Quasimodo (voiced by Jon Lovitz). By the end of the movie, Dracula ends up accepting that Mavis is in love with Jonathan while seeing that not all humans are bad like the ones that he had previously encountered in the past.
Modern and postmodern analyses of the character[edit]



 Portrait of Vlad III Dracula.
Already in 1958, Cecil Kirtly proposed that Count Dracula shared his personal past with the historical Transylvanian-born Voivode Vlad III Dracula of Wallachia, also known as Vlad the Impaler or Vlad Țepeș. Following the publication of In Search of Dracula by Radu Florescu and Raymond McNally in 1972, this supposed connection attracted much popular attention.
Historically, the name "Dracula" is the given name of Vlad Ṭepeș' family, a name derived from a secret fraternal order of knights called the Order of the Dragon, founded by Sigismund of Luxembourg (king of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia, and Holy Roman Emperor) to uphold Christianity and defend the Empire against the Ottoman Turks. Vlad II Dracul, father of Vlad III, was admitted to the order around 1431 because of his bravery in fighting the Turks and was dubbed Dracul (Dragon) thus his son became Dracula (son of the dragon). From 1431 onward, Vlad II wore the emblem of the order and later, as ruler of Wallachia, his coinage bore the dragon symbol.[9]
Stoker came across the name Dracula in his reading on Romanian history, and chose this to replace the name (Count Wampyr) that he had originally intended to use for his villain. However, some Dracula scholars, led by Elizabeth Miller, have questioned the depth of this connection as early as 1998. They argue that Stoker in fact knew little of the historic Vlad III except for the name "Dracula". While having a conversation with Jonathan Harker in Chapter 3, Dracula refers to his own background, and these speeches show elements which Stoker directly copied from Wilkinson's book. Stoker mentions the Voivode of the Dracula race who fought against the Turks after the defeat of Cossova, and was later betrayed by his brother, historical facts which unequivocally point to Vlad III, described as "Voïvode Dracula" by Wilkinson:

Who was it but one of my own race who as Voivode crossed the Danube and beat the Turk on his own ground? This was a Dracula indeed! Woe was it that his own unworthy brother, when he had fallen, sold his people to the Turk and brought the shame of slavery on them! Was it not this Dracula, indeed, who inspired that other of his race who in a later age again and again brought his forces over the great river into Turkey-land; who, when he was beaten back, came again, and again, though he had to come alone from the bloody field where his troops were being slaughtered, since he knew that he alone could ultimately triumph! (Chapter 3, pp 19)
The Count's intended identity is later commented by Professor Van Helsing, referring to a letter from his friend Arminius:

He must, indeed, have been that Voivode Dracula who won his name against the Turk, over the great river on the very frontier of Turkey-land. (Chapter 18, pp 145)
This indeed encourages the reader to identify the Count with the Voivode Dracula first mentioned by him in Chapter 3, the one betrayed by his brother: Vlad III Dracula, betrayed by his brother Radu the Handsome, who had chosen the side of the Turks. But as noted by the Dutch author Hans Corneel de Roos, in Chapter 25, Van Helsing and Mina drop this rudimentary connection to Vlad III and instead describe the Count's personal past as that of "that other of his race" who lived "in a later age". By smoothly exchanging Vlad III for a nameless double, Stoker avoided that his main character could be unambiguously linked to a historical person traceable in any history book.
Similarly, the novelist did not want to disclose the precise site of the Count's residence, Castle Dracula. As confirmed by Stoker's own handwritten research notes, the novelist had a specific location for the Castle in mind while writing the narrative: an empty mountain top in the Transylvanian Kelemen Alps near the former border with Moldavia.[10] Efforts to promote the Poenari Castle (ca. 200 km away from the novel's place of action near the Borgo Pass) as the "real Castle Dracula" have no basis in Stoker’s writing; Stoker did not know this building. Regarding the Bran Castle near Brașov, Stoker possibly saw an illustration of Castle Bran (Törzburg) in Charles Boner's book on Transylvania.[11] Although Stoker may have been inspired by its romantic appearance, neither Boner, nor Mazuchelli nor Crosse (who also mention Terzburg or Törzburg) associate it with Vlad III; for the site of his fictitious Castle Dracula, Stoker preferred an empty mountain top.
Furthermore, Stoker's detailed notes reveal that the novelist was very well aware of the ethnic and geo-political differences between the "Roumanians" or "Wallachs"/"Wallachians", descendants of the Dacians on the one hand, and the Székelys or Szeklers, allies of the Magyars or Hungarians on the other hand, whose interests were opposed to that of the Wallachians. In the novel's original typewritten manuscript, the Count speaks of throwing off the "Austrian yoke", which corresponds to the Szekler political point of view. This expression is crossed out, however, and replaced by "Hungarian yoke" (as appearing in the printed version), which matches the historical perspective of the Wallachians. This has been interpreted by some to mean that Stoker opted for the Wallachian, not the Szekler interpretation, thus lending more consistency to the Romanian identity of his Count: although not identical with Vlad III, the Vampire is portrayed as one of the "Dracula race".[12]
It has been suggested by some that Stoker was influenced by the legend of Countess Elizabeth Báthory, who was born in the Kingdom of Hungary and accused of the murder of 80 young women.[13]
See also[edit]

Portal icon Novels portal
Dracula
Dracula in popular culture
Tables of vampire traits
Count Orlok
Carmilla
Varney the Vampire
Vlad III the Impaler
Elizabeth Báthory
Mina Harker
List of fictional vampires
Alucard (Hellsing)
Notes[edit]
1.Jump up ^ Carol N. Senf "Dracula: The Unseen Face in the Mirror" in the Norton Critical Edition of Dracula (1997) by Bram Stoker, edited by Nina Auerbach and David J. Skal: 421-31
2.Jump up ^ Dracula Chapter 18 and Chapter 23
3.Jump up ^ Mina Harker's Journal, 30 September, Dracula, Chapter 18
4.Jump up ^ Dracula Chapter 27
5.Jump up ^ Dracula Chapter 3
6.Jump up ^ Dracula, Chapter 2
7.Jump up ^ Dracula, Chapter 18
8.Jump up ^ Guinness World Records Experience
9.Jump up ^ Vlad III Encyclopedia Britannica
10.Jump up ^ Hans Corneel de Roos, The Dracula Maps, in: The Ultimate Dracula, Moonlake Editions, Munich, 2012.
11.Jump up ^ Charles Boner, Transylvania: Its Product and Its People. London: Longmans, 1865. Referred to by Marius Crişan, The Models for Castle Dracula in Stoker’s Sources on Transylvania, Journal of Dracula Studies Nr 10 (2008)
12.Jump up ^ Hans Corneel de Roos, Stoker's Vampire Trap: Vlad the Impaler and his Nameles Double, Linkoeping University Electronic Press, Linköping Electronic Articles in Computer and Information Science, ISSN 1401-9841, Vol. 15 (2012): no. 2. 2012, p. 7.
13.Jump up ^ bathory.org/miller02.html
References[edit]
Clive Leatherdale (1985) Dracula: the Novel and the Legend. Desert Island Books.
Bram Stoker (1897) Dracula. Norton Critical Edition (1997) edited by Nina Auerbach and David J. Skal.
Senf, Carol. Dracula: Between Tradition and Modernism (Twayne, 1998).
Senf, Carol A. Bram Stoker. University of Wales Press, 2010.
External links[edit]
Count Dracula at the Internet Movie Database
Bram Stoker Online Full text, PDF and audio versions of Dracula.


[hide]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Bram Stoker's Dracula


Characters



Original novel

Count Dracula  (Count Orlok)
   ·
 Abraham Van Helsing ·
 Jonathan Harker ·
 Mina Harker ·
 Lucy Westenra ·
 Arthur Holmwood ·
 Dr. John Seward ·
 Quincey Morris ·
 Renfield ·
 Brides
 


Other works

Adri Nital ·
 Alucard ·
 Count Alucard ·
 Count Orlok ·
 Count von Count ·
 Doctor Sun ·
 Draculaura ·
 Eva ·
 Hamilton Slade ·
 Janus ·
 Postmortem ·
 Turac
 


Historical

Vlad Călugărul ·
 Vlad the Impaler ·
 Vlad II Dracul
 


Films


Universal
 series
Dracula (1931) ·
 Drácula (1931 Spanish version) ·
 Dracula's Daughter (1936) ·
 Son of Dracula (1943) ·
 House of Frankenstein (1944) ·
 House of Dracula (1945) ·
 Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)
 

Hammer
 series
Dracula (1958) ·
 The Brides of Dracula (1960) ·
 Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966) ·
 Dracula Has Risen from the Grave (1968) ·
 Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970) ·
 Scars of Dracula (1970) ·
 Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972) ·
 The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973) ·
 The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires (1974)
 

Dracula
 2000
Dracula 2000 (2000) ·
 Dracula II: Ascension (2003) ·
 Dracula III: Legacy (2005)
 

Parodies
Mad Monster Party? (1967) ·
 Blacula (1972) ·
 Mad Mad Mad Monsters (1972) ·
 Blood for Dracula (1974) ·
 Vampira (1974) ·
 Love at First Bite (1979) ·
 Fracchia contro Dracula (1985) ·
 The Monster Squad (1987) ·
 Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995) ·
 Monster Mash (1995) ·
 Monster Mash (2000) ·
 Hotel Transylvania (2012)
 

Other
Dracula's Death (1921) ·
 Nosferatu (1922) ·
 The Return of the Vampire (1944) ·
 Drakula İstanbul'da (1953) ·
 Blood of Dracula (1957) ·
 The Return of Dracula (1958) ·
 Batman Dracula (1964) ·
 Billy the Kid Versus Dracula (1966) ·
 Batman Fights Dracula (1967) ·
 Dracula (1968) ·
 Blood of Dracula's Castle (1969) ·
 Count Dracula (1970) ·
 Los Monstruos del Terror (1970) ·
 Cuadecuc, vampir (1971) ·
 Vampyros Lesbos (1971) ·
 Dracula vs. Frankenstein (1971) ·
 Bram Stoker's Dracula (1973) ·
 Count Dracula's Great Love (1974) ·
 Son of Dracula (1974) ·
 Dracula in the Provinces (1975) ·
 Dracula and Son (1976) ·
 Count Dracula (1977) ·
 Dracula's Dog (1978) ·
 Doctor Dracula (1978) ·
 Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979) ·
 Dracula (1979) ·
 Nocturna: Granddaughter of Dracula (1979) ·
 The Halloween That Almost Wasn't (1979) ·
 The Monster Squad (1987) ·
 Dracula's Widow (1988) ·
 Scooby-Doo! and the Reluctant Werewolf (1988) ·
 Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) ·
 Shadow of the Vampire (2000) ·
 Zora the Vampire (2000) ·
 Dracula: Pages from a Virgin's Diary (2002) ·
 Dracula (2002) ·
 Dark Prince: The True Story of Dracula (2002) ·
 The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003) ·
 Van Helsing (2004) ·
 Van Helsing: The London Assignment (2004) ·
 Dracula 3000 (2004) ·
 The Vulture's Eye (2004) ·
 Blade: Trinity (2004) ·
 The Batman vs. Dracula (2005) ·
 Bram Stoker's Dracula's Curse (2006) ·
 Dracula (2006) ·
 Bram Stoker's Dracula's Guest (2008) ·
 The Librarian: Curse of the Judas Chalice (2008) ·
 House of the Wolf Man (2009) ·
 Young Dracula (2011) ·
 Dracula Reborn (2012) ·
 Dracula 3D (2012) ·
 Saint Dracula 3D (2012) ·
 Hotel Transylvania (2012) ·
 Dracula 2012 (2013) ·
 Dracula: The Dark Prince (2013) ·
 Dracula Untold (2014)
 


Television


Series
Draculas ring (1978) ·
 Drak Pack (1980) ·
 Count Duckula (1988–1993) ·
 Dracula: The Series (1990–1991) ·
 Little Dracula (1991–1999) ·
 Ace Kilroy (2011-2012) ·
 Young Dracula (2011-2014)  (characters ·
 episodes)
   ·
 Dracula (2013-2014) ·
 Penny Dreadful (2014)
 

Episodes
"Treehouse of Horror IV" (1993) ·
 "Treehouse of Horror XXI" (2010) ·
 "Buffy vs. Dracula" (2000)
 


Other
 novels
The Dracula Tape and sequels (1975–2002) ·
 Anno Dracula series (1992–present)  (Anno Dracula ·
 The Bloody Red Baron ·
 Dracula Cha Cha Cha)
   ·
 Dracula's Guest and Other Weird Stories (1914) ·
 The Revenge of Dracula (1978) ·
 Little Dracula (1986) ·
 Dracula the Undead (1997) ·
 The Historian (2005) ·
 The Book of Renfield (2005) ·
 Bloodline (2005) ·
 Young Dracula and Young Monsters (2006) ·
 Fangland (2007) ·
 Dracula the Un-dead (2009)
 

Plays
Dracula (1924) ·
 Dracula (1977) ·
 Dracula (1995) ·
 Dracula (1996)
 

Musicals
Dracula (Czech musical) (1995) ·
 Dracula: A Chamber Musical (1997) ·
 Dracula, the Musical (2004) ·
 Dracula – Entre l'amour et la mort (2006) ·
 Dracula: the Musical (2010) ·
 Dracula – L'amour plus fort que la mort (2011)
 

Comics
The Tomb of Dracula ·
 Dracula (Marvel Comics) ·
 Dracula (Dell Comics) ·
 Dracula Lives ·
 Hellsing ·
 The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen ·
 Sword of Dracula ·
 Batman & Dracula: Red Rain ·
 Victorian Undead ·
 Wolves at the Gate ·
 X-Men: Apocalypse vs. Dracula ·
 Purgatori
 

Video
 games
Castlevania series  (1986–present ·
 Dracula)
   ·
 Ghost Manor (1983) ·
 Dracula (1986) ·
 Dracula the Undead (1991) ·
 The Count (1991) ·
 Dracula Hakushaku (1992) ·
 Bram Stoker's Dracula (1993) ·
 Bram Stoker's Dracula (handheld) (1993) ·
 Dracula Unleashed (1993) ·
 Dracula: Resurrection (1999) ·
 Dracula 2: The Last Sanctuary (2000) ·
 Van Helsing (2004) ·
 Dracula 3: The Path of the Dragon (2008) ·
 Dracula: Origin (2008) ·
 Vampire Season Monster Defense (2012) ·
 Dracula 4: The Shadow of the Dragon (2013) ·
 Dracula 5: The Blood Legacy (2013) ·
 The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing (2013) ·
 Drac's Night Out (unreleased)
 

Pinball
Dracula (1979) ·
 Bram Stoker's Dracula (1993)
 

Other games
The Fury of Dracula
 

Castles
Castle Dracula ·
 Bran Castle ·
 Poenari Castle ·
 Corvin Castle
 

Albums
Akumajō Dracula Famicom Best ·
 Dracula ·
 Dracula 2000 ·
 Iubilaeum Anno Dracula 2001 ·
 Perfect Selection: Dracula Battle ·
 Transylvania ·
 Van Helsing
 

Songs
"Dracula/The Rose" ·
 "Love Song for a Vampire"
 

Audio dramas
Legend of the Cybermen
 

Related topics
Dracula in popular culture ·
 Van Helsing's Factory ·
 Don Dracula ·
 Transylvanian Society of Dracula ·
 Dracula Society ·
 Dracula tourism ·
 Lugosi v. Universal Pictures
 

 


Categories: Dracula
Dracula characters
Dracula in written fiction
Fictional alchemists
Fictional counts and countesses
Fictional hypnotists
Fictional shapeshifters
Fictional telepaths
Fictional vampires
Fictional versions of real people
Horror film characters
Monsters
Literary villains
Fictional Hungarian people
Fictional characters introduced in 1897
Characters in British novels of the 19th century
Video game bosses






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