Happy Birthday, Bram Stoker!

Today is the 165th anniversary of Bram Stoker’s birth. Thank you Google for bringing this to my attention. He was Irish (yeah, baby). He published Dracula in 1897. He wrote other novels, short stories and non-fiction – none of which I’ve read. Maybe I should get around to that. However, Dracula is one of my favorite books and to date, still one of the best vampire books ever written. Well, when you’re the immortalizer of a myth, it is hard to be topped, I suppose.

Also, did you know that his great-grand nephew Dacre Stoker, along with Ian Holt, published a “sequel” to Dracula a few years ago? It is called Dracula: The Un-Dead. A quick glance at the reviews tells me it is not a very good “sequel,” but that as a stand-alone, alternate story about vampires, it is a quick and entertaining read. So, I think I may check it out.

Another bit of trivia: the first movie based on Bram Stoker’s novel was Nosferatu in 1922 with Max Schreck. Stoker’s widow, Florence Stoker was still alive at the time. Apparently the movie makers did not have the rights to the story and they didn’t pay her any royalties either, so she sued them. The result was that the film be destroyed, but, obviously, not all copies were destroyed since it is still available.  I liked the movie. However, the first authorized movie was Dracula with Bela Lugosi (yeah, baby). Did you know that Tod Browning directed it?!? I suppose I must have known that at some point, but apparently I forgot, because upon just re-discovering that fact, I was like, “no way!”

Anyway, Happy Birthday, Bram Stoker! May you rest in peace.