Welcome to Celebrate Poe - Episode 355 - Why All the Fuss About Dracula
Episode 354 should be a relatively short episode - the subject is Stoker’s Dracula - and I want to briefly explore some reasons WHY Dracula is considered a great book.
But before I start, I am going to be talking about all kinds of aspects of Dracula - and I know some of them are completely new to you - stick with me, and in several episodes, hopefully all this will make sense.
The novel unfolds through journals, letters, and newspaper clippings, immersing readers in the characters’ perspectives. This epistolary style builds suspense—readers piece together clues alongside the protagonists, heightening tension. Jonathan Harker’s early journal entries, for instance, subtly foreshadow Dracula’s menace without explicit exposition.
Stoker synthesized Eastern European folklore into a cohesive mythos, defining modern vampire traits: aversion to sunlight, shape-shifting, and vulnerability to stakes and garlic. Unlike later romanticized vampires, Dracula is a chilling aristocrat who embodies Victorian fears of foreign invasion and sexual corruption.
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