Dracula

Imagine a scary old vampire named Count Dracula who lives in a creepy castle far away in a place called Transylvania. A nice man named Jonathan goes to visit him for work, but Dracula tricks him and sails to England on a ship full of spooky stuff to bite people's necks and turn them into vampires too, like his friend Lucy. Jonathan's smart girlfriend Mina and a wise old doctor named Van Helsing team up with friends to fight Dracula with crosses, garlic, and stakes—they chase him all the way home and win by chopping off his head just before the sun comes up!

Bram Stoker's 'Dracula,' published in 1897, is an epistolary novel chronicling the harrowing encounter between a group of Victorian English professionals and the ancient vampire Count Dracula. The story unfolds through journals, letters, and newspaper clippings as solicitor Jonathan Harker travels to the Count's crumbling castle in Transylvania, where he uncovers Dracula's supernatural nature and barely escapes with his life. Dracula then sails to England aboard the doomed ship Demeter, bringing terror to Whitby and London, preying on Lucy Westenra and setting his sights on Mina Murray, Jonathan's fiancée. A coalition forms, led by the erudite Professor Abraham Van Helsing, who employs a mix of scientific rationality, Christian iconography, and folkloric knowledge to combat the vampire's unholy influence. As the narrative progresses, the hunters pursue Dracula back to his Transylvanian lair in a desperate race against encroaching darkness, culminating in a brutal confrontation that tests the limits of human resilience and faith. The novel masterfully blends Gothic horror with emerging modernist elements, such as phonographs and typewriters, to explore the fragility of empire and civilization against primal, invasive forces. Its intricate structure heightens suspense, while vivid depictions of vampiric transformation and stake-driving exorcisms cement its status as a cornerstone of horror literature, influencing countless adaptations.