THE CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT

When we think of horror, we think of dripping, bloody gore or maniacal serial killers. But for me, true horror has always been literary. And there is no greater work of modern horror, than Bram Stoker's novel, Dracula. Set in the Victorian age, the story begins when young Jonathan Harker travels from England to Transylvania to handle a real estate brokerage for Carfax Abbey, a property being bought by a certain Count Dracula. As uninteresting as this first seems to be, it corresponds to the now cliched college students driving along a back road when something horrible happens. After meeting some locals who react with mild concern (i.e. blind panic) when he explains that he is going to Castle Dracula, he arrives at the castle and the whole nightmare unfolds. From a near fatal encounter with three whore-iffic undead brides, to witnessing a woman ripped to pieces by wolves, Mr. Harker's stay at Castle Dracula is hardly a pleasant weekend trip. And once Dracula moves into his new estate in England, the fun (terror) really  starts! With an unusual cast of characters for a British 1800's novel ( a woman, an American, a psychiatrist, and a Dutchman, along with Mr. Harker) this novel not only tells the story of the now world renowned Count, but does so in such a way as to make it seem real. Through the use of epistolary writing (telling the story through diary entries, phonograph recordings, letters, and other such mediums)Bram stoker created what can be called the true, first horror novel.