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Count Dracula

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Character
Name: Count Dracula
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Fandom: Dracula
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Count Dracula, often known as simply Dracula, is a vampire from Bram Stoker's 1897 novel of the same name. He's become a pop culture icon over the years, having made many appearances in films, TV series, books, video games, comics etc, and his status as an icon of horror has influenced vampires in media for decades. It has been suggested that, "Dracula himself is the second most popular character put to film, second only to Sherlock Holmes."[1]

His character over the years has developed and changed somewhat from his original novel appearance, such that many readers during Dracula Daily were a little surprised at certain aspects of his character that hadn't been as frequently translated in subsequent adaptations, such as Dogula or his lizard-like way of climbing down the castle walls. Though mainstream media seems to focus on the Count, often emphasising the erotic subtextual nature of his feeding on Lucy and Mina, Dracula Daily fans were much more endeared by both his gradual menace and terror, and the comedy vibes of him as a host to Jonathan, with most of the sexual interpretations of his character being in regards to the homoeroticism between him and his guest.

Canon

Dracula (no first name is given) is a Transylvanian nobleman whose decision to move from Austria-Hungary to Britain kickstarts the plot of the Stoker's book. During the course of the novel he victimizes multiple characters, including Lucy Westenra, R.M. Renfield, Jonathan Harker and Mina Harker; the last two and their friends end up uncovering his vampiric nature and eventually kill him.

Dracula is the most famous character from the novel and one of the most famous fictional characters in existence. He appeared in multiple works of fiction, most of which aren't even adaptations of the novel but rather wholly new stories. Many works featuring Dracula are horror, but some belong to other genres like action, comedy, romance or children media. It's not uncommon for book adaptations to enlarge his role[2] or give him more attractive looks, or at least more conventional ones.

Portrayals of Dracula in fiction are often influenced by various movie incarnations of him. For example, he may be given the cape, hairstyle or accent of Lugosi's Dracula, burn in the sun like Orlok in Nosferatu or Lee's Dracula, have a reincarnated lover like Oldman's Dracula. Lugosi's Dracula, in particular, is the one who codified the image of Dracula in pop culture, and most references and parodies of Dracula refer to him rather than to the Dracula from the novel.

Fandom

Count Dracula, often interpreted as Vlad the Impaler by their members, appears to have been the focus of Dracula fan clubs, such as The Dracula Society and The International Count Dracula Fan Club.

Dracula was a relatively popular character in the 2000s fandom. Some of the active members of the fandom on Livejournal like Assimbya, Dracschick and Bwinter were fans of both him and Vlad the Impaler; he also often was the focus of fics posted on fanfiction.net in both the novel and 1992 movie sections. In contrast, the 2010s and 2020s Dracula fandom on Tumblr has been mostly hostile towards the book character, citing his cruel actions towards the characters beloved by the fandom, him overshadowing them in public conscientiousness, adaptations and scholarship for the novel, and the changes frequently made in these in his characterization towards a less brutal and more romantic figure as some of the reasons for their negative perception. Nevertheless, he still had his fans during this period, and creators like Dracupa, Trash-eating-demon, Crepuscol, Vanhelsingenthusiast and Lauralot made a lot of art and fic centering on him.

This negativity particularly increased during the Dracula Daily run, when people were surprised to discover how different their idea of Dracula was from the book portrayal. At first many participants were endeared by the Count's loneliness, unexpected wackiness and homoeroticism of his interactions with Jonathan; during the first months of DD, there were a lot of jokes, shipping of Dracula/Jonathan and meta on queer and racist undertones of Dracula. As the events of the novel were unfolding, the readers were slowly coming to the realisation how sinister the character of Dracula really was and how seriously the author treated the suffering brought by him to the heroes. A lot of meta was written about how the Jonathan captivity in the castle paralleled abusive relationship, and how vampire attacks in the novel were akin to symbolic sexual assault. By the end of the run, Dracula was almost universally reviled and his death celebrated by the fandom.

From Re:Dracula's bonus episode with Matt:

Matt: "I love every meme and every drawing that makes Dracula himself looked like an asshole. Because that's my favorite thing about the way people on Tumblr, especially, interpreted and read, Dracula together. Because Dracula, in a lot of culture, is this like suave, cool, sexy vampire. Yes, he's going to murder people, but he's going to do it in such a way that he's like the hero, right?

Hannah: A very romantic hero.

Matt: Yeah, yeah! Yeah, exactly. And Tumblr was having zero of this. This Dracula, the one in the actual text, is a jerk who is gaslighting, abusing, stalking, murdering and nobody was rooting for Dracula at all. So every meme that makes fun of Dracula warms my heart."

Dracula daily 2022 Tumblr: well known haters of count dracula[3]

Tumblr is full of people who love villains- myself included!- and we saw a bit of this in the very early parts of the book when Jonathan was in Dracula’s castle before the baby murdering started. So I’m fascinated that since Lucy’s death and especially since Mina’s assault, the tumblr reaction to Dracula has been pure fury and loathing. Even as a villain-lover, that’s fun to see![4]

My favorite part of reading Dracula with tumblr was people loathing Dracula. I was prepared for everyone to be all swoony and reverent and “oh, he’s so awful, drain me, Daddy”

instead?

Pure vitriolic hatred. Loathing. The swooning was, as it should have been, firmly placed on Jonathan. Mina’s husband. Mina’s soulmate.

If you had told me that the prevailing sentiment on my dash at the end of the year would be “Fuck Dracula, all my homies hate Dracula” back in May, I would not have believed you.

Also, pour one out for Quincey Morris. Amen.[5]

Some of the fans were dissapointed by the treatment of Dracula that they considered too uniform and one-sided:

watching dracula daily through fandom osmosis, all I can say is that it’s genuinely fascinating how the audience reaction manages to prove J. Jerome Cohen’s Monster Theory incredibly well, and more coherently than any academic paper or theory I’ve read in years. specifically, with the context that Dracula was an antisemitic and orientalist caricature of the racialised Other, in making the Other into a monster Stoker’s narrative choices makes him into an object of first fascination and then, in turn, repulsion. his monstrosity encapsulates the fear of immigrants and foreign invasion. the audience reaction to its hunting and death is a real-time demonstration of how a monstrous Other justifies its own slaying, thus making slaying of the Other celebratory. watching tumblr go from “hee hee hoo hoo he’s just a funny kreature" to "THIS BEAST MUST BE SLAIN FOUR TOUCHING OUR PURENESS” is worth, like, seven graduation papers alone in sociology, immigration politics, radicalisation theory, and horror literature. monster theory (seven thesis) speedrun but liveblogged.[6]

maybe part of the reason i’m disappointed with the discussions that came out of dracula daily last year (and the ones that are restarting this year) is bc a lot of them feel so... idk how to put it

early last year there were a lot of good posts about how dracula is this deeply queercoded character, using a cultural language that stoker and his contemporaries would have understood. about how stoker himself was writing dracula at least partially as a reaction to oscar wilde’s obscenity trials. about his personification of those dark and shameful secrets is a foreign monster threatening the Good And Wholesome british culture.

and it seems like most of the audience now has taken that portrayal at face value. they’ve accepted dracula as this one-dimensional threat, and they’ve accepted the protagonists as unilaterally good and moral victims and heroes.

it frustrates me, is all. i feel like yall are capable of more than this.[7]

got asked to make another post bitching about the dracula daily fandom and not to succumb to peer pressure but it is very odd how many people seem to feel the need to like... almost brag? either implicitly or explicitly about how they don't like dracula. and like not just that they don't like him but that he's morally bad and ugly and creepy, and there's this kind of underlying implication that if you don't also revile Dracula you must be reading the book wrong or something. which is crazy because Drac is literally just a funny old dude with a mustache who wants to kill the English like what did he even do wrong lmao [8]

In the fandoms for adaptations of Dracula like the 2020 series or Eggers' Nosferatu, or for original works with Dracula in them like Hellsing or Castlevania, Dracula is usually a popular character and the focus of many fanworks.

Memes

A lot of memes and in-jokes appeared during Dracula Daily, some of them about the Count.

  • Lizard fashion - the early scene where Dracula crawls down the wall attracted a lot of attention as an image both scary and bizarre, and caused a lot of jokes about Dracula and lizards. The word "fashion" in the description of it (meaning here "manner") also lead to memes and art about Dracula wearing some kind of lizard-inspired clothes. "Lizard fashion" is still often mentioned as one of the defining moments of Dracula (both the character and the book)
  • Foul bauble of man's vanity - Tumblr found the phrasing Dracula used to refer to Jonathan's mirror, and the whole scene where he ends up throwing it out the window, quite amusing and memorable; in the DD tradition of treating several entries in the novel as jokey "Dracula holidays", the whole of May 8 is sometimes called the "foul bauble of man's vanity day"
  • Teaboo Dracula - Dracula's professed love of Britain has led to many jokes about him being a teaboo
  • Normal Human Man - a lot of fun was made of Dracula's inept attempts to present himself as human to Jonathan
  • Train schedules - Dracula is shown reading a Bradshaw's Handbook, which led to jokes about him reading train schedules/his strange choice of reading material
  • Dracula doing chores - since Dracula has no servants, he has to do household tasks like driving a coach and making a bed himself; it's also implied that he's the one who cooks for Jonathan. This was a subject of many jokes and art during DD
  • Shovel scene - the scene where Jonathan hits the sleeping Dracula in the face with a shovel strong enough to leave a scar was widely celebrated and memed about on Tumblr
  • Dogula - Dracula turning into a dog (possibly a wolf) when arriving to England; readers were particularly amused by Whitby's residents wanting to adopt him
  • Throwing a wolf into the window - during his final attack on Lucy, Dracula kidnaps a wolf from the zoo and compels him to jump into her window. A lot of comments and jokes were made about how hilariously convolted the whole scheme is, and about Dracula's habit of throwing stuff through the windows
  • Straw hat - a lot of jokes and art were made about the unflattering straw hat that Dracula wears when fleeing England, and the entry with it has become known as the "straw hat day"

Examples

Fan Theories and Interpretations

Vlad the Impaler Connection

In the 1970s there has been a large uprise of interest in Dracula, great deal of which was caused by the publication of the book by Florescu and Mcnally that suggested he was based on Vlad the Impaler. After that, there has been a lot of discussion among both scholars and fans on whether or not it was the case, and portraying the Count as Vlad has become common in derivative works. Many Dracula fan clubs back then were dedicated in large part to the study of Vlad's life or even founded by people interested in him. It also has influenced Dracula-related fan tourism, leading to fans and fannish groups like The Dracula Society visiting the sites related to Vlad the Impaler and not just the novel. Popular at first, this theory has increasingly come under criticism in later decades, which also left its influence on the fandom. While the fanfiction of the 2000s and 2010s used the life of Vlad III as Dracula's backstory quite often, it is less common for the works written in the 2020s, especially after Dracula Daily.

Sexuality and Violence

The character of Dracula has been closely tied to sexuality in minds of many fans and scholars. A popular interpretation of novel in academia and to some extent in popular culture is that he represents the forces of sexuality reviled by the repressed Victorians; it may go as far as portraying him as sexual liberator. On the other hand, in the fandom it's common to put the emphasis on the nonconsensual nature of his attacks, equating them to metaphorical rape and interpreting the novel as the triumph of trauma survivors over their rapist and abuser. The contrast between these two interpretations creates a lot of hostility towards Dracula scholarship and adaptations in the fandom.

In the recent decades it has also become common to interpret Dracula as a some kind of a queer figure, analyzing the homoerotic subtext of his dynamics with Jonathan and Renfield, Stoker's possible queerness and hypothetical influence of Oscar Wilde on his novel. This interpretation has been embraced by some fans, though they also often use it primarily for horror.

Xenophobia

Xenophobic undertones of the novel are often discussed in academia, including in relation to the Dracula character. A common interpretation of the book is conflict between East and West, with Dracula representing backwardness and the Western heroes representing modernity; the ideas of Dracula as a sexually violent immigrant and as a threat to the Western civilization also frequently come up in the criticism. A lot of meta about these interpretations was written in the first months of Dracula Daily 2022, and the particular focus was given to the possible antisemitism in the portrayal of the Count[9]. Later on, this idea fell out of fashion; in contrast, the specific orientalism of Dracula as an Eastern European character received little attention, and detailed analysis of xenophobia in the portrayal of the Count has become relatively uncommon in the fandom, with discussions on the subject focusing mostly on his Roma servants.

Pairings

Many fans object to any ships with Dracula, unless portrayed purely for horror. Nevertheless, AO3 statistics show that Dracula/Jonathan is the second most written pairing for the novel, and fics with the highest number of hits and kudos tend to have it.

Fanworks

Besides fanworks based on the novel and various adaptations, Dracula often appears in fanworks for original stories that have him as a character, such as Hellsing, Castlevania, Penny Dreadful and Van Helsing.

Fanfiction

Novel

A lot of fic focusing on Dracula or set from his POV is darkfic about predations on his canonical victims. Such stories are often noncon or have noncon elements.

The manner to depict the Count in fanfiction drew criticism from some fans, who perceived it as too flat and one-sided.[10][11]

Some fics develop Dracula's backstory, often showing how he became a vampire. In these, he's usually portrayed as Vlad III.

  • Birth by g0ttak33p - a story about Dracula's death and rebirth
  • The Tenth Scholar and The Pact by Dr. Algae - stories combining the premise of Dracula as a student of Scholomance with the interpretation of him being Vlad the Impaler
  • Prism by Assimbya - "Dracula, from the perspectives of lovers over his vast lifetime."
  • The Dragon by TheGhostofStonewallJackson

Count Dracula often appears in crossovers of other canons with Dracula.

Other:

The most common pairing with the book!Dracula is Dracula/Jonathan.

Renfield

Majority of fics for the Renfield movie from 2023 is about Dracula/Renfield pairing.

2020 BBC Series

Most popular pairings appearing in most fanworks for the series are Dracula/Jonathan and Dracula/Agatha.

1992 Movie

Most fanfiction for the 1992 movie focuses on the Dracula/Mina pairing. Majority of it is written from Mina's POV, but some Dracula-centric works also exist.

Hammer Horror

Most fanworks for Hammer Horror movies are Dracula/Van Helsing.

Nosferatu 2024

Fanfiction for the Eggers' remake of Nosferatu usually has Orlok/Ellen or Orlok/Thomas pairing.

1931 Movie

The fics for the Universal movie are often crossovers with Renfield 2023. They almost always center on the Dracula/Renfield pairing.

Other

Fanart

Count Dracula is usually depicted in illustrations of his scenes in the book or in solitary portraits. A lot of fanart with him is humorous, making fun of the perceived weirdness and stupidity of his actions. More serious fanart leans into horror, often showing him menacing his victims.

Dracula is given the most detailed descriprion out of all characters, and the artists in the DD fandom usually follow it. He is described as tall in the novel, and the artists often take it further by drawing him as unusually or enormously tall. The book Dracula is almost always portrayed with long hair, though there is no mention of it in the novel. The novel readers are often surprised to discover that he has facial hair, which is rarely seen in movie adaptations and other depictions of him, and the fandom members take care to include it into their fanart. He is sometimes given the iconic Dracula cape or has his clothes shown as more ornate than implied in the novel.

  • Art by Pat Bradshaw, from Southern Star (1977)

    Art by Pat Bradshaw, from Southern Star (1977)

  • Dracula by Drago-the-Dark-Klown (2003)

    Dracula by Drago-the-Dark-Klown (2003)

  • Dracula by Abigail Larson (2010s?)

    Dracula by Abigail Larson (2010s?)

  • Jonathan and Mina by AmbroiseC, also depicting Count Dracula (2013)

    Jonathan and Mina by AmbroiseC, also depicting Count Dracula (2013)

  • I am Dracula, and I welcome you to my home by radec223 (2014)

    I am Dracula, and I welcome you to my home by radec223 (2014)

  • Dracula by minielche (2015)

    Dracula by minielche (2015)

  • who’s this creep by draculings (2015)

    who’s this creep by draculings (2015)

  • welcome by pjclausenartblog (2020)

    welcome by pjclausenartblog (2020)

  • I present you my new piece of art: Dracula chilling by trash-eating-demon (2020)

    I present you my new piece of art: Dracula chilling by trash-eating-demon (2020)

  • it's just one bat but here you go! by dracupa (2021)

    it's just one bat but here you go! by dracupa (2021)

  • Dracula in a corset for the World's Dracula Day (May 26), by thronoai (2021)

    Dracula in a corset for the World's Dracula Day (May 26), by thronoai (2021)

  • Human food for a dear friend Jonathan by inkyami (2022)

    Human food for a dear friend Jonathan by inkyami (2022)

  • The Fate of the Demeter by Crepuscol (2022)

    The Fate of the Demeter by Crepuscol (2022)

  • Count Dracula by moonsun2010 (2022)

    Count Dracula by moonsun2010 (2022)

  • Dracula by cparti-mkiki, wearing his infamous straw hat (2022)

    Dracula by cparti-mkiki, wearing his infamous straw hat (2022)

  • Lizard fashion by draculadrawalong (2024)

    Lizard fashion by draculadrawalong (2024)

  • enjoy this fucked up little conglomeration of draculas by uselesstwinkharker (2018)

    enjoy this fucked up little conglomeration of draculas by uselesstwinkharker (2018)

  • Various versions of Dracula by Georgia Cook (2023)

    Various versions of Dracula by Georgia Cook (2023)

  • DRACULA by mister-bones, Dracula from the 1931 movie (2008)

    DRACULA by mister-bones, Dracula from the 1931 movie (2008)

  • Kiss the Ring of Dracula of PaulBaack, Dracula from Hammer Horror movies (2013)

    Kiss the Ring of Dracula of PaulBaack, Dracula from Hammer Horror movies (2013)

  • Frank Langella's Dracula by Michael Goodwin (1980)

    Frank Langella's Dracula by Michael Goodwin (1980)

  • Dracula by Albert Victoria, inspired by the 1992 movie (2017)

    Dracula by Albert Victoria, inspired by the 1992 movie (2017)

  • Dracula from the 2020 series by dancinginashesandshadow (2020)

    Dracula from the 2020 series by dancinginashesandshadow (2020)

  • liked this movie a normal amount by increasethythunders, Dracula from Renfield (2023)

    liked this movie a normal amount by increasethythunders, Dracula from Renfield (2023)

Meta

See Also

References

  1. ^ Dalton Valette, "The queer horror of Dracula", Salon, 30 August 2022.
  2. ^ This tendency started as early as 1901, when the Swedish "translation" (actually a rewrite) Powers of Darkness expanded on his character, increasing his page time, giving him new motivations and deeping his relationship with the blonde bride
  3. ^ the Tumblr post by stupidvampires
  4. ^ forthegothicheroine, October 7, 2022
  5. ^ zetsubonna, November 19, 2022
  6. ^ wondersmith-and-sons Tumblr blog, November 7, 2022
  7. ^ churchyardgrim Tumblr blog, May 16, 2023
  8. ^ post by batmanisagatewaydrug, June 3, 2023
  9. ^ like in the analysis by yvesdot
  10. ^ Let him be fun, even if he is pure evil by 0nelittlebirdtoldme, February 24, 2024
  11. ^ Also, yes, I think one of the dumbest parts of the fandom's analysis was this collective decision that since Dracula is abusive he should get no personality... by ubyr-babaj, February 19, 2023
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