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Count Dracula: 13 Versions—From Dizzy to Daring

Chris Well

The most famous vampire is one of the most adapted characters in history

The title character from Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula has been popular over time, and has appeared in so many adaptations, riffs, and parodies in all kind of media. More than 200 films have been made that feature Count Dracula, a number that is reportedly only second to films featuring Sherlock Holmes. Below are 13 versions of the Count worth paying attention to from a variety of media…

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01 Dracula by Bram Stoker (1897)

Since its publication in 1897, Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula has enthralled generations of readers with the alluring malevolence of its undead Count, the most famous vampire in literature. Though Bram Stoker did not invent vampires, his novel helped usher them to iconic stature, launching a whole genre of storytelling that continues to flourish more than a hundred years on. A century of copycats has done nothing to decrease the public’s interest in Stoker’s charming but deadly monster as he stalks his prey—whether in a Transylvanian castle, a British insane asylum, or the homes of his swooning victims. A classic of Gothic horror, Dracula is a lasting story that continues to entice readers even today.

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02 Nosferatu (1922)

An unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel, the 1922 German silent film Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror starred Max Schreck as a vampire who preys on the wife of his estate agent and brings the plague to their town. Directed by F. W. Murnau, the Prana Film studio was founded by an occultist intending to produce occult-themed films. The company bankrupted shortly after Nosferatu’s release—perhaps partly because it was fined and forced to destroy copies of its film. However, some prints of Nosferatu survived, and the film was considered a masterpiece.

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03 Universal Studios (1931)

The era of the Universal Classic Monsters started with the iconic Dracula—portrayed in an the equally iconic performance by Bela Lugosi. The film was an adaptation of the 1924 stage play by Hamilton Deane and John L. Balderston—itself adapted from the 1897 novel by Bram Stoker.

The film details the Count’s arrival from Transylvania to England, where he can prey upon the blood of his victims. When he meets Mina Seward, he plans to turn her into his Bride—unless Professor Abraham Van Helsing can stop him.

Although not the first horror movie from Universal, the success of Dracula paved the way for the rest of the Universal monster movies, including such staples as Frankenstein (1931), The Mummy (1932), The Invisible Man (1933), Bride of Frankenstein (1935), and The Wolf Man (1941). In 2000, Dracula was selected by the United States Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry as “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”

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04 Hammer Films (1958)

When Hammer Film Productions licensed the right to revisit the Universal Monsters, the series featured nine films, most of which starred Christopher Lee as a bloodier, sexier Dracula, and Peter Cushing as Van Helsing. Empire magazine ranked Lee’s Count Dracula as the seventh “Greatest Horror Movie Character of All Time.”

The series ended with 1974’s martial arts/horror mashup The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires. Cushing returns as Van Helsing, but Dracula is played by John Forbes-Robertson. The film is a co-production between Brtain’s Hammer Film Productions and Hong Kong’s Shaw Brothers Studio.

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05 The Munsters (1964)

Classic sitcom The Munsters (1964-1966) featured a regular, suburban family that just happened to also be related to the Universal Monsters. The family included Grandpa Munster (who was Dracula), Herman Munster (a patchwork Frankenstein’s Monster), Lily Munster (the daughter of Count Dracula), Eddie Munster (who was part werewolf and part vampire), and their “homely” niece, Marilyn, who passed for human.

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06 Marvel Comics’ The Tomb of Dracula (1972)

The comic book classic Tomb of Dracula ushered in Marvel Comics’ glorious age of horror, while the black-and-white comics magazine Dracula Lives! delivered stories with real bite—and both featured legendary creators, including Gene Colan in his prime illustrating the Lord of Vampires! The tomb has opened, and Dracula lives again. But his descendant, Frank Drake, joins vampire hunters including Rachel Van Helsing and Quincy Harker in a bid to return him to his grave. Will they drive a stake through Dracula’s heart—or will that honor fall to Blade? Plus tales of terror from across Dracula’s 500-year existence, featuring Hell-Crawlers, the Monster of the Moors, wizards, gargoyles, voodoo queens and more!

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07 Love At First Bite (1978)

When the government of Transylvania appropriates his castle, Count Dracula (George Hamilton) is obliged to relocate and decides to give New York City a try. He suffers all manner of adjustment problems, but finds solace in a new relationship with Cindy Sondheim (Susan Saint James). Unfortunately, her fiancé, Dr. Jeff Rosenberg (Richard Benjamin), is a direct descendant of Dracula's old nemesis, Van Helsing, and is prepared to do whatever is necessary to stop his undead rival.

Buy From Amazon A Dracula Double Feature: Love At First Bite and Dracula: Dead and Loving It

08 The Monster Squad #1 (TV Show in 1976)

Long before there was The Monster Squad movie, there was a completely unrelated Saturday morning TV show starring Fred Grandy (who later starred on The Love Boat). The show, which aired between September 1976 and September 1977, featured a criminology student working as a night watchman at a wax museum. Using a computer, Grandy’s character brought to life the wax statues of the Frankenstein Monster, Dracula, and the Wolf Man. Despite being wax copies, the monsters wanted to make up for their pasts and became superheroes.

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09 The Monster Squad #2 (Movie in 1987)

Count Dracula adjourns to Earth, accompanied by Frankenstein’s Monster, the Wolfman, the Mummy, and the Gillman. The uglies are in search of a powerful amulet that will grant them power to rule the world. Our heroes—a group of children who are members of a club named the Monster Squad—are the only ones daring to stand in their way.

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10 Mel Brooks’ Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995)

Legendary comedy director Mel Brooks created Dracula: Dead and Loving It, a vampire spoof that followed the examples of his classics Young Frankenstein, Blazing Saddles, and Spaceballs. Leslie Nielsen sinks his teeth into the role of the legendary vampire, while Brooks himself portrays his Van Helsing in a battle where the stakes have never been higher. Featuring supporting roles from Steven Weber, Amy Yasbeck, Lysette Anthony, Peter MacNicol, and comedy legend Harvey Korman. While not as good as Brooks’ previous works, still worth checking out if you’re looking for a silly adaptation of the Count.

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11 Van Helsing (2004)

Written and directed by Stephen Sommers (who was responsible for the Mummy films starring Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz), Van Helsing starred Hugh Jackman as a James Bond-like version of the monster hunter, and Kate Beckinsale. An over-the-top homage to the Universal Monster films from the 1930s and 1940s, the film was inspired by Abraham Van Helsing from Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula. The film featured several monsters, including Dracula, Frankenstein’s monster, Mr. Hyde, and werewolves. The film got a lot of negative reviews, but grossed $300 million.

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12 Hotel Transylvania (2012)

The animated film Hotel Transylvania features a number of Universal’s monsters at a hotel created by Dracula for monster clientele as a way to hide from humans. Dracula’s friends included Frankenstein’s Monster, the Invisible Man, the Wolf Man, and more. When a human accidentally stumbles upon the hotel and falls in love with Dracula’s daughter, Dracula tries to keep him away from her. The success of Hotel Transylvania led to a number of sequels, graphic novels, short films, and a TV series.

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13 Ricardo Delgado’s Dracula of Transylvania (2021)

All-new illustrated novel Dracula of Transylvania reimagines Bram Stoker’s classic vampire story. A fresh, bold retelling of the classic Bram Stoker dark fairy tale with the pace of a modern thriller, Dracula of Transylvania is a gripping new novel with incredible lavish concept art from one of Hollywood’s leading concept designers.

“As a kid I noticed all of the different versions of the story, and each of them had their own particular way of excelling at a facet of the overall tale, but none fully grabbed the entire Dracula ambience and ran with it. So I made him this malevolent, powerful presence and brought the brides along on his journey as added muscle, to use gangster film lingo.”—Ricardo Delgado (Beat interview)

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