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Did DRACULA copy ANOTHER vampire from a DIFFERENT book?

Chris Well

The surprising connections between the famous vampire and another literary character altogether!

And WAIT until you find that character’s connections to another famous Universal Monster!

One of the most famous monsters in literature, Dracula has been borrowed, adapted, and repurposed over and over for HUNDREDS of movies and more! But certain things we remember about Dracula actually come from a DIFFERENT vampire from a DIFFERENT book altogether! Find out the SURPRISING revelation on this episode of the Monster Complex show!

WHAT WE’LL BE TALKING ABOUT…

  • The original book Dracula by Bram Stoker

  • How Dracula has shown up in the movies and other adaptations

  • And the influential vampire book that came out 75 years BEFORE Bram Stoker’s novel…

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Did DRACULA copy ANOTHER vampire from a DIFFERENT book?

Dracula is one of the most famous characters in history—he has been borrowed, adapted, and repurposed over and over for HUNDREDS of movies and TV shows and books and cartoons and comic books and stage productions and more. But certain elements we remember about Dracula actually comes from another vampire who appeared in a completely different book that was published decades earlier than Bram Stoker’s Dracula novel. Find out the SURPRISING revelation below!

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Now let’s take a look at the history of Dracula …

Author Bram Stoker introduced the world to his legendary vampire character in the 1897 novel Dracula. It wasn’t the first book about a vampire, but it has proven by far to be the most famous.

Since its first publication, Dracula has led the way for an entire category of fiction. Over the decades, the character has appeared in SO,SO many adaptations, copies, parodies, pastiches, spin-offs, and every other type of story—portrayed across all types of media, including books, radio, stage plays, films, TV productions, comic books, games, and stage productions. In fact, there are HUNDREDS OF MOVIES that feature Count Dracula. 

THE BOOK MOST PEOPLE ASSUME INVENTED THE ARISTOCRATIC VAMPIRE

Bram Stoker claimed that parts of his novel Dracula were real. The author wrote the novel in the 1890s, generating ideas based on both folklore and history. He found the name “Dracula” at the public library, and chose to use it because he thought it was the Romanian word for “devil.”

According to TIME magazine, the book’s original preface included this message from the author:

“I am quite convinced that there is no doubt whatever that the events here described really took place, however unbelievable and incomprehensible they might appear at first sight.” 

In the decades since the book was published, the story and the characters have appeared in hundreds of adaptations in all different kinds of media—including movies, TV, comic books, games, and pretty much everything else. 

THE MOVIES THAT MOST ASSUME ARE BASED ON THAT BOOK

As legendary as the original Dracula novel is, the fact is that so many of the media appearances we’ve seen in the years since have way more to do with the version of Dracula played by Bela Lugosi in the 1931 movie Dracula.

Now, that wasn’t the first movie—there’s a remarkable silent movie from 1922, Nosferatu, that adapted the book in a very creepy manner.

When Universal studios tried to make an official adaptation, their original plan was to spend a lot of money and follow the original book. But the stock market crash of 1929 affected the studio so they decided to scale back the budget.

Instead of adapting the book, they would adapt the stage play by Hamilton Deane. Which of course was an adaptation of Stoker’s novel, but the story was seriously narrowed down.

Now, Bela Lugosi at the time was starring in the play. Which is how he eventually was hired to star in the movie.

Unlike the book version, the Dracula seen in the movies—like 1931’s starring Bela Lugosi, 1958’s starring Christopher Lee, and 1979’s starring Frank Langella—that version of Dracula is way more glamorous than the one originally written by Stoker. 

In fact, Bela Lugosi’s version of Dracula—the way he looked, the way he talked, the way he moved around—has had a huge impact on how others have done Dracula stories. When you see the character of Dracula show up in other movies, in comic books, in TV commercials, whatever—they are way more likely to be copying Bela Lugosi. Or even trying to break the pattern. But either way, the Bela Lugosi version from 1931 is the one they’re looking at.

But here’s the thing: That movie’s presentation of a vampire who is noble, who is aristocratic, could very likely be drawing from a different book—which was printed all the way back in 1819, more than 75 years before Bram Stoker published his novel Dracula.  

That earlier story was The Vampyre by John Polidori. 

Looking back over the history of vampire fiction, what we see now in this category is quite a change from its origins in folklore. While we often look back on Bram Stoker’s 1897 literary classic Dracula as the iconic beginnings of modern vampire legend—the fact is that more than 75 years earlier, Polidori had revised vampire of folklore, changing it into the humanistic, aristocratic monster often seen in vampire stories today.

And as people look back on the history of vampire stories—and the history of stories about Dracula—there have been discussions of how much people are actually thinking more about Lord Ruthven from the novel written by Polidori.

But this is where the story gets even weirder…

THE MOST IMPORTANT STORY CONTEST IN HISTORY 

Records indicate that John Polidori wrote The Vampyre at a party where everyone was stuck indoors because of the weather and they decided to hold a “ghost story” contest. Polidori’s entry in the contest wasn’t even the most important book that came out of that.

Because Mary Shelley was at the same party. It’s crazy to consider that two of the most important monster stories of all time were part of the same writing contest. But Polidori’s The Vampyre and Mary Shelley’s legendary novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus were both entries in the same monster story contest where everyone at the party didn’t want to go outside. 

The writing contest took place in 1816 during the Year Without a Summer. Europe and parts of North America were suffering weather problems caused by volcanic eruptions in Indonesia.

While in Switzerland, Lord Byron invited some friends to the mansion he was renting. Stuck indoors by the heavy rains, the group spent three days sharing weird tales. 

After relating ghost stories, they then decided to write some stories of their own. According to reports, Byron wrote a fragment of a horror story that eventually inspired Polidori’s The Vampyre. Polidori’s result was published on April Fool’s Day in 1819. 

The Vampyre is often considered the origin of the romantic vampire genre. It has also been said that his vampire character is actually based on Lord Byron.

Polidori transformed the vampire image into the type we recognize today—an aristocratic fiend who preys among high society. Thanks to Polidori, vampires were changed into handsome predators—creatures of polite society. 

As such, the classic 1931 Universal Monster movie Dracula, starring Bela Lugosi, wasn’t just an adaptation of Stoker’s novel. There were stylish character elements that actually came from Polidori’s approach. 

I don’t want to dismiss Bram Stoker’s writing. But we also need to look at how people approach Dracula today is actually impacted by an earlier novel that we rarely hear about.

What are YOUR favorite versions of Dracula?

What are your favorite MOVIES or TV appearances or wherever the Count has turned up? What are your memories of him and the stories that introduced you to him? Let me know your favorite Dracula stories in the comments below!

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