The Messed Up Truth About Horror Novelist Bram Stoker
Bram Stoker, the author behind “Dracula,” went through his own personal horrors as a child. Born in 1847 near Dublin, Ireland, he was one of seven children, according to the Bram Stoker Estate. Stoker was such a sickly kid that he spent his first seven years of his life bedridden and had to endure some of the popular medical treatments of the time, including bloodletting. No one thought that he would live long, given his unknown ailment. Stoker found some comfort in the dark tales of Irish history and myths his mother told him. Even if his body would work properly, his imagination surely did. Stoker spent hours watching the world from his window.
Stoker made a miraculous recovery over the years, and he excelled at athletics while attending Trinity College in Dublin from 1864 to 1870 (via Britannica). Following his father’s footsteps, he joined the civil service during his time as a student. Stoker’s first book, 1879’s “The Duties of Clerks of Petty Sessions in Ireland,” drew from his work experience. On the side, however, he wrote theater reviews for free for the Dublin Evening Mail. Through his work as a critic, Stoker befriended actor Sir Henry Irving. He also met the actress Florence Anne Lemon Balcombe, and the pair later married.
Bram Stoker spent much of his life behind the scenes
In 1878, Irving made Bram Stoker an offer that would change the course of his life dramatically. Despite his family’s opposition, Stoker took a job with Irving and moved to London. He managed Irving’s Lyceum Theatre for more than two decades, and it was there that he met the likes of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Mark Twain, and Walt Whitman (via the Bram Stoker Estate). Although his work kept him quite busy, Stoker still found time to write.
On a trip to Whitby, England, in 1890, Stoker found some inspiration for his best-known work. The town’s historic abbey and graveyard found their way into “Dracula” as did the story of a strange shipwreck in its harbor (via Time Magazine). The recent shipwreck of the Dmitri captured Stoker’s attention. Only a few crew members survived, and the ship had some really weird cargo. For some reason, the boat only had crates of dirt. A mysterious black dog was seen leaving the boat, and it disappeared into the church graveyard. At the advice of a friend, Stoker also looked at a special book at the town’s subscription library. From “The Accounts of Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia,” he got the final name for his vampire. “Dracula” is the Wallachian word for devil. Before this, Stoker had been calling the character Count Wampyr.
Dracula was Bram Stoker's only hit
In 1897, Stoker published his best-known work, “Dracula.” This gothic horror novel received mostly warm reviews and became quite popular. Written in the form of letters and journal entries, the story follows the experiences of several people who encounter a vampire from Transylvania. He wrote several more novels, including “The Mystery of the Sea” (1902) and “The Lady of the Shroud” (1909), but none of them could match the success of “Dracula” (via Britannica). In his later years, Stoker experienced some health problems. He had a stroke shortly after the death of Sir Henry Irving in 1905, and he struggled to make ends meet, according to the Oxford University Press. In fact, the Royal Literary Society had to come to his rescue.
Stoker died on April 20, 1912, at his London home. Sources vary on the cause of his death, with some citing exhaustion while others indicate that it was syphilis. News of his death barely made the papers, as the world was focused on the sinking of the Titanic, which happened five days earlier. Stoker was laid to rest at the Golders Green Crematorium in London (via the Bram Stoker Estate). After his death, his widow published a collection of his short stories titled “Dracula’s Guest” in 1914. While Stoker has been gone for over a century, his creation, Dracula, remains a compelling character in popular culture to this day, becoming the subject of numerous films and television projects.
52 thoughts on “The Messed Up Truth About Horror Novelist Bram Stoker”
Leave a Reply
Why Prince's Half-Sister Once Sued Him
This Is Only Star Trek Episode With No Female Speaking Parts
The Mythology Of Demeter Explained
This Iconic Marilyn Monroe Scene Might've Led To Her Divorce
How History Classes Lie About Great Britain And The American Revolution
Where Did Hitler Get All Of His Money From?
Leonardo Da Vinci's DNA Search Has Just Led To Interesting Results
How The Knights Templar May Have Inspired Star Wars
Details You Didn't Know About Talking Evil's Alexis Linkletter
The Untold Truth Of Steven Tyler
tricor where to buy tricor 200mg us purchase fenofibrate generic
generic cialis 10mg us viagra sales purchase viagra without prescription
buy generic mintop online buy tamsulosin 0.2mg online cheap best pill for ed
ketotifen price order zaditor 1mg online cheap generic imipramine
aspirin 75mg tablet buy eukroma cream imiquad online order
buy generic precose for sale repaglinide 2mg pills buy griseofulvin 250 mg
buy melatonin 3mg sale order danocrine 100mg online cheap order danocrine 100 mg pills
dipyridamole 100mg oral plendil pills brand pravastatin
duphaston 10mg usa dapagliflozin 10mg cost empagliflozin canada
buy monograph 600mg pills pletal 100mg price how to buy pletal
order florinef 100mcg pills order loperamide 2mg generic buy imodium 2mg online cheap
prasugrel 10mg pill buy detrol pills for sale purchase detrol online
mestinon 60mg uk order feldene maxalt where to buy
buy vasotec pills vasotec 5mg uk purchase duphalac bottles
premarin 0.625mg pills sildenafil citrate 50mg sildenafil overnight
prilosec price metoprolol without prescription order lopressor 100mg
buy cialis 40mg order cialis 5mg for sale sildenafil online order
cenforce 100mg generic purchase cenforce online cheap buy aralen cheap
modafinil order online phenergan buy online deltasone 20mg canada
nexium without prescription order remeron without prescription topamax 100mg tablet
purchase astelin buy generic acyclovir over the counter order generic avapro 150mg
imitrex generic levofloxacin 500mg tablet avodart for sale online
zyloprim pills zyloprim pill rosuvastatin canada
order generic zantac order meloxicam 15mg online celebrex online buy
buspirone 10mg price buspin medication cordarone 200mg without prescription
order generic flomax cost tamsulosin 0.4mg oral simvastatin
buy aldactone 100mg for sale valtrex buy online order proscar 5mg pill
academia writing pay for essay writing uk speechwriters
fluconazole online buy ampicillin tablets cipro medication
order generic flagyl flagyl order buy keflex generic
cheap aurogra 100mg aurogra 50mg cheap order estrace sale
order cleocin 300mg generic order generic cleocin 300mg purchase sildenafil without prescription
lamotrigine 200mg sale order nemazole pill mebendazole 100mg pills
buy tamoxifen 20mg for sale tamoxifen generic cost symbicort
buy retin cream sale retin gel canada purchase avanafil
order ceftin 500mg online cheap careprost allergy spray order methocarbamol 500mg pill
tadalafil 20mg ca buy indocin tablets indomethacin 75mg generic
desyrel 50mg usa buy clindamycin paypal clindac a uk
order aspirin 75mg sale buy aspirin 75mg online cheap free slot games no download
buy lamisil 250mg pill buy terbinafine 250mg real money games
writing a paper online slots best online casino for real money
affordable thesis writing pay for college essays oral suprax
buy calcitriol 0.25mg online cheap buy trandate 100 mg without prescription order tricor 160mg online
amoxicillin 500mg without prescription buy amoxicillin without prescription clarithromycin 500mg pill
best acne treatment teenage guys prescribed acne medication names purchase trileptal generic
buy generic catapres antivert 25mg canada spiriva where to buy
alfuzosin canada vomiting after taking medicine liability top rated heartburn prescription
minocycline 100mg sale order hytrin 5mg generic requip 1mg oral
where to buy zopiclone pills get ambien prescription online get diet pill prescription online
medroxyprogesterone sale buy hydrochlorothiazide tablets hydrochlorothiazide cost
diflucan without a prescription list of prescription antifungal creams drinks that reduce blood pressure
periactin uk buy generic luvox for sale nizoral 200mg brand