Dracula
Monster Class:
Vampire
Monster Type:
Classic
Characteristics:
Slick black hair, piercing eyes, pale skin, black cape, fangs
Prey:
Pretty young women with exposed necklines
Location:
Castles, old Victorian-style homes, graveyards, crypts, and coffins
Special Abilities:
Dracula is a master charmer. He can control peoples minds simply by gazing deep into their eyes. He has been known to turn into a bat and show up without warning on the balcony of an unlucky female victim. One bite from his fangs and you will be under his spell. This usually means you will endure neverending lethargic symptoms for the rest of your days.
Weaknesses:
The only way to kill Dracula for sure is to plunge a wooden stake through his heart while he sleeps. Since vampires hate sunlight, getting him to feel the rays of the sun is another effective way to get rid of him. Holy water will burn his skin on contact. Catholic crosses also have this effect especially if they have been blessed by a priest. Garlic has long been said to drive vampires away. And finally, something that will really make Dracula shriek...show him a mirror.
Discussion:
Count Dracula is without a doubt the most famous of all vampires. He is a charming aristocratic womanizer and admirer of anything nostalgic and old. Equipped with his skills in the black arts, he has evil plans for world domination. He often appears to be cordial but his temper can turn to rage when his plans are interfered with. Dracula lives in a decrepit old castle in the mountains of Transylvania in Romania. He has an insatiable desire for blood, and can seduce women and exercise mind control over men to allow him to get close enough to bite their necks or wrists. This is generally how he feeds, which helps him preserve his powers. Dracula, being the womanizer he is, lives with female vampire brides.
Count Dracula was created as the main character in Bram Stoker’s 1897 Gothic horror novel Dracula. His character is actually based on a real historical figure Vlad III, Prince of Wallachia (also known as Vlad the Impaler). Prince Vlad was a cruel and blood-thirsty tyrant who earned his nickname by having prisoners and enemies impaled on sharpened stakes. His Russian surname was Dracula and there was a rumor in the superstitious lands he lived in that he was a vampire. Vampirism was greatly feared in the early 18th century especially in southeastern Europe. After learning about this history, Bram Stoker was inspired to create the character of Dracula.
You may be asking yourself if Nosferatu is the same as Dracula? The answer is well, sort of. Nosferatu is a 1922 German film about a Dracula-like character named Count Orlok. The film producer Albin Grau originally wanted to make a film about vampires. Initially he wanted his film to retell the story of Dracula but the estate of Bram Stoker would not sell him the rights. In an attempt to avoid copyright infringement he changed details of the story and the movie was made. However, he was hit with a lawsuit anyhow and was forced to destroy all copies of the movie. Only one copy survived and that copy made it to the US. It was from this one copy that the film survived and began to gain new attention and audience support. So the answer to the original question is yes, the character Count Orlok is essentually Dracula. To learn more, read this article about the entire history of this movie and it’s relation to Bram Stoker’s Dracula.