Imagine this: you’re a real estate agent on one of your first jobs, and you have to go from England to Transylvania to stay at a client’s castle. Yes, castle. And, on your way, everyone tries to deter you from going. This is the exact predicament of one of the main characters of Dracula, Jonathan Harker, and the beginning of the novel. 

Dracula is a 125 year old novel about Jonathan; his fiancée, Mina; her best friend with a chronic sleepwalking problem and many suitors, Lucy; polymath and man with too many titles, Abraham Van Helsing; many other characters, like Dr. Seward and Renfield; and of course, the man himself, Count Dracula. 

The novel is told through letters, newspaper clippings, and diary entries. The story it tells is one of Jonathan and Co. and their plight dealing with Dracula as he makes his way to England, and their eventual defeat of the Count. But not without a few tragedies along the way. After all, this is a gothic horror novel. 

The story is fairly easy to follow and is really interesting. However, the novel is old. And, with most novels of that age, trying to get into it at first can be a challenge. But once you get past the older language, Dracula is a quick and engaging read. Dracula is a building block for some of the most iconic pop culture moments and tropes, which makes this book a neat behind the scenes look.

And, if reading a physical book isn’t your thing, Dracula has a bite (ba dum tsh) sized newsletter called Dracula Daily. The journal entries, letters, and newspaper articles are all dated, which lends itself to the “Daily” part of the name. While not in the order of the book, it sends out the entries in chronological order, from May to November. This is how I originally read Dracula, and after reading the physical book, I have to say the experiences are comparable.

All in all, Dracula is a scary good read that makes vampires seem less like an overdone trope and more like a frightening reality. I give it 8 fangs out of 10.