World Dracula Day 2022

1st edition of Dracula with Bram Stoker's portrait

125 years ago today, Dracula was published. This year marks the Quasquicentennial for the birth of a whole genre of horror stories. Prior to Dracula, most vampire stories were of the credulous “non-fictional” type – that is, they were told because they were believed to be true. There were a few fictional vampires prior to Count Dracula who paved the way. Then, after Bram Stoker’s Dracula, gothic horror came into vogue and fictional vampires came out of the shadows.

A copy of Bram Stoker's Dracula, showing a woodblock print of a castle
The story of Dracula lives on. Immortal, in a way.

In 2022, fans of the vampire classic marked the 125th anniversary in a number of ways. Drinking a bottle of red while reading a leatherbound edition in a tomb was popular. In Whitby England (where the nearby Gothic abbey was supposedly an inspiration for Bram Stoker), there was an attempt to set a Guinness World Record for the number of attendees in vampire costume. The final count is pending, but organizers hoped for 1,897 – to match the year of Dracula’s publication in 1897.

The 1897 yellow jacket edition of Dracula
If you have the original edition of Dracula, published >125 years ago, it is now worth considerably more than 6p.

We’re celebrating by reviving Children of the Night this October. We’re casting our 3-act vampire dramedy soon. Come join us, and keep the tradition alive.


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