7 Facts About <br />Bram Stoker's 'Dracula' 1. It's possible 'Dracula' <br />was based on a nightmare. Legend has it, Stoker dreamt <br />of “a vampire king rising from the tomb," <br />following a meal of what may have been spoiled crab. 2. Vampires and 'Frankenstein' <br />have a shared history. A ghost story contest proposed <br />by Lord Byron led to Mary Shelly's <br />'Frankenstein' and the first English <br />language vampire story, 'The Vampyre.' 3. Stoker may have <br />based Dracula on <br />a terrible boss. Stoker was the manager of <br />the famous Shakespearean actor, <br />Henry Irving. Irving had a reputation of <br />being charming, handsome and a "mental" vampire. 4. Romanian Prince Vlad <br />"The Impaler" was <br />likely an influence. The Prince was infamous for <br />impaling his enemies. His nickname, Dracula, <br />means "devil" in the Wallachian language. 5. 'Dracula' was written <br />in the wake of the <br />Jack the Ripper murders. The serial murders dominated <br />the London headlines in 1888, <br />just two years before Stoker <br />began writing 'Dracula.' 6. Dracula's castle <br />had Scottish roots. As the author never visited <br />Transylvania, the Slains Castle <br />in Scotland is widely considered to be <br />the inspiration for Stoker's creation in Dracula. 7. 'Dracula' was almost <br />titled 'The Undead.' Stoker used the working title, <br />'The Dead Undead,' shortening <br />it to 'The Undead,' before deciding <br />on 'Dracula' just before publishing.
