Listen Now: The Real History of Dracula
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Even if you haven't read the book, you know the story. Written by Bram Stoker at the end of the 19th century, Dracula tells the tale of an ancient vampire who leaves his homeland to terrorize Victorian London. But that's not the whole story. The roots of this legendary horror novel stretch far into the distant past and deep into the human psyche.

Available exclusively on Wondery+, the new podcast The Real History of Dracula reveals how author Bram Stoker raided ancient folklore, exploited Victorian fears around sex, science, and religion, and how even today we remain enthralled to his strange creatures of the night. You're about to hear a clip from the first episode of The Real History of Dracula. You can binge the entire series ad-free exclusively on Wondery+. Jonathan Harker wakes with a storm.

For a terrifying moment, he thinks he's in a hearse, bound for the grave. Then he remembers he's in the Carpathian Mountains on a business trip. It's May, but the night is a cold one. Sitting in the back of an open carriage, Jonathan is wrapped up with a rug across his lap. And in the seat in front of him, the driver urges four black horses on with his whip. They bump and rattle up a steep drive and pass beneath the high stone walls of a castle. ♪♪

Is your master at home? The driver?

But the man has already climbed back into his seat, and the carriage is soon lurching off through a dark archway, leaving Jonathan alone. He waits, wondering if somehow a mistake has been made. His trip from England was a long and uncomfortable one. By sea to France, train to Budapest, a coach up into the Borgo Pass, and finally the open carriage up into the mountains. The road was wild, and the forests beyond wilder still.

Welcome to my house. Enter freely and of your own will. Count Dracula? I am Dracula.

And I bid you welcome, Mr. Harker. Jonathan steps across the threshold, and at once, the Count shakes him by the hand with a strength that makes Jonathan wince. Come freely. Go safely. And leave something of the happiness you bring. Thank you. Come in.

The night air is chill and you must need to eat and rest. Let me take your luggage. Oh, please. You needn't... Nay, sir. You are my guest. It is late and my people are not available. Let me see to your comfort myself. Follow me. My partner, Mr. Hawkins, sends his best regards and his apologies that he could not come in person. I have a letter for you from him, actually.

He is most excited to meet you when you reach London. As am I. I have read many tales of your great England. But alas, as yet I only know your tongue through books. You, Mr. Harker, are the first Englishman I have seen in the flesh. Well, sir, I should say you know and speak English thoroughly well. I am but a little way on the road I would travel. Here...

The Count opens the door to a well-lit room. The table is set for supper, and a fire burns in the broad stone hearth. I trust you will find all you wish. Sup, how you please. You will excuse me that I do not join you. I have already dined. Jonathan sits as the smell of roast chicken fills his nostrils. He's forgotten how hungry he was.

But just as he's about to eat, beyond the castle in the valley below, wolves erupt into full cry. To Jonathan, it is a horrid sound. But Count Dracula only smiles, his sharp white teeth gleaming in the lamplight. Listen to them, the children of the night. What music they make. From Airship, I'm Lindsey Graham, and this is the Real History of Dracula. ♪

On May 26, 1897, the British publishing house Archibald Constable & Company released a new book. Bound in cheap yellow cloth, it was written by a little-known Irish theatre manager living in London. The book was not a financial hit. But Bram Stoker's Dracula would change the world of fiction forever.

Stoker's novel was an elaborate synthesis of folklore, social commentary, and psychological thrills that melded legend with history and modern science with age-old nightmares.

Now, more than 125 years after its publication, Dracula still has a firm grip on our imaginations. One of the incredible things about Dracula is that not only is it this wonderful snapshot of the 19th century, but it also has so much resonance today. So I picked up Dracula and thought, you know, this could be a really fun book to teach. And I was stunned at

What a treasure chest of themes and tropes were in there. And the book just kept unpacking and exploding and exploding. It's just an amazing gothic thriller. And people still enjoy reading it, I think, for a long time to come. Bram Stoker's Dracula has been adapted into countless films, plays, comics, and radio programs. And every modern vampire story owes a debt to the novels.

But how did Bram Stoker's book become such a sensation? And why do audiences still thrill to tales of the walking undead more than a century later? To write his gruesome story of immortal evil, Stoker drew on intensive research. His creation would live long into the future, but Dracula was built on foundations that stretched far into the past, to ancient superstitions and medieval science, to old religions and forgotten ways of life.

This is the first episode in our four-part series on the real history behind Bram Stoker's Dracula, Foul Things of the Night. You can listen to the rest of this episode and then binge the entire Real History of Dracula series exclusively and ad-free right now with Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify and start your free trial today.