Bram Stoker Books: 'Dracula' Celebrated On Author's 165th Birthday
Prolific horror author Bram Stoker was born 165 years ago today and his work still influences modern entertainment.
Undoubtedly, Stoker's biggest legacy is his infamous vampire character Dracula.
Google celebrated the author's birthday with a doodle showing characters from his famous novel first published in 1897.
Stoker was a major influence in the horror genre, more specifically with the myths of the vampire. When he wrote the book, the world wasn't as familiar with the blood-sucking nocturnal creature as we are today, thanks in part to Stoker's work.
While there were other authors that wrote about vampires, Stoker's dark forbidden romance tale caught the attention of the Victorian readers. Today's audiences love the vampire mythos more than ever with hit television series like HBO's "True Blood" and Anne Rice's vampire novels. One of the biggest vampire hits has been Stephanie Meyers' "Twilight Saga," which became a hit book series that's gained a bigger audience through film.
Stoker originally saw his character as a being of Christian sin and an affront to God, but that has since transformed into a variety of modern vampire stories. In the late 1800's, Stoker was a business manager for the world-famous Lyceum Theatre in London but he still wrote novels to supplement his income. After Stoker's death, a story was published titled "Dracula's Guest," which some say may have been the first few chapters of Stoker's "Dracula."
The author's most famous novel has gone out of copyright protection giving everyone a chance to read "Dracula" online for free. Stoker's work has also been reproduced in film many times over the years.
In 1922, the Expressionist silent film adaptation "Nosferatu" was produced in Germany without the permission of Stoker's widow. The copyright battle that ensued helped the popularity of both the film and Stoker's original work.
