Dracula by Bram Stoker
About the event
Dracula by Bram Stoker A super classic for Halloween. It's fine if you don't finish it. It's public domain so there are 'count'less (no pun intended) ways to read it for free:
• [Full book on Project Gutenberg](https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/45839) (read online or send to your Kindle/Kobo) • [Plenty on YouTube such as this one](https://youtu.be/XGNeFrnhlvw?si=6WroZYKyVeyl-JSi) • Also [Penguin audio version free with Spotify Premium](https://open.spotify.com/show/2hcfDdLSzoYHbi4mEr5bIY?si=353422efa3924c63)
When Jonathan Harker, a young English solicitor, travels to the remote Carpathian Mountains to assist the mysterious Count Dracula with a London real estate transaction, he uncovers a terrifying nightmarish reality. Trapped in a decaying castle, Harker realizes his host is an ancient, immortal creature of the night. Dracula soon sails for England to feed on new blood and spread his undead curse across London, forcing a small band of allies—led by the relentless Professor Abraham Van Helsing—to unite in a desperate race to destroy the monster before all is lost.
Literary History: Published in 1897, it stands as the definitive gothic horror masterpiece, establishing the modern vampire trope and inspiring hundreds of film, stage, and literary adaptations across global pop culture.
Themes for Discussion: Modernity versus ancient superstition, Victorian anxieties surrounding sexuality and contagion, fear of otherness/xenophobia, the nature of evil, madness, and collective sacrifice.
Page Count: 400+ pages (it's fine if you don't finish it)
Genre: Gothic Horror / Epistolary Novel / Classic Literature
