Bram Stoker was clearly influenced by research he undertook, and he drew a connection between the vampire and the coming of a plague that is certainly based upon legitimate Slavic sources. The use of the name Nosferatu for Dracula is interesting – it is the first time in literature that the term was applied to a vampire. Stoker also used the terms wampyr, the Un-Dead, ordog (Hungarian for Satan), pokol (Hungarian for hell), stregoica (Romanian for vampire – from the Latin strix, nominative plural striges, meaning screech-owl with the extended meaning of a daemon which attacked infants), and vrolok and vlkoslak (both cognate of Serbo-Croatian vukodlak).
From this novel came a host of attributes that are now considered standard for the average vampire. Like Count Dracula, the very prince or king of vampires, modern vampires are likely to: 1. have no reflection in a mirror; 2. possess telepathic abilities; 3. have ability to shape-shift into both a wolf and a bat; 4. require an invitation in order to enter an area for the first time; 5. be able to shape-shift but only at times of transition (sunrise, sunset, noon) except while in the coffin; 6. be weakened and vulnerable during the daylight; 7. be stopped by running water except at high or low tide; have sharp white teeth; 8. feed by sucking blood from the throats of the living; 9. be repelled by garlic (the novel Dracula is the first instance in which this very famous vampire repellent is mentioned as such – but it has gained almost a cult status to the extent that most people today are certain it derives from actual Slavic practice against vampires); 9. recoil from crucifixes (especially silver ones), holy water, and prayer); 10. crumble away to dust when killed.
Dracula as vampire must be killed in the following ways: impalement with a wooden stake while saying a prayer; stuffing the mouth with garlic and decapitating the vampire; removing the vampire’s heart; and shooting a sacred bullet into the coffin.
The story of Dracula is one of the most imitated ever written. It is used, consciously or subconsciously, in virtually every subsequent vampire story, whether in novel form or as a film. It establishes major elements that are considered virtually mandatory vampire lore, as shown above. It is also superbly well written, has been the subject of scholarly study, and is presently available in numerous editions (including very exhaustive annotated editions that contain more information than the average reader could possibly have expected).
The image of Dracula is less horrific than that of Varney, but more genuinely frightening. The description of facial features could almost be that of Vlad Tepes whose name proved so inspirational to Bram Stoker – no doubt this is not just coincidence.