Dracula is the eponymous antagonist of the classic Bram Stoker novel. Loosely drawing on the reputation of the Romanian prince Vlad III The Impaler, Dracula defined most if not all of modern perceptions about vampires: fear of crosses, garlic, death from sunlight and stakes through the heart, and the aristocratic air popularized by Bela Lugosi's portrayal in the 1931 film adaptation.
In the novel, Dracula is killed by a party led by Dr. Van Helsing, but he's had a vivid after-afterlife. In the century since the novel's publication, Dracula has appeared on stage, in film, comics, ballet, television, and video games. He has been seen with Frankenstein's monster, the Wolfman, Billy the Kid, Blade, The Munsters, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Dracula currently holds the Guiness World Record for "Most Portrayed Character", with such noted actors as Bela Lugosi, Lon Cheney, John Carradine, Christopher Lee, Jack Palance, Udo Kier, Frank Langella, Gary Oldman and Leslie Neilsen all having donned the cape.
In the novel, Dracula is killed by a party led by Dr. Van Helsing, but he's had a vivid after-afterlife. In the century since the novel's publication, Dracula has appeared on stage, in film, comics, ballet, television, and video games. He has been seen with Frankenstein's monster, the Wolfman, Billy the Kid, Blade, The Munsters, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Dracula currently holds the Guiness World Record for "Most Portrayed Character", with such noted actors as Bela Lugosi, Lon Cheney, John Carradine, Christopher Lee, Jack Palance, Udo Kier, Frank Langella, Gary Oldman and Leslie Neilsen all having donned the cape.
