Untitled

[goblins-riddles-or-frocks]

Dracula’s general vibes are just like:

[a-pain-in-the-neck]

DRACULA DAILY, May 7th—

“When I had dressed myself I went into the room where we had supped, and found a cold breakfast laid out, with coffee kept hot by being placed on the hearth. There was a card on the table, on which was written— ‘I have to be absent for a while. Do not wait for me. —D.’ So I set to and enjoyed a hearty meal.”

I read this part and thought Wow, how nice it is of Dracula to learn how to cook for his human guests so they will be comfortable during their stay. I also LOVE drawing food it is one of my favorite subjects as some of you probably noticed with all the food in my paintings. I just love all the different colors and textures of food. And for as tedious as the pattern on the plates and cup was,I am VERY happy with how it turned out. Overall this digital painting took 57 layers, the most I have ever used so far! And it took me a total of 22 hours to complete! I am very proud of this piece, but also very happy it is done so now I can move on to the next day in Harker’s Journal.

Art by Ren Buchness, who does not have a tumblr but consents to me posting it here! Find them on INSTAGRAM @ladybuchness or on PATREON 🖤

[nam-joo]

my FAVORITE thing about dracula is people being like it's about xenophobia! it's about homophobia! it's about class dynamics! and they're all right <3

[im-not-the-one-youre-looking-for]

Guys the Paprika Hendl recipe is a keeper. So good. SO GOOD. And super simple to cook up. I made buttermilk biscuits and we made a salad out of the first of the spring lettuce. A very good meal.

[bywandandsword]

@Dracula daily fans

If y'all want to get to get your fix in between Jonathan's letters, I wanna recommend you check out the Spanish language version of the 1931 movie. This isn't the Bela Lugosi version with a dub, it's an entirely different movie. The two casts used the same sets, so the English speaking cast would film in the morning and the Spanish speaking cast would film at night. This meant the Spanish cast were able to watch to see what English cast did and go "We can do better" and they did! The preformances are are more expressive and the camera work feels more fluid and organic and the directors were very experimental in their approach. It's a fantastic movie, please go check it out!

[thedepressionoftrees]

[junosht]

so what are we just gonna ignore the fact the Mina literally writes like your average tumblr user?? girl's been tumblring since the 1800s, she's the real OG

[tyrannosaurus-trainwreck]

The May 5th entry for Dracula is just conceivably the best, most off-the-rails thing.

Picture, in your mind’s eye, this complete idiot of a baby lawyer standing in a courtyard with his stupid fucking travel dictionary and frantically looking up words while he’s listening to an entire fucking town reading somebody for filth while constantly blessing his ass.

Jonathan’s just like, “Oh, that one means ‘cannibal serial killer,’ how interesting!  What could they possibly be talking about while pointing directly at me and remonstrating with the carriage driver?”

Also, can you imagine if the blessings actually took?  Jonathan rolls up at the castle, standing there on the doorstep like a walking talking holy relic courtesy of everyone in the zip code lining up and calling down divine protection like a nuclear strike, Dracula’s just gritting his teeth like, “This is fine.”

“I could hear a lot of words often repeated, queer words, for there were many nationalities in the crowd; so I quietly got my polyglot dictionary from my bag and looked them out. I must say they were not cheering to me, for amongst them were “Ordog”—Satan, “pokol”—hell, “stregoica”—witch, “vrolok” and “vlkoslak”—both of which mean the same thing, one being Slovak and the other Servian for something that is either were-wolf or vampire. (Mem., I must ask the Count about these superstitions)“

Jonathan ‘Balls of Titanium’ Harker: Hey, Count Dracula, everybody seems to think someone in this neighborhood is shady as shit.  Is that why you’re moving to London? *loudly sips wine only he ever drinks*

The coach driver pulls some absolute Fast and the Furious bullshit all the way to Jonathan’s drop-off point.  Every other passenger is not only down with this but like, urging him on and stuffing garlic and wild rose and shit in Jonathan’s pockets. The dude manages to get there a fucking hour early, barely slows down, and is like “Hey look your ride’s not here, guess we better drop you off at the next town let’s gooooooo!”

Count Dracula, pulling up alongside them in his own carriage, is just like “Hey, ‘sup? Where’s the fire?”

Everyone in the carriage: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

Jonathan is like, okay, I guess this is what I’m doing now, which is more or less fine until he realizes that Dracula is just driving him around in circles.  Does he ask about this?  No.  Which is fair?  I mean, whomst among us hasn’t been like “Okay, I am definitely getting murdered, but maybe if I pretend I don’t know that I can squeak a few more hours out of this?”

Also, I mean.  Can you even imagine how awkward it would be if you were like “Hey, man, why are we driving around in circles?” and then your driver was like “We’re not.” You know he’s lying, he knows he’s lying.  He knows that you know he’s lying.  You know that he knows that you know he’s lying.  And now you’re stuck in the back of this buggy with him driving you around in circles and lying about it like a weirdo for however long it takes for him to knock it off and take you to the castle.

Then the driver just hops off the bench and goes after some blue flames. Jonathan’s like “Fuck.” Dude does it again. “Fuuuuck.” Dude does it and is gone so long a bunch of wolves show up and stare at the carriage. “Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck.” It’s fine though, because the driver can control wolves with a gesture!

Sidebar: I just really appreciate that Jonathan is eventually like “I think the driver and Dracula are the same guy!” because.  Seriously.  Option A is ‘Count Dracula is a wolf-wizard who masquerades as a coachman because he’s too cheap to hire a dude to drive his coach.’ Option B is ‘Dracula has whatever the fuck is going on with him going on with him and also has a fucking wolf-wizard working as his goddamn coachman.’ One is not appreciably better or more comforting than the other.

“This was all so strange and uncanny that a dreadful fear came upon me, and I was afraid to speak or move.”

Jonathan, my dude, you were just surrounded by hungry fucking wolves in the middle of nowhere.  This is the most basic and natural thing to be pants-pissingly terrified of in the entirety of human history.

Once they get to the castle, Coachman Wolf-Wizard vanishes, and nobody seems ready to open the door, so Jonathan’s just like, “Guess I’ll stand here until dawn, then! :)”

Dracula’s like “Welcome to my house! Enter freely and of your own will!” which is some serial killer wolf-wizard nonsense.

Jonathan: Let me now describe to you the physical aspect of Count Dracula.  He looks like a fucking vampire.

Jonathan’s Boss’s Letter: It’s such! a! shame! that I can’t come all the way out to Transylvania to get eaten by a werewolf.  Gout.  Such a bad attack of gout.  Stars not right.  Can’t make the journey.  Jonathan, on the other hand, is absolutely delighted to get the absolute hell bitten out of him and probably go mad.  You can trust him not to question anything, up to and including wolf-wizardry or all the peasants telling him you’re a murderous corpse.  XOXO, Mr. Hawkins

Jonathan: My boss said something complimentary about me! :D!

[sharkaroni]

a fair assumption to make

[thefirstpaleontologist]

reading Dracula has made me realise that Hotel Transylvania is the most accurate modern media depiction of Dracula

Johnathan being a optimistic and enthusiastic traveller with an appreciation for the local, food, and cool views - on point

Dracula frantically rushing around his castle cleaning and organising - literally what other Dracula film or show has committed to this so whole heartedly?

Dracula incapable of acting normal and having little to no idea how humans actually behave - I like to think that 1897 Dracula would also have reacted that way to seeing someone use contact lenses for the first time

[galaxygolfergirl]

Dracula Daily, May 9th

Mina: Omg bestie!! Why haven’t you written back yet? My sweet Jonathan is coming back in a week and I’ve been been working very hard lately at writing like a lady journalist and keeping his studies in order-

Meanwhile Jonathan: ohshitohfuckohshitohfuckohshitohfuckheyhethrewmymirrorawaythat’sannoyinghowthefuckamIgoingtoshavenowohshitohfuck-

[violetlou2020]

[kaiserin-erzsebet]

On the topic of the inherent 19th century biases of the text, also keep in mind that Dracula has aged as well as it has because it is subverting many of those viewpoints.

Jonathan’s experiences in Transylvania are subverting the idea of the superiority of an educated Westerner by making him look like a fool who is ignoring massive red flags. His Orientalist viewpoint is a hinderance. Similarly there is an absurdity to him trying to reason his way out of a dangerous supernatural situation.

Part of the reason that the Gothic appeals to us as modern readers is that it subverts the triumph of reason and science. It suggests that the emotional and superstitious is not something that Western culture has escaped. 

The classics of Gothic literature - Frankenstein, Dracula, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, etc. - are more accessible to modern readers because we accept the idea that rationality is flawed much more readily than the almost naïve Victorian faith in the triumph of rationality and science.

[retro-friki]

Guys, you should read "Carmilla", if you're amazed by our friend Jonathan's obliviousness you'll also like Laura, I mean:

"She used to place her pretty arms about my neck, draw me to her, and laying her cheek to mine, murmur with her lips near my ear, “Dearest, your little heart is wounded; think me not cruel because I obey the irresistible law of my strength and weakness; if your dear heart is wounded, my wild heart bleeds with yours. In the rapture of my enormous humiliation I live in your warm life, and you shall die—die, sweetly die—into mine. I cannot help it; as I draw near to you, you, in your turn, will draw near to others, and learn the rapture of that cruelty, which yet is love; so, for a while, seek to know no more of me and mine, but trust me with all your loving spirit.”

And when she had spoken such a rhapsody, she would press me more closely in her trembling embrace, and her lips in soft kisses gently glow upon my cheek.

Her agitations and her language were unintelligible to me."

Like, I can understand that she couldn't know that Carmilla was a vampire (after all, classic vampire stories as we know them have not been invented yet) but it's very hard to believe her claims that she didn't know that Carmilla was a lesbian!

[regal-bones]

"The bond between a Hallowbat and its rider is interwoven into the culture of the Glassfolk. They build their cities atop empty caverns for their bats to roost, and the iconography of wings and talons can be found woven into silk, chiseled into their architecture, and forged into their steel.  But, what of those who refuse this bond? Of those pale beasts drained of colour? Of those willing to kill their own shadow?

There are rumours of course, of grand manor houses high above the crystal canopy. Lavish balls and silent masquerades, glowing figures gliding between the trees on stolen wings, hiding from the shadow. If you find yourself in the Stainglass forest at the break of dawn, listen carefully to the crunch of crystal underfoot. You never know what might be following, eyeing the blush in your cheeks. "

-

In reference to unfounded rumours of the unseen vampire community among the Forest of Glass, from "Lands of the South, Vol IV".  - More Stainglass lore! If you want to see the full body sketch of this gal, as well as more Hallowbat lore and read the writing this world is set in, you can get it all on my £1 Patreon tier!

[marghen-deactivated20240228]

sneak peak: *wolves howling* and Jonathan about to mcfreaking™ lose it

[schmergo]

I’m so glad Dracula Daily is a thing because when I was in college, I had an absolute BLAST reading Dracula for my Gothic & Sentimental Literature class and the whole class experience felt a lot like this. For our final project for that class, we could either write a traditional paper OR do a “creative response.” I ended up writing a whole Weird Al-style parody musical about Dracula in which each song is a spoof of a song from a real musical. It was definitely my favorite college assignment I did. 

When I submitted it, my professor sent me an email with the subject matter “I take it back,” and wrote, “ In this case, I DO give A plusses.  Megan, I would have given  you an A for the “Dracula” song you performed in class. But you wrote a WHOLE F'ING OPERA! “ 

This is the track listing for anyone who’s interested (perhaps mild spoilers):

1. JOURNEY ON (Parody of the song of the same name from Ragtime): Jonathan, Dracula, Mina

2. THOUSANDS OF BUGS (Parody of “Seasons of Love” from Rent): Renfield

3. MY EYES ARE FULLY OPENED (Parody of song from Gilbert & Sullivan’s Ruddigore/ Sometimes Pirates of Penzance): Dracula, Jonathan, Renfield

4. DRACULA! (Parody of “Popular” from Wicked): Dracula

5. BUT VAN HELSING (Parody of “But Mr. Adams” from 1776), Van Helsing, Arthur, Seward, Lucy, Quincey 

6. GOOD EVENING, DRACULA! (Parody of “Good Morning Baltimore” from Hairspray): Lucy 

7. KEEPING DEATH AT BAY (Parody of “Colors of the Wind” from Pocahontas): Van Helsing

8. IT TAKES SIX (Parody of “It Takes Two” from Into the Woods): Jonathan, Mina, Van Helsing, Seward, Arthur, Quincey

9. KILL ME! (Parody of “Show Me” from My Fair Lady): Mina 

10. ONE STAKE MORE (Parody of “One Day More” from Les Miserables): Entire company 

11. DON’T CRY FOR ME MIDNIGHT’S CHILDREN (Parody of “Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina” from Evita): Dracula 

And, if you want to read Dracula’s big villain song, here it is:

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