Dracul

It is 1868, and a 22-year-old Bram Stoker has locked himself inside a desolate tower to face off against a vile and ungodly beast, armed with mirrors and crucifixes and holy water and a gun, kept company by a bottle of plum brandy, praying to survive a single night, the longest of his life. Desperate to leave a record of what he has witnessed, Bram scribbles out the events that led him here--a childhood illness, a haunting nanny, stories once thought to be fables now proven true. A riveting novel of Gothic suspense, Dracul reveals not only Dracula's true origin, but Bram Stoker's--and the tale of the enigmatic woman who connects them. Also by Dacre Stoker and J. D. Barker......Page 2 Title Page......Page 3 Copyright......Page 4 Dedication......Page 5 Contents......Page 6 Map of Bram Stoker's Dublin and Europe......Page 10 Part I......Page 11 Now......Page 13 The Journal of Bram Stoker......Page 16 The Journal of Bram Stoker......Page 20 Now......Page 37 The Journal of Bram Stoker......Page 39 Now......Page 67 The Journal of Bram Stoker......Page 71 Now......Page 94 The Journal of Bram Stoker......Page 99 Part II......Page 109 Now......Page 111 Letter from Matilda to Ellen Crone, Dated 8 August 1868......Page 114 The Journal of Bram Stoker......Page 122 Now......Page 134 The Journal of Bram Stoker......Page 136 The Diary of Thornley Stoker......Page 148 The Journal of Bram Stoker......Page 154 Now......Page 172 Letter from Matilda to Ellen Crone, Dated 11 August 1868......Page 175 The Diary of Thornley Stoker......Page 178 The Journal of Bram Stoker......Page 192 Letter from Matilda to Ellen Crone, Dated 11 August 1868......Page 203 The Journal of Bram Stoker......Page 209 Now......Page 212 Post Office Telegram......Page 215 The Diary of Thornley Stoker......Page 216 The Journal of Bram Stoker......Page 246 From the Notes of Arminius Vambéry......Page 247 The Diary of Thornley Stoker......Page 249 Now......Page 253 The Journal of Bram Stoker......Page 255 From the Notes of Arminius Vambéry......Page 269 The Diary of Thornley Stoker......Page 271 The Journal of Bram Stoker......Page 284 Now......Page 289 Letter from Matilda to Ellen Crone, Dated 16 August 1868......Page 291 The Journal of Bram Stoker......Page 293 The Diary of Thornley Stoker......Page 303 Now......Page 306 The Journal of Bram Stoker......Page 308 The Diary of Thornley Stoker......Page 310 Now......Page 312 The Journal of Bram Stoker......Page 314 Now......Page 331 The Journal of Bram Stoker......Page 333 Part III......Page 343 Now......Page 345 Arminius......Page 346 Matilda......Page 350 Bram......Page 354 Matilda......Page 368 Bram......Page 370 Matilda......Page 372 Bram......Page 374 Matilda......Page 377 Bram......Page 378 Matilda......Page 383 Bram......Page 385 Letter from Matilda to Ellen Crone, Dated 22 August 1868......Page 402 Twenty-Two Years Later......Page 405 The Journal of Bram Stoker......Page 406 Epilogue......Page 411 Patient # 40562 Case Record......Page 412 Authors’ Note......Page 414 Dacre’s Acknowledgments......Page 425 J.D.’s Acknowledgments......Page 426 About the Authors......Page 427 The prequel to Dracula , inspired by notes and texts left behind by the author of the classic novel, Dracul is a supernatural thriller that reveals not only Dracula's true origins but Bram Stoker's--and the tale of the enigmatic woman who connects them. It is 1868, and a twenty-one-year-old Bram Stoker waits in a desolate tower to face an indescribable evil. Armed only with crucifixes, holy water, and a rifle, he prays to survive a single night, the longest of his life. Desperate to record what he has witnessed, Bram scribbles down the events that led him here... A sickly child, Bram spent his early days bedridden in his parents' Dublin home, tended to by his caretaker, a young woman named Ellen Crone. When a string of strange deaths occur in a nearby town, Bram and his sister Matilda detect a pattern of bizarre behavior by Ellen--a mystery that deepens chillingly until Ellen vanishes suddenly from their lives. Years later, Matilda returns from studying in Paris to tell Bram the news that she has seen Ellen--and that the nightmare they've thought long ended is only beginning. It is 1868, and a twenty-one-year-old Bram Stoker waits in a desolate tower to face an indescribable evil. Armed only with crucifixes, holy water, and a rifle, he prays to survive a single night, the longest of his life. Desperate to record what he has witnessed, Bram scribbles down the events that led him here ... A sickly child, Bram spent his early days bedridden in his parents' Dublin home, tended to by his caretaker, a young woman named Ellen Crone. When a string of strange deaths occur in a nearby town, Bram and his sister Matilda detect a pattern of bizarre behavior by Ellen--a mystery that deepens chillingly until Ellen vanishes suddenly from their lives. Years later, Matilda returns from studying in Paris to tell Bram the news that she has seen Ellen--and that the nightmare they've thought long ended is only beginning. A riveting novel of gothic suspense, Dracul reveals not only Dracula's true origin, but Bram Stoker's---and the tale of the enigmatic woman who connects them.