The most famous vampire story ever written, Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897) has enthralled generations of readers as completely as Count Dracula enthrals his victims. Though Stoker did not invent vampires – and in fact based his character’s life-in-death on extensive research into European folklore – his novel elevated the nocturnal monster to iconic stature, spawning a genre of stories and movies which flourishes to this day. A century of imitation has done nothing to diminish its power. As the suave and chilling Count stalks his prey from a crumbling castle in the Carpathians to a lunatic asylum in Purfleet and the bedrooms of his swooning female victims, the drama builds to a fever pitch of sensuality and suspense. Dracula is not only a classic of Gothic horror and a wellspring of modern mythology: it is also irresistible entertainment.