Daily Dracula

Discussion of fine arts and literature.
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Frelga
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Daily Dracula

Post by Frelga »

May 3 begins a new round of Daily Dracula.

https://draculadaily.substack.com/about
Bram Stoker’s Dracula is an epistolary novel - it’s made up of letters, diaries, telegrams, newspaper clippings - and every part of it has a date. The whole story happens between May 3 and November 7. So: Dracula Daily will post a newsletter each day that something happens to the characters, in the same timeline that it happens to them.
Because if you haven't read the book where a vampire gets into a knife fight with a cowboy, you should.
Let the other societies take the skilled, the hopefuls, the ambitious, the self-confident. He’d take the whining resentful ones, the ones with a bellyful of spite and bile, the ones who knew they could make it big if only they’d been given the chance. Give him the ones in which the floods of venom and vindictiveness were dammed up behind thin walls of ineptitude and lowgrade paranoia.

Terry Pratchett, Guards! Guards!
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Re: Daily Dracula

Post by Alatar »

I'm in! Are we discussing?
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Frelga
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Re: Daily Dracula

Post by Frelga »

I'd like to.
Let the other societies take the skilled, the hopefuls, the ambitious, the self-confident. He’d take the whining resentful ones, the ones with a bellyful of spite and bile, the ones who knew they could make it big if only they’d been given the chance. Give him the ones in which the floods of venom and vindictiveness were dammed up behind thin walls of ineptitude and lowgrade paranoia.

Terry Pratchett, Guards! Guards!
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Jude
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Re: Daily Dracula

Post by Jude »

I just signed myself up.
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Frelga
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Re: Daily Dracula

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We may need group therapy when we get to the part with the escalating flies, spiders, etc.
Let the other societies take the skilled, the hopefuls, the ambitious, the self-confident. He’d take the whining resentful ones, the ones with a bellyful of spite and bile, the ones who knew they could make it big if only they’d been given the chance. Give him the ones in which the floods of venom and vindictiveness were dammed up behind thin walls of ineptitude and lowgrade paranoia.

Terry Pratchett, Guards! Guards!
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Inanna
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Re: Daily Dracula

Post by Inanna »

Me too.
'You just said "your getting shorter": you've obviously been drinking too much ent-draught and not enough Prim's.' - Jude
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Frelga
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Re: Daily Dracula

Post by Frelga »

May also need one of these.

Victorian Era Vampire Hunting Kit (Etsy)
Let the other societies take the skilled, the hopefuls, the ambitious, the self-confident. He’d take the whining resentful ones, the ones with a bellyful of spite and bile, the ones who knew they could make it big if only they’d been given the chance. Give him the ones in which the floods of venom and vindictiveness were dammed up behind thin walls of ineptitude and lowgrade paranoia.

Terry Pratchett, Guards! Guards!
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Jude
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Re: Daily Dracula

Post by Jude »

That’s ultra-cool but… did you see the price? :shock:
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Re: Daily Dracula

Post by Jude »

I just received the first instalment. Anyone else?
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Inanna
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Re: Daily Dracula

Post by Inanna »

Me too!
'You just said "your getting shorter": you've obviously been drinking too much ent-draught and not enough Prim's.' - Jude
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Frelga
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Re: Daily Dracula

Post by Frelga »

Yessss! It came to us, precious.

This also popped up today.
Anthony Oliveira wrote: although called “Count” Dracula, no such honorific was used in any of the centuries Dracula was operating in Transylvania. As he himself says, he is “Boyar”, one of the aristocrats of the region. He also frequently signs his letters as “-D.”

THIS ****’S NAME IS BOYAR D.
There's more in the thread but some of it is a bit spoilery, if this is your first read.
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FvOWTGvWIAkdwvg.jpg (13.78 KiB) Viewed 10030 times
Let the other societies take the skilled, the hopefuls, the ambitious, the self-confident. He’d take the whining resentful ones, the ones with a bellyful of spite and bile, the ones who knew they could make it big if only they’d been given the chance. Give him the ones in which the floods of venom and vindictiveness were dammed up behind thin walls of ineptitude and lowgrade paranoia.

Terry Pratchett, Guards! Guards!
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Re: Daily Dracula

Post by Alatar »

So, my thoughts. I've read the book several times over the years, but I'll avoid spoilers.

I love the style of the book. A collection of letters, diaries and newspaper cuttings stitched together to tell a compelling story.

We start with a typical travelogue, Harker has the usual English superiority complex and while he appreciates the beauty and traditions of Hungary, he finds it all a bit amusing. He finds the food tasty and makes note to get recipes, but is quite dismissive of the locals, particularly the ladies, who obviously don't live up to English standards. He also jokes to himself about the lack of punctuality (and one would presume civilisation) the further one gets from London.

On May 4th we get our first real sense of unease (apart from fitful sleep on the night of the 3rd). Despite Harker's amusement, he is bothered by the old woman's obvious concern for his safety. Naturally, he dismisses it as superstition, but he is definitely shaken by it.
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Inanna
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Re: Daily Dracula

Post by Inanna »

I didn’t get May 4th. :(. Must have deleted it by mistake.
'You just said "your getting shorter": you've obviously been drinking too much ent-draught and not enough Prim's.' - Jude
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Re: Daily Dracula

Post by Jude »

Want me to send it to you?
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Re: Daily Dracula

Post by Frelga »

On my Gmail, 3 went to updates but 4 went to promotions for some reason. Maybe it looks like spam?
Let the other societies take the skilled, the hopefuls, the ambitious, the self-confident. He’d take the whining resentful ones, the ones with a bellyful of spite and bile, the ones who knew they could make it big if only they’d been given the chance. Give him the ones in which the floods of venom and vindictiveness were dammed up behind thin walls of ineptitude and lowgrade paranoia.

Terry Pratchett, Guards! Guards!
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Inanna
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Daily Dracula

Post by Inanna »

Jude wrote:Want me to send it to you?
Pliss.

Edit: thank you.
Last edited by Inanna on Fri May 05, 2023 10:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.
'You just said "your getting shorter": you've obviously been drinking too much ent-draught and not enough Prim's.' - Jude
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Jude
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Re: Daily Dracula

Post by Jude »

Sent.

Did you get today's installment?
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Inanna
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Re: Daily Dracula

Post by Inanna »

Yes, I did. Reading that now.
'You just said "your getting shorter": you've obviously been drinking too much ent-draught and not enough Prim's.' - Jude
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Re: Daily Dracula

Post by Inanna »

Wow. Loving it.
'You just said "your getting shorter": you've obviously been drinking too much ent-draught and not enough Prim's.' - Jude
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Frelga
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Re: Daily Dracula

Post by Frelga »

I find it endearing how non-genre savvy Harker is. Why would he be? The tropes are being established in this book.

Edit: a tweet commented that many older ghost stories begin "Seeing as I was beset by Nerves, my doctor prescribed I travel the Continent for three months," which is properly broody and sensitive. And then there's "I was on a business trip to help this rich guy buy property in England... "
/edit


Vlkoslak is probably related to volkodlak or vurdalak as it ended up in Russian (thanks, Pushkin). Despite being obviously derived from a word for wolf, it is applied more commonly to an undead monster, who leaves his grave to prey on his former loved ones. Usually, they are not very bright.
Let the other societies take the skilled, the hopefuls, the ambitious, the self-confident. He’d take the whining resentful ones, the ones with a bellyful of spite and bile, the ones who knew they could make it big if only they’d been given the chance. Give him the ones in which the floods of venom and vindictiveness were dammed up behind thin walls of ineptitude and lowgrade paranoia.

Terry Pratchett, Guards! Guards!
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