Bram Stoker’s Dracula is more than a horror classic; it’s a complex blend of myth, history, and cultural trauma, drawing on sources as varied as Ireland’s Great Famine, Eastern European legends, and tales of Vlad the Impaler.

Stoker, an Irishman writing in the shadow of British colonial rule, may have channelled the famine’s ghosts into his chilling protagonist—a predatory nobleman who drains life itself. Then there’s Vlad Dracul, the real-life 15th-century Wallachian prince famed for his brutal impalements, who served as a model of cruelty for the Count. And let’s not forget Nosferatu, the silent film adaptation that etched the vampire into popular culture, amplifying Dracula’s eerie legacy. Together, these myths reveal a layered origin story behind one of literature’s most enduring monsters.

Listen to the podcast Talking History where Patrick Geoghegan hosts a special Halloween edition where we find out about how Dracula was created, the character and the book's remarkable longevity, and why we have such a fascination with horror. Joining Patrick to discuss is the great-grandnephew of Bram Stoker, Dacre Stoker. Watch Stanley Stepanic's TED-Ed lesson explaining how Dracula became the most famous vampire in the world. Over a hundred years after his creator was laid to rest, Dracula lives on as the most famous vampire in history. But this Transylvanian noble – neither the first fictional vampire nor the most popular of his time – may have remained buried in obscurity if not for a twist of fate. Stanley Stepanic explains how a critical copyright battle catapulted Bram Stoker’s character into literary renown.