by Ephraim J. (8th Grade)

Bram Stoker was a 19th-century Gothic Horror author who is best known for writing the book Dracula. As I have been working on a research paper about him, I know an awful lot about his writing, including the fact that he (jokingly) claimed his inspiration for Dracula came from “a too-generous helping of dressed crab at supper.” It actually most likely came from the stories his mother told him during his childhood (imagine the Brothers Grimm, but you’ve been bedridden—and bloodlet—for the past 6 years). Also, a reporter once said, “though Mr. Stoker did not say so, I am inclined to think that the literary agent is to him a nineteenth century vampire.” The second quote has nothing to do with anything, but it’s fun. Anyway, Dracula was the basis for most of today’s ideas about vampires, which become increasingly relevant as Halloween advances upon us.