Although Bram Stoker wrote several novels, he is now best remembered as the author of the original 1897 novel title Dracula.  The book was to be the inspiration for hundreds of adaptations both on stage and on the big screen until this day.

Interestingly, when he was alive, Bram Stoker was actually better known as the business manager for the Lyceum Theatre in London which belonged to the actor Henry Irving.  Stoker also acted as Irvings personal assistant.  He almost certainly never conceived just how popular his Dracula  book would be and how many vampires clubs it would inspire all over the world.  It is thought that he merely wrote novels as a way to supplement his income.  How well he would have done if he were alive today!

He wrote Dracula after having studied European folklore and vampires for many years.  With so many different tales of vampires, or vampire-like creatures throughout Europe he would doubtless have had an abundance of material to work with.  However, to turn all of that information into such a vampire classic required a vivid imagination.  This may have been fostered when he was young as he was apparently bed-ridden until the age of 7.  Which nothing more to do, his imagination could have run wild and planted the seed of literary genius that came to fruition in later life.

Bram Stoker died from a stroke in 1912, but his legend continued when his widow published "Dracula’s Guest and Other Weird Stories" in 1914.    When the film Nosferatu was released in 1922, Bram Stokers widow entered into a prolonged legal battle with the film makers claiming that they had not asked permission to base the story on Dracula.  Although the film makers had changed characters and names of characters in the screen version, the widow eventually was the legal battle.

In Nosferatu the main character is a rodent-like vampire and rather than convert his victims into vampires, most of them died.  However, there were enough similarities for the court case to be accepted with devastating financial consequences for the film makers.

The first ´official´ Dracula vampire movie - still a firm favorite with those in the vampires club - is the 1931 version released by Universal Studios and starring the famous Bela Lugosi.

The vampires club often disagree about which of the vampire movies are the best, with interesting on vampire forums as to the merits of each one.  Interestingly however, the most popular movie of all time according to one poll  was Nosferatu from 1922.  It seems the original is still the best.

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