I found a copy of Dracula. I think I can guess one of the reasons why the novel has endured. It gets right into the action. There’s none of the “investigation” of The Phantom, none of the easing into the mystery of Jekyll and Hyde, none of the pages of story relating to a minor character who gets told the whole story that we’re actually interested in of Frankenstein. Dracula opens with Jonathan Harker in Transylvania on his way to Castle Dracula. And pretty quickly after that, bad things start to happen. To hell with all the talk of sexual undercurrents, foreign menace and old world legends haunting the modern world – Dracula is quickly revealed to be a blood sucking menace who commands legions of Gypsies and wolves. If I didn’t already know what was going to happen I might be creeped out myself.

It is a bit funny though … Dracula has no servants so he secretly takes care of Harker the way servants normally would. Scream as Dracula sets the table! Flinch as the Master of the Undead adds just a hint of rosemary to the soup! Cover your eyes as the Prince of Darkness makes the bed! Flee in terror as the Unliving Fiend washes the dishes! Sort of embarrassing.