It is fitting that Bram Stoker is more celebrated in death than life. This week marks the centenary of his death. Numerous events have been held in his honour. It’s a typical jamboree.
Horror writer Stewart King has explained how Stoker’s legacy is being sustained by a new wave of vampire fiction, which, for those who’ve been locked in an eerie for the past decade, has proved wildly popular. Vampires also remain popular in academic circles. The Times Higher Education reports that numerous professors convened for a Stoker centenary conference, where they lamented the modern assault on the gothic tradition. They condemned the influence of Freudian psychoanalysis on vampire stories, and castigated the ‘Americanisation’ of gothic literature, which has replaced the violent, brooding aristocrat with the insipid form of the tortured adolescent. In other words, ditch Stephanie Meyer and revive Stoker.
Dracula was published in May 1897.
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