"Welcome to my house! Enter freely and of your own will!" These are the first words of the vampirical Count of Bram Stoker's novel Dracula to the English solicitor Jonathan Harker. These words at the beginning point to the law that structures Dracula's moves throughout the whole novel. Just as Dracula needs to make sure that his guests follow his invitation out of their own free will, he himself can only enter after being invited. The topic of invitation is closely linked to Dracula's imperialist aggression, but it can also be seen as an ingratiating gesture which guarantees that the Count is still the most prominent of the undead today. Since his appearance in Stoker's novel, Dracula has laid down the rules and influenced images of vampires. In this seminar, we will focus on the different shadows Dracula casts in the media. After a close look at Bram Stoker's novel, we will trace Dracula's movements in other novels, films, TV series and music and ask how different media approaches contribute to different images and perceptions.

Literature:

Bram Stoker, Dracula (please purchase the OUP edition) Stephenie Meyer, Breaking Dawn