In this blog post, I’ve explored “Dracula” by focusing on humanity’s age-old dreams and fears regarding supernatural beings—as well as the historical context in which people sought to define such entities as demons and drive them out.

The Fear of Ghosts, Even When We Don’t Believe in Them

Do you believe that ghosts exist?
Probably not many people would openly admit to it. In an era where science has advanced to the point where space travel is on the horizon, believing in ghosts might seem like a foolish notion. You might even ask, “Who in this day and age still believes in such superstitions?”
Yet, after reading ‘Dracula’, I can’t help but feel a sense of unease in the back of my mind. After reading the book, when I’m in a dark place, I sometimes feel as if the red eyes of a vampire like Dracula are staring at me. When I’m fast asleep, oblivious to the world, I sometimes imagine Dracula’s sharp fangs secretly touching my neck. Even though we deny the existence of ghosts with our words and thoughts, might there still be a lingering fear of them in the back of our minds?
I tried rephrasing the question a bit.
Hasn’t everyone had a dream like this at least once? The thought of mastering the ability to appear in multiple places at once; the desire to become invisible to others; the wish to possess the power to freely transform into any form I desire; or the dream of using magic to control the world as I please. What if you could take a magic potion and never grow old or die? What if you could obtain a love potion and capture the heart of the one you love?
Anyone who has ever entertained such dreams would probably nod in agreement.
But if you take a closer look at the content of those dreams, something peculiar emerges. The abilities we imagine are, for some reason, quite similar to the powers Dracula possesses in this novel. So, might it be that deep down, people harbor a dream of becoming a being like Dracula? Perhaps the Dracula we fear already exists within our dreams.
To put it boldly, I believe such a dream certainly exists within us. Dracula exists right there in our dreams. It is the dream of becoming a supernatural being.

The Supernatural World That Humanity Has Long Dreamed Of

This dream did not arise suddenly. I believe it is an ancient dream that humanity has harbored ever since we first walked the earth.
Our ancestors believed that supernatural phenomena were constantly occurring around us. They believed that supernatural beings were always by our side. This is not a story found only in mythology. It is evident in Homer’s ‘Iliad’ and ‘Odyssey’, as well as in Sophocles’ ‘Oedipus’ and Virgil’s ‘Aeneid’. The gods lived among humans. Even in Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ and ‘The Tempest’, fairies openly roam among people, and magic is wielded to one’s heart’s content.
People of that era did not find such things strange. When reading these works, they did not simply view them as literary devices; they believed them to be reality. If we think about it boldly, we could even say they believed Dracula was always right there with them.
Perhaps humanity’s ancestors did not fear Dracula as much as we do today. Of course, they were probably afraid to some extent, but they likely weren’t gripped by the extreme terror seen in the characters of ‘Dracula’. This was because they were somewhat accustomed to it.
However, in Bram Stoker’s (1847–1912) ‘Dracula’, published in the late 19th century, this entity becomes a terrifying vampire—a demon that must be eradicated from this world. Why did it change so drastically?
The 19th century was a time when people’s faith in science reached its peak. The belief that nothing was beyond human understanding in the name of science was widespread, and people believed there was nothing that could not be achieved through the power of science. This belief influenced literature as well, leading to the emergence of naturalist literature.
When faith in human reason—and in the science achieved through that reason—reaches its peak, believing in supernatural phenomena becomes foolish. It becomes a sign of ignorance and superstition. Humans need only live by seeking to uncover what their reason can reveal. In doing so, human concern narrows to an extremely practical realm.
However, the matter is not that simple. Nor is it a source of peace of mind. This is because there still exists a world in human life that cannot be clearly elucidated: the world before birth and the world after death. This can be called the world of the soul.
Humans are not beings who live with interest solely in this world, where we exist in physical form. We are constantly curious about where we came from and where we go after death. No matter how loudly people proclaim that science can explain everything, humans are inclined to believe that mysterious forces still coexist in this world. Even the people of the 19th century, who were deeply steeped in scientism, were no exception.

Supernatural Beings That Became Even More Frightening in the Age of Science

It was precisely within this atmosphere that fantasy literature and horror novels, such as ‘Dracula’, emerged. These novels deal with supernatural phenomena. However, the world was no longer naive enough to accept such phenomena as a matter of course.
Supernatural phenomena and beings could no longer appear in familiar forms, as they did in ancient Greek myths or Shakespeare’s works. This was because the very atmosphere of the world denied such phenomena. People believed that the world had been fully illuminated by human reason, and that darkness must be banished by the light of that reason.
Yet, it still feels as though supernatural phenomena clearly exist. So what will happen? Won’t the fear of such supernatural phenomena only grow stronger?
In such an era, one might even come to fear oneself for believing in the supernatural. To have such a dream in broad daylight! Such dreams must be banished. Yet no matter how hard I try to banish them, I keep having them. It feels as though no one else has such dreams—only I do.
It’s terrifying. The content of the dream is terrifying, and I am terrified of myself for having such dreams. I must banish that dream—and even banish the part of myself that has it. In this way, the supernatural phenomenon becomes Dracula, and the dream itself becomes something truly terrifying.
In this regard, ‘Dracula’ is a truly peculiar novel. In that it features a supernatural being—a vampire—the novel seems to go against the prevailing trend of the era, which denied supernatural phenomena and beings. Yet at the same time, it aligns perfectly with that trend by arguing that such supernatural beings, possessing the attributes of demons, must be banished from this world.
That is why I believe ‘Dracula’ can also be read as an exorcism novel that drives out ghosts and demons from this world.

Why did Dracula become a blood-drinking ghost?

If so, we need to reconsider what a ghost actually is.
A ghost is the spirit of the dead. However, not every spirit of the dead becomes a ghost. If, after death, a spirit goes to where it is meant to go and remains there peacefully, it is not a ghost. A ghost is a spirit that, even after death, retains attachments to this world and lingers here.
There are two reasons why a ghost cannot peacefully depart for the afterlife and instead lingers in this world.
One is because there is unresolved regret left in this world. This occurs when someone dies without having experienced something that others have enjoyed. In such cases, the soul cannot go to the afterlife and instead wanders around this world. We call this a “bardo spirit.”
There is another reason: when a soul is so attached to life in this world that it wishes to extend that life forever—when it simply does not want to leave this place ever.
Dracula belongs to the latter category. He is an immortal ghost. That is precisely why Dracula is a vampire. Isn’t blood the very symbol of life? By drinking human blood, he prolongs his physical existence.
However, he is not a living being. Since he is already dead, he is strictly speaking a ghost. If that is the case, a ghost must be sent back to the world of ghosts. A spirit wandering this world must be sent back to the realm of souls.
Viewed in this light, ‘Dracula’ can be described as a novel that drives that ghost out of this world and sends it back to where it belongs. That is why, even as they dispose of Lucy’s body—who was turned into a vampire after being bitten by Dracula—they say it is for the sake of her soul’s rest.
“Dracula” is a novel that rebukes Dracula, declaring, “This is not the place for you,” and banishes him from here forever.

Should We Drive Dracula Away, or Should We Understand Him?

However, that is not the only way to send a ghost back to where it belongs.
One might ask why he lingers here so much, whether he shouldn’t have gone to the afterlife after dying, or what unresolved grievance is causing him to do this. One might also try to soothe him by asking if he could peacefully pass on to the afterlife once that grievance is resolved.
The film ‘Dracula’, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, is an outstanding reinterpretation of Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula’ that takes precisely this latter approach. In that film, Dracula is portrayed as a being unable to leave for the afterlife because of a love he was unable to fulfill in this world.
It would be interesting to read the original novel, watch this film, and compare the two. This is because, even when dealing with the same Dracula, a completely different story can emerge depending on the perspective from which he is viewed.
Ultimately, while reading ‘Dracula’, I find myself asking this question once again:
If Dracula were to reveal himself beside me—or within me—what would I do? Would I make him a familiar presence to us, stripping him of his demonic image? Or would I banish him from our midst forever?

Bram Stoker and the Birth of ‘Dracula’

Bram Stoker was born in 1847 in Dublin, Ireland, as the third of seven children to his father, Abraham Stoker, a civil servant, and his mother, Charlotte. As a child, he was frail, and his mother is said to have enjoyed telling him stories of ghosts, demons, and fairies. These tales sparked his imagination and later influenced his writing of fantasy fiction.
During his teenage years, he met Henry Irving, an actor and director, at a theater he frequented with his father, and went on to serve as Irving’s devoted manager for the next 27 years. Even while leading a busy life as a manager, he found time to write novels, leaving behind a total of 17 works, including ‘Dracula’. Most of his novels, like ‘Dracula’, revolve around the themes of horror and fantasy.
Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula’ became the prototype for all subsequent vampire films and plays, adapted into countless works and beloved by people around the world. However, the name of the author, Bram Stoker, remained largely unknown. This was because the overwhelmingly powerful image of Count Dracula overshadowed the author’s own fame.
That’s why I think it’s a good idea to read the novel ‘Dracula’ before watching the movie or seeing the play. This is because the novel can actually stimulate each reader’s imagination more richly than a movie or play, allowing them to get a little closer to the figure of Dracula.
After reading ‘Dracula’, one comes to realize that Dracula is not merely a terrifying vampire. Within it lie both the age-old human dream of becoming a supernatural being and another aspect of human nature that fears that dream and seeks to banish it. Even in the age of science and reason, humans remain curious about the world before birth and after death, and cannot completely shake off the inexplicable. Perhaps the terror of Dracula begins precisely at that point.