Illustrated edition · Part One · free to read

Dracula

by Bram Stoker1897

A solicitor rides into the Carpathians. His host has been expecting him for centuries.

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The story opens

40 drawn pages · dialogue straight from the original text

Dracula, illustrated page 1: Left Munich at 8.35 p.m. on 1st May,

Dracula, illustrated page 2: We left in pretty good time, and came after nightfall to Klausenburgh.

Dracula, illustrated page 3: Having some time at my disposal when in London, I had visited the British Museum,

Dracula, illustrated page 4: There was a dog howling all night under my window, which may have had something to do with it;

Dracula, illustrated page 5: It seems to me that the further East you go the more unpunctual are the trains.

Dracula, illustrated page 6: The strangest figures we saw were the Slovaks, who are more barbarian than the rest.

Dracula, illustrated page 7: It was on the dark side of twilight when we got to Bistritz, which is a very interesting old place.

Dracula, illustrated page 8: He went, but immediately returned with a letter:—

Dracula, illustrated page 9: 4 May.—I found that my landlord had got a letter from the Count.

Dracula, illustrated page 10: Just before I was leaving, the old lady came up to my room and said in a very hysterical way:

Dracula, illustrated page 11: I am writing up this part of the diary whilst I am waiting for the coach,

Dracula, illustrated page 12: The grey of the morning has passed.

Dracula, illustrated page 13: When we started, the crowd round the inn door, which had by this time swelled to a considerable size,

Dracula, illustrated page 14: Before us lay a green sloping land full of forests and woods,

Dracula, illustrated page 15: I could not understand then what the haste meant,

Dracula, illustrated page 16: As we wound on our endless way, and the sun sank lower and lower behind us,

Dracula, illustrated page 17: As the evening fell it began to get very cold,

Dracula, illustrated page 18: it grew dark there seemed to be some excitement amongst the passengers,

Dracula, illustrated page 19: Then through the darkness I could see a sort of patch of grey light ahead of us,

Dracula, illustrated page 20: There were dark, rolling clouds overhead, and in the air the heavy, oppressive sense of thunder.

Dracula, illustrated page 21: Whilst he was speaking the horses began to neigh and snort and plunge wildly,

Dracula, illustrated page 22: smiled, and the lamplight fell on a hard-looking mouth,

Dracula, illustrated page 23: Without a word he shook his reins, the horses turned, and we swept into the darkness of the Pass.

Dracula, illustrated page 24: It seemed to me that we were simply going over and over the same ground again;

Dracula, illustrated page 25: The driver again took his seat, and shaking his reins, started off at a great pace.

Dracula, illustrated page 26: he at once checked the horses

Dracula, illustrated page 27: in the darkness around us I could watch the driver’s motions.

Dracula, illustrated page 28: during his absence the horses began to tremble worse than ever and to snort and scream with fright.

Dracula, illustrated page 29: I heard his voice raised in a tone of imperious command.

Dracula, illustrated page 30: When the calèche stopped the driver jumped down, and held out his hand to assist me to alight.

Dracula, illustrated page 31: I stood in silence where I was, for I did not know what to do.

Dracula, illustrated page 32: this conclusion I heard a heavy step approaching behind the great door,

Dracula, illustrated page 33: Welcome to my house.

Dracula, illustrated page 34: on a bracket on the wall, and stepping out, took my luggage;

Dracula, illustrated page 35: You will need, after your journey, to refresh yourself by making your toilet.

Dracula, illustrated page 36: I handed to him the sealed letter which Mr. Hawkins had entrusted to me.

Dracula, illustrated page 37: The Count himself came forward and took off the cover of a dish,

Dracula, illustrated page 38: Strange to say, there were hairs in the centre of the palm.

Dracula, illustrated page 39: The Count’s eyes gleamed, and he said:—

Dracula, illustrated page 40: It is again early morning, but I have rested and enjoyed the last twenty-four hours.

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About Dracula

The novel is an epistolary horror that begins with a vivid, almost cinematic report of a ferocious storm battering Whitby’s harbor. The narrator describes the sea as a “roaring and devouring monster,” the wind as a force that nearly lifts men from their feet, and a thick, ghost‑like fog that seems to carry the hands of drowned sailors. In the midst of the tempest a derelict schooner, the Demeter, crashes into the pier, its helm bound to a corpse whose wrists are tied to the wheel. The scene is rendered in meticulous detail, from the frantic searchlight that guides the vessel to the horrified reaction of the coastguard and onlookers, establishing a foreboding atmosphere that blends natural terror with the uncanny.

Stoker’s prose is firmly rooted in the Victorian Gothic tradition, employing a formal, descriptive style that mirrors the period’s fascination with scientific curiosity and supernatural dread. The narrative’s reliance on letters, journal entries, and eyewitness accounts creates a layered, documentary feel that heightens the suspense. Readers who relish atmospheric dread, intricate period language, and the slow, methodical build of a horror tale, especially those drawn to stories of haunted seas, cursed voyages, and the looming presence of a vampire mythos, will find this opening compelling.

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