Dracula's Ghost - Acknowledgements

First, I am deeply indebted to Bram Stoker and the granddaddy of all vampire stories - Dracula.  Thanks also to Leslie S. Klinger, who produced The New Annotated Dracula in 2008.  His book is a wealth of information on all things Dracula, such as speculation on various locales used within the original tale.  Dara Horn is the author of People Love Dead Jews and host of the podcast Adventures with Dead Jews.  The role of Sigmund evolved organically as I wrote, and Horn’s work prompted me to think more deeply about his background.  Rory Miller is a former corrections officer and the longtime author of the Chiron Training Blog, and his insights into violence (including some fairly grisly details) have strongly influenced my own thoughts.  Judy Melinek’s disturbing and wonderful book, Working Stiff, is a great layman’s resource for all things related to autopsies.  Philip Caputo’s account of his service in Vietnam, A Rumor of War, shaped my thinking from an early age.  A lengthy quote of Mr. Caputo’s work was edited from the final version to avoid copyright issues, but I strongly recommend his work.

There are a variety of sources on the history of Nazi Germany, but my favorite is William L. Shirer’s The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich.  Shirer’s description of Reinhard Heydrich is as apt as any that I have heard.  Robert Gerwarth’s Hitler’s Hangman provides substantial additional details on the life and career of Reinhard Heydrich.  There is a dearth of information about Rudolf Diels, but Erik Larson’s In the Garden of Beasts paints a fascinating portrait of the man.  Wikipedia was a helpful resource for biographical information on Leopold Von Hoesch and Amy Johnson (both historical characters, though many of the details are my own invention), pictures of Otto Skorzeny, including the scarred face and ever-present cigarette, and a billion other things, from ocean-going vessels to the Eyes of Sibiu (they are real and quite eerie).  Similarly, I spent hours poring over Google Maps and Apple Maps for details on various locations.

Jocko Willink’s Jocko Podcast encouraged me to make use of my time during the COVID pandemic and provided an interesting tidbit about the Boer War.  Joe Kenda, retired homicide detective, author, and television personality, was my original source for the three motives for murder.  Project Gutenberg (www.gutenberg.org) was an invaluable resource for the public domain works quoted in this work, including The Odyssey, Dracula, and the poems of Wilfred Owen and C. S. Lewis. 

Many thanks to Andy, my brother-in-law, for reading the manuscript and providing feedback.

Finally, and most importantly of all, thanks to Courtney, my wife, for her love, support, and encouragement.  

Travis Blake, April 2020 – May 2022