Dracula's Ghost - The Complete Novel
Links to Chapters
Dracula's Ghost - Prologue
Of them who running on that last high place Leapt to swift unseen bullets, or went up On the hot blast and fury of hell’s upsurge, Or plunged and fell away past this world’s verge, Some say God caught them even before they fell. But what say such as from existence’ brink
Dracula's Ghost - Chapter 1
When I had prayed sufficiently to the dead, I cut the throats of the two sheep and let the blood run into the trench, whereon the ghosts came trooping up from Erebus – brides, young bachelors, old men worn out with toil, maids who had been crossed in love, and brave men killed in battle, with their armor still smirched with blood; they came from every q…
Dracula's Ghost - Chapter 2
Somewhere in the Carpathian Mountains 1893 The mirror lies shattered in the courtyard below his bedroom window. Last night, he cut himself while shaving, and Jonathan Harker realized, to his horror, that his host cast no reflection in the mirror. He duly notes this fact in his journal but does not dare to remember what he
Dracula's Ghost - Chapter 3
Somewhere in the Carpathian Mountains 1893 The books accumulate in the library for a hundred years before she notices that something is different. He amasses gold and silver from the hordes of treasure buried in the mountains and writes thousands of letters, their nature and purpose a mystery, to correspondents in distant lands. Visitors come, and he le…
Dracula's Ghost - Chapter 4
Aboard the Demeter 1893 The second mate pulls the watch cap over his ears and stamps his feet to keep the cold at bay. Two of the crew are missing, and he has not slept for two nights. The disappearances remind him of stories of the strigoi, troubled spirits who rise from their graves, though he knows this cannot be true.
Dracula's Ghost - Chapter 5
Whitby 1893 Lucy startles awake and stares about, disoriented. Sleepwalking again. Her nightdress feels impossibly thin against the chilly air, and she shivers as a dog howls in the distance. There is a rumor that a dog jumped from the Demeter, the derelict craft that struck land two days ago, and Lucy hopes that some kindhearted soul will find the poor…
Dracula's Ghost - Chapter 6
Exeter 1893 “Pour me another glass of sherry and leave the tray by my bed.” Peter Hawkins sits upright. “I will eat later.” “As you wish, sir.” Roger sets down the tray and closes the window. The night air, even in midsummer, is chilly. The gout leaves him with little appetite, and the alcohol serves as an effective, if temporary, analgesic.
Dracula's Ghost - Chapter 7
Budapest 1893 He looks so frail, Mina thinks. The Embassy chaplain performed the wedding ceremony that afternoon, and for the first time since her arrival in Budapest, they are alone. Mina is unsure how to proceed. In a traditional wedding night, he would carry me across the threshold of our new home, and we would
Dracula's Ghost - Chapter 8
Part Two: A Man of Diabolical Cast Long leagues on either hand the trenches spread And all is still; now even this gross line Drinks in the frosty silences divine The pale, green moon is riding overhead. The jaws of a sacked village, stark and grim;
Dracula's Ghost - Chapter 9
London 1893 Quincy Morris sips from the flask - good Irish whiskey - and enjoys the afternoon sunshine as he tries not to contemplate his own misery. Arthur was there at the end, along with Jack Seward and Abraham Van Helsing, and he is glad that Lucy did not die alone. Still, his heart aches, and Quincy knows full well that his grief is not simply for…
Dracula's Ghost - Chapter 10
TEN London 1893 “My God,” he says aloud, so sharply that Mina jumps. “It is the man himself!” “Who is it, Jonathan?” There is concern in Mina’s voice as she follows his gaze. Don’t know. Can’t remember. They are in London for the funeral of Peter Hawkins, Mina’s foster father and his employer. Jonathan knows that he is unwell, for entire months of his l…
Dracula's Ghost - Chapter 11
At the Tomb of Lucy Westenra 1893 Seward stands to one side as Abraham Van Helsing prepares his butcher’s tools. Quincy Morris stands to one side, pale and wan, and Seward wonders whether the tough Texan will faint where he stands. Arthur Holmwood, his own work completed, is outside, vomiting into the bushes. Seward knows they have done the right thing…
Dracula's Ghost - Chapter 12
Purfleet 1893 “In nomine Paris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti.” Abraham Van Helsing sprinkles the earth with holy water as Arthur Holmwood pries open another box with his knife. Jonathan Harker does a brief accounting of their work. Twenty-nine boxes destroyed at Carfax Abbey, six at Mile End, and another six in Bermondsey. Nine more boxes to find
Dracula's Ghost - Chapter 13
Purfleet 1893 Even the Almighty shuns my polluted flesh. Mina Harker sits at the edge of the bed, unable to sleep. It has been twenty-four hours since she was awakened in the darkness, a pale face shining in the moonlight and a cold hand grasping her wrist. The memories – reeking lips upon her throat, followed by horror and revulsion as Dracula forces h…
Dracula's Ghost - Chapter 14
Aboard the Orient Express 1893 He can live for centuries, and Mina is but a mortal woman, Jonathan thinks. Time is to be dreaded since he placed that mark upon her throat. The ride across Europe seems to last forever. Van Helsing and Seward remain occupied by the task at hand, and Jonathan, who has barely eaten or slept, envies their detachment. Mina pu…
Dracula's Ghost - Chapter 15
FIFTEEN Galatz, Kingdom of Romania 1893 The ship, bound for Varna, is blown off-course by the storm. When the fog clears, the crew find themselves at the mouth of the Danube, nearly two hundred miles north of their destination, and the captain orders them to put in for the nearest port. He is surprised to find an agent waiting for them at the docks.
Dracula's Ghost - Interlude
Then I tried to find some way of embracing my poor mother’s ghost. Thrice I sprung towards her and tried to clasp her in my arms, but each time she flitted from my embrace as it were a dream or phantom, and being touched to the quick I said to her, “Mother, why do you not stay still when I would embrace you? If we could throw our arms around one anoth…
Dracula's Ghost - Chapter 16
Part Three: A Ruined Tomb in a Forgotten Land “As for you, Achilles, no one was ever so fortunate as you have been, nor ever will be, for you were adored by all us Argives as long as you were alive, and now that you are here, you are a great prince among the dead. Do not, therefore, take it so much to heart even if you are dead.”
Dracula's Ghost - Chapter 17 (Part I)
Somewhere in the Carpathian Mountains 1893 Mina finds herself unable to remain awake during the daylight, save for brief periods around noon. She eats little, for she has no appetite, and she grows restless and agitated at each sunset. Still, her mind is clear, and the dark urges at the periphery of her nightmares hold no sway over her when she is awake…
Dracula's Ghost - Chapter 17 (Part II)
VII. He had little appetite, so Hans walked among the others as they ate, seeing to their welfare. Richard had not been a friend - Hans doubted that Richard truly liked anyone - but in a life ruled by cycles of intrigue and violence, his presence had been an odd comfort, a point of reference to remind him that tomorrow would be much like yesterday. His…
Dracula's Ghost - Chapter 18 (Part 1)
1893 Somewhere in the Carpathian Mountains Once upon a time, there was a great castle by the sea. She remembers little, and cares even less, of what came before, but she remembers the story. When a great storm came, the boyar shouted that the castle would stand, and that neither the sky gods nor the gods of the sea could destroy it. The storm raged al…
Dracula's Ghost - Chapter 18 (Part II)
XI. “I don’t care what you found in the bloody castle, Sarah!” Jonathan spoke in a low hiss as he pulled her toward the stairs. “Amy is waiting at the plane, and we need to leave now.” “You have to listen to me, papa.” Sarah took a deep breath and started again. “Dracula –“
Dracula's Ghost - Chapter 18 (Part III)
XXI. The black-clad figure was tall and strongly built, with dark hair that contrasted sharply with the pallor of the face. When he spoke, his English was the uncouth drawl of an American, and Heydrich’s eyes widened in recognition. Quincy Morris.
Dracula's Ghost - Chapter 18 (Part IV)
XXXI. In the end, no one dies with dignity. Their initial retreat up the stairs, an orderly retrograde supported by gunfire and flares, floundered with their dwindling ammunition and finally yielded to headlong flight. At least Helmut is safe, Hans thought sourly. As Hans and Egon stood shoulder to shoulder against the advancing horde, the tubby chemist…
Dracula's Ghost - Chapter 19
1893 Somewhere in the Carpathian Mountains He sleeps in the daylight hours, and in the netherworld of the dead, his rest is haunted by visions of men on horseback. He has prepared for every eventuality, even this one, but in the darkness of his tomb, he is helpless and frightened. He feels the castle in his bones, and its very heart beats within his che…
Dracula's Ghost - Chapter 20
London Spring, 1894 The scar on Mina’s forehead vanishes at the instant of Dracula’s passing, and Van Helsing assures her that she is fully recovered. Still, she wonders, and on the rare nights when Jonathan is away, she sleeps poorly. Mina is surprised to realize that she does not fear Dracula’s return, for Jonathan and Quincy banished that particular …
Dracula's Ghost - Epilogue
If in some smothering dreams, you too could pace Behind the wagon that we flung him in, And watch the white eyes writhing in his face, His hanging face, like a devil’s sick of sin; If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,
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