Dracula's original title, 'The Undead'. Photo: The Bram Stoker Estate

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5 fascinating and unknown facts uncovered from Bram Stoker’s vaults

Dacre Stoker

J. D. Barker

Scary as hell. Gothic as decay. Dracul will have you checking over your shoulder, under your bed, and up on the ceiling, too. All while wondering about the contents of every crate and oblong box you see.

A deliciously dark tale that is sure to satisfy Stoker fans’ enduring thirst for mystery and horror. I loved it!

A thrilling exploration of the novel's [Dracula's] creation and its creator. It is also, as with the best literary horror, genuinely creepy . . . a brilliantly entertaining read.

Reading Dracul is like watching a classic vampire film. Bram Stoker lives! Dracula lives! Horror lives on nearly every page. A terrifying read that gave me hours of fun.

R. L. STINE, bestselling author of Goosebumps

Brilliant. Dracul pumps fresh blood into the vampire genre by telling the story of the man who started it all-Bram Stoker. And what a story! A grand adventure that contains all the literary playfulness and mounting dread of the original Dracula. It gave me chills.

RILEY SAGER, author of Final Girls and The Last Time I Lied

A blood and thunder tale for those grieving the passing of Penny Dreadful. This novel is like immersing yourself in a Hammer horror film, and I mean that, of course, as great praise.

A compelling, deep, dark drama about Dracula’s origin.  Even I had to keep the lights on when reading this book!

A terrifying and compelling prequel that reveals how a young Bram Stoker confronted evil to craft a masterpiece.

Whatever fiendish bargain Stoker and Barker struck to resurrect the voice of Bram Stoker with such authenticity and aplomb, it was worth it, at least to their mere mortal readers. Dracul is a genius and fevered nightmare of Gothic madness, each page seeping with ominous dread and escalating horror. It is a prequel more than just worthy of the original novel—it is sure to be an undying classic of its own, haunting, terrifying and entertaining generations to come.

ERIC RICKSTAD, author of What Remains of Her and The Silent Girls

Very scary . . . a big book that will no doubt be a hit among monster-movie and horror lit fans—and for good reason.

J.D. Barker is a one-of-a-kind writer and that’s a rare and special thing. Stephen King comes to mind and Lee Child, John Sanford.  All one-of-a-kinds. Don’t miss anything J.D. writes.

A . . . dread-infused atmosphere not at all that far from Poe.

Dracul is utterly compelling, not to mention terrifying . . . it truly is the best possible reading material for October 31st.

This Dracula is the vicious, bloodthirsty, malevolent 'strigori' we know and love to hate.

Dracul is a fat, entertaining novel which mixes fact and fiction with lusty relish . . . Written, like its illustrious antecedent, in epistolary form it also mimics the darkness of the original.

An intriguing tale of bloodlust, horror and resurrection . . . [Dracul] builds to an exciting and suspenseful climax.

The bestselling prequel to the most famous horror story of them all

Inspired by the notes DRACULA's creator left behind, Dracul is a riveting, heart-stoppingly scary novel of Gothic suspense . . . 
 
'Scary as hell. Gothic as decay' Josh Malerman 
 
Dracul reveals not only the true origins of Dracula himself, but also of his creator, Bram Stoker . . . and of the elusive, enigmatic woman who connects them. 
 
It is 1868, and a 21-year-old Bram Stoker has locked himself inside an abbey's tower to face off against a vile and ungodly beast. He is armed with mirrors and crucifixes and holy water and a gun - and is kept company by a bottle of plum brandy. His fervent prayer is that he will survive this one night - a night that will prove to be the longest of his life. 
 
Desperate to leave a record of what he has witnessed, the young man scribbles out the events that brought him to this point - and tells an extraordinary tale of childhood illness, a mysterious nanny, and stories once thought to be fables now proved to be true.

J. D. Barker

Praise for Dracul

Scary as hell. Gothic as decay. Dracul will have you checking over your shoulder, under your bed, and up on the ceiling, too. All while wondering about the contents of every crate and oblong box you see.

A deliciously dark tale that is sure to satisfy Stoker fans’ enduring thirst for mystery and horror. I loved it!

A thrilling exploration of the novel's [Dracula's] creation and its creator. It is also, as with the best literary horror, genuinely creepy . . . a brilliantly entertaining read.

Scary as hell. Gothic as decay. Dracul will have you checking over your shoulder, under your bed, and up on the ceiling, too. All while wondering about the contents of every crate and oblong box you see.

A deliciously dark tale that is sure to satisfy Stoker fans’ enduring thirst for mystery and horror. I loved it!

A thrilling exploration of the novel's [Dracula's] creation and its creator. It is also, as with the best literary horror, genuinely creepy . . . a brilliantly entertaining read.

Scary as hell. Gothic as decay. Dracul will have you checking over your shoulder, under your bed, and up on the ceiling, too. All while wondering about the contents of every crate and oblong box you see.

A deliciously dark tale that is sure to satisfy Stoker fans’ enduring thirst for mystery and horror. I loved it!

A thrilling exploration of the novel's [Dracula's] creation and its creator. It is also, as with the best literary horror, genuinely creepy . . . a brilliantly entertaining read.

Articles featuring J. D. Barker

5 fascinating and unknown facts uncovered from Bram Stoker’s vaults

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