Dracula's Guest

Dracula being one of my favorite books, I was thrilled to find this collection of Bram Stoker's short stories. I enjoy horror writers who can provoke old-fashioned fright without relying too heavily on graphic details; while those details have a place, too many of them dampen a story. I was hoping that this collection would be as skillfully crafted as Dracula; I'm happy to say that this anthology mostly lived up to my expectations. While there's plenty of ghoulish tension throughout the book, these stories also provide moral lessons, cautionary tales, some hair-raising plot twists, and even a few happy anecdotes that keep the collection from feeling monolithic.Disclaimer: I tried to keep the "spoilers" in this review to a minimum - that is, I did not include any details that you would not read within the first half of the stories. Read on if you want more information about each individual tale; otherwise, suffice it to say that fans of gothic horror writing will probably find this collection very enjoyable and worth a read."Dracula's Guest": A headstrong stranger faces danger when he does not heed the advice of the locals. I was glad I knew Dracula as well as I do when I started reading this selection because Stoker draws a lot of parallels to the opening scenes of his novel (a carriage ride, mountainous terrain, wolves, baleful weather, the dangers of Walpurgis Nacht), which made the reading experience feel rich and familiar."The Judge's House": A young man stays in a house with an unpleasant, angry past, much to the chagrin of the surrounding townsfolk. Again, Stoker points out the foolishness of willfully neglecting superstition/advice; I'll admit that this felt a bit predictable after "Dracula's Guest," but I still found myself enthralled with the narrative."The Squaw": A couple's honeymoon does not exactly go as planned. Some truly horrific events transpire in the few pages of this story, which is far and away the most disturbing, graphic tale in the book. I won't spoil it with any more details."The Secret of Growing Gold": A callous lover learns that he cannot bury his past. This one felt like the most conventional story for me, perhaps because it does deal with a jilted lover, which is one of the oldest themes in storytelling. Still, even in Stoker's most conventional stories, he has a good knack for maintaining a menacing enough tone that you want to keep reading."A Gipsy Prophecy": A young couple must figure out how to deal with a terribly upsetting prophecy they receive from a local gipsy. Kind of self-explanatory, but I liked this one quite a bit."The Coming of Abel Behenna": Two men and one woman find themselves embroiled in a fiercely competitive love triangle. I found the tone of this story more mocking and satiric than the other stories in the book, which was refreshing. Stoker condemns the fickleness of affection and the repercussions of jealousy while still weaving a ghastly story in the process."The Burial of the Rats": An early 1900s chase-scene set in fantastic, perilous circumstances. This story starts slowly but builds into a breakneck pace - I really enjoyed it by the end, and there are some fairly unsettling ideas brought together as the narrator runs for his life."A Dream of Red Hands": Two friends learn about the power of guilt and repentance. I realize that sounds like the plot of a Lifetime movie, but this story's a bit of a far cry from the straight horror genre, which I appreciated in this anthology."Crooken Sands": A man discovers that he is truly his own worst enemy. The protagonist's anticipated undoing is bred from his own pride; because of that, he will not stop his terrible fate even as he sees it coming to pass before his own eyes."Lair of the White Worm": A 120-page novella about a young man and his granduncle getting wrapped up in the mysteries surrounding the eccentric, inscrutable heir to a local estate and an equally puzzling woman. There's some stirring imagery and bizarre twists that keep the story relatively entertaining, but I had the hardest time getting into this of all the stories in the book; the narrative is very herky-jerky and the tone is uneven. The hallmark of a good horror story is that it seems real; what struck me most the first time I read Dracula was the chilling atmosphere and the characters' genuine terror as their understanding was shattered by the dark, demonic "other" they encountered in the book's nominal character. Sadly, I did not get any such feeling reading this selection, despite its seeming similarities to Stoker's novel; for one, the characters seem recover too quickly from the sickening events that transpire, which makes the story feel cursory and surreal. Not Stoker's best, but still worth a read for the frame of reference.Despite the shortcomings of the final selection in the book, this collection is definitely worth reading. Highly recommended to fans of Dracula and/or gothic horror stories.

Review of free Kindle editionA Public Domain BookPublication date: May 17, 2012Language: EnglishASIN: B0084BO094210 pagesAn engaging collection of nine short stories by Bram Stoker of DRACULA fame. Some are better than others but I enjoyed all of them. Even the ones featuring foolish protagonists.Dracula's Guest was originally a part of Stoker's novel, DRACULA. His publisher removed it to shorten the lengthy novel. Some two years after Stoker's death it was published as a short story. The novel does not suffer because of the removal of this section and it makes a very good stand alone short story.. It also gives readers something to try as a sample without having to start reading the novel. Dracula may appear in this story in some manifestation but not as the Count. The setting is Germany before the guest, presumably Jonathan Harker, travels on to Dracula's castle. The story is suspenseful with an increasing sense of foreboding. Sightseeing in haunted graveyards on St. Walpurga Eve aka Walpurgis Night is not a recommended pursuit for the arrogantly unwary and unprepared.The Judge's House" is considered by many to be Bram Stoker's greatest short story and one of Britain's finest ghost stories. It was first published in the December 5, 1891, special Christmas issue of the Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News weekly magazine. In 1914, it was published in the collection, Dracula's Guest and Other Weird Stories. It has since appeared in many anthologies.The Squaw builds to what is an obviously inevitable conclusion. But the inevitability does not lessen the horror or the impulse of the reader to grab and shake the victim while shouting don't be such an idiot.The Secret of the Growing Gold will remind many of Edgar Allan Poe's, The Tell-Tale Heart, despite the many differences in the plot.Of the remaining five stories, The Burial of the Rats has been made into a movie which bears little resemblance to the story. As I recall the movie had a lot of pretty ladies but the story is superior even though it is obvious that the narrator of the story survived his experience. His gruesome situation, danger and flight is still riveting. It is, however, another story in which I continuously asked, "How can you be so foolish?"

Just titled ‘Dracula's Guest’, this free kindle edition actually has eight other short stories in it, all written by Bram Stoker and published shortly after his death (this collection is usually published as ‘Dracula’s Guest and Other Weird Stories’).The book contains: Dracula's Guest / The Judge's House / The Squaw / The Secret of the Growing Gold / The Gipsy Prophecy / The Coming of Abel Behenna / The Burial of the Rats / A Dream of Red Hands / Crooken Sands.The first three stories are definitely the best. ‘Dracula’s Guest’ is connected to the novel ‘Dracula’, and it was meant to be the original first chapter to the famous book. ‘The Judge’s House’ starts like a cosy ghost story, but ends darkly. While, ‘The Squaw’ had me squirming as you watch things unfold. These three are worth the five star rating.‘The Secret of the Growing Gold’, is perhaps the weakest of the stories. I’d give that 2.5 stars. The remaining stories are ok, although ‘The Coming of Abel Behenna’ and ‘The Burial of the Rats’ are a bit drawn out. So, 3/3.5 stars for the rest.One niggle I have with most of the stories though, is how often the women, and even sometimes the men, swoon and faint about the place without much of a reason. Barely anything happens and they collapse to the floor with the ‘shock’. Sometimes repeatedly. ‘The Gipsy Prophecy’ is perhaps the worst offender here, although, if you read that one as a comedy horror, it perhaps makes more sense than if you take it seriously.I’ll probably read the first three again some day, when I’ve forgotten the details enough. One thing I would say is, Bram Stoker wrote these stories for adults. They’re a bit too grim for children, incase you were thinking of reading any of them to kids over Halloween!

This is a great collection of supernatural stories plus the title story "Dracula's Guest" which is not so much a stand alone story as an episode originally intended to be included in Stoker's Masterpiece and most famous work, "Dracula" but was excised from it due to lack of space/editorial reasons. It was probably right that it was cut out, although it is a lovely little episode in which the Englishman (probably supposed to be Jonathan Harker, although he is not named in the piece) acts more bravely than wisely and sets out to discover an abandoned village on Walpurgis-Nacht (the night when the devil was free to roam the earth and the dead walk the earth). There's lots of stress on the characters "Englishness" and bravery, although even he comes to realise that there's something to be said for the maxim: "When in Rome, etc." as he comes to regret not following the advice of the locals and hiding in his hotel room with a gin and tonic during the night time hours.The other stories also lay emphasis on the alleged English characteristic of adventurousness and slightly masochistic bravery (I've got to say, I've been English all my life now and I'm not one for adventure myself - perhaps I'd rather just read about it!) I particularly liked "The Squaw" with the obnoxious American who falls foul of a cat, which then goes on to wreak a gory, but justified revenge on him.The Judge's House is very creepy - I read it just before I went to bed and this was a mistake I felt afterwards! There's a great deal of atmosphere and entertainment value in all of the tales and I really enjoyed reading them. A must if you are a fan of Stoker and free on Kindle - there's not much not to like there.

If you only know Bram Stoker for his novel Dracula then be prepared for some chilling nights shivering in the candle light. This collection of short stories shines a quivering light on some dark places where sometimes it's best not to look. Although the book is called Dracula's Guest there is very little relation to Stoker's most famous work Dracula.Bram Stoker writes in a gothic style which does take some getting used to but once the words flow then you will become hooked on the creative imagination which springs from every page. Stoker takes time to create vivid locations filled with innocent characters who meet nameless hideous things on the edge of our world. With this much obvious talent it would be a crime to only read Dracula and not experience the other stories from Stoker's incredible imagination. Modern horror writers have much to learn from this old master.The stand out story has to be The Judge's House where a scholar thinks he has found peace for his work but instead finds a rat infested nightmare. This is truly one of the most frightening haunted house stories you will ever read. Enjoy.

A good read by the pool on holiday. Whilst the actual Dracula’s guest chapter wouldn’t have added a great deal to the story and didn’t make the cut, the other stories were very good.Readers may have a sense of deja vu / seen it all before but think about when this was written. Clearly provides the template for many more modern classic novels and films.Free on the kindle, what have you to lose?!

Looking into the history of this book, makes it all the more interesting. A collection of short stories penned by Bram Stoker, but lain unpublished until his death, the stories are both well-written and provoking.Some of the stories are slightly overburdened with detail (it seems initially) until the main thrust of the story begins - then it all falls into place.I have read these stories whilst having a coffee in a cafe or sat on a bus and have, everytime, become totally lost in the imagination and scenario that is created - chillingly so at times!I'd recommend the book as a great read - especially considering it's free to download!