"Go home, Johann — Walpurgis nacht doesn't concern Englishmen."
- The protagonist of Dracula's Guest
There is some fascinating deatels conserning Bram Stoker's novel
collection Dracula's Guest and other wierd stories. Firstly, Stoker try
(in deep financial distress) even in his sickbed to collect few collections for
his best novels. Unfortunately he died before they were published, so his wife
finnished them as according his plan.
Secondly it shows how Stoker
master all kind of horror, not just the supernatural one. For instance in Squaw
doesn't have any mysterious aspects, but is still quite crusom. It can be
guessed, how the story ends, but it makes it even more horrific to read.
Thirdly the title story of the book,
Dracula's Guest, has told to be a part of Dracula, which was cut
off before publishing, because of the lenght of the novel. Those, who have read
Dracula, can see clear similarities with the novellette and the novel's
scene, where Jonathan Harcer arrive to Transylvania. The protagonist of Dracula's
Guest aren't never named, but there is all reasons to believe his Jonathan.
But it's obvious the scene has been cut off at the early state of writing,
because it doesn't fit to the rest of the novel.
In general, Dracula's Guest is a fine peice of Gothic horror
stories and Inkeri Koskinen's great translation to Finnish make it even more
enjoyable.
Mark: 8
