Transylvanian mystique and legendary hauntedness surround the most infamous Bram Stoker’s protagonists, forming a legacy that allows the myth to continue into modern times, maintaining a cultish following, yet broadening to a general fascination. Intrigued by evil and gore, Stoker developed a literary presence that was effortlessly translated to screen by the likes of Murnau, Bela Lugosi, Christopher Lee and Francis Ford Coppola. Dracula became such an obsession as it embodied a taboo subject matter: the desire for blood and sex.

The author Elizabeth Miller worked as a professor for English literature at the Memorial University of Newfoundland in Canada. Since 1990 she has specialised in Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula, its sources and infl uence. She is the renowned researcher and lecturer of this genre who may be regarded as an unchallenged expert on both Dracula and other vampires.

Her publications include articles and books such as Bats, Vampires and Dracula (1998), Dracula: Sense & Nonsense (2000), Vampire Hunting in Transylvania (2002) or A Dracula Handbook (2005). She also participates in television shows and documentaries on vampires.