Henry Irving, Bram Stoker and Dracula's Castle

left to right: Bram Stoker, Henry Irving

A couple of moons ago, I was introduced to Henry Irving through a relatively quick systematic-casuality (meant in the best possible presentation) which came upon me while visiting my uncle for a spell one summer evening. Amidst such discussions, merely to raise the question, or questions, of whatever-we-could-think-of at the time; late and challenging; tired and evidently shredded from countless hours of experiments (not to mention the primary reasoning behind this sudden lapse of unanticipated content: sleep-deprivation), of course "Dracula" came to mind. In all actuality, it was somehow Bram Stoker that stitched the path (being my uncle has been a fan for years and years, since he was a young tot) of conversative-direction (the science of ever-moving Language!) this night, if only for a brief moment of dispersity. In any event, the frequences moved upon Bram Stoker, as mentioned, which lead to my uncle going for the book-shelf to pull off his undusty copy of a biography about Mr. Stoker (I say "undusty", in this case, essentially to describe how often these things, these books, these documents actually get used, like Shelley's Frankenstein, or the biography on Shelley, as well), in which he had wanted to know more about the man named, "Henry Irving", who was naturally mentioned in the book. Of course, knowing of the possible influence, the book didn't particularly give a complete recollection of the entire spectrum of what Mr. Irving "was all about."

Further-on, it is learned that Henry Irving, the trained Shakesperian actor (and friend of Stoker) who performed on many a-stage, was apparently the inspiration for Bram Stoker's character, the gothic-God, Count Dracula. Henry Irving, known for his "dramatic presence, gentlemanly mannerisms and affinity for playing villain roles", was essentially thrown directly into the pot. It is said that Irving never agreed to perform the role on-stage, and I often wonder why? I mean, after-all, he did once perform as Mephistopheles, amongst the many. Perhaps he was somehow sentimental in this realm? Perhaps overwhelmed? Intimidated? Either way, if one studies his facial-characteristics/external composition, and if you are familiar with the descriptions from the book, then you can really see a chemistry of emphasization here, which is all so beautiful to me.

It's also interesting to note that The Dead Un-Dead "was one of Stoker's original titles for Dracula, and up until a few weeks before publication, the manuscript was titled simply The Un-Dead." Apparently Stoker's original name for the count was going to be "Count Vampyre" (too simple!), but while he was supplying himself with a vast accompaniment of research, Bram Stoker came upon the word "Dracul" (Romanian meaning "Devil"), which intrigued him enough, obviously, to essentially plop an "a" at the end and the rest is history.

Earlier this year, I was astonished (but not really) by the occurrence of events that took place in regards to Vlad Dracula's castle. That being said, of course, The Castle Came Up For Sale! Naturally, this lead to my infatuations/imaginings of living there, somehow obtaining the 78 million dollars needed (not to mention a few extra mil that would be needed for the insane taxes that would be quite costly) to purchase the home near the Transylvanian city of Brasov. Apparently there have been eerily-bizarre sightings of spooky-happenings there, so that would be all-the-more worth-while for me, since that is essentially right up my alley. "I ain't afraid of no ghost!" La-la-la. For a while there, I was jokingly asking various people for a "78+ million dollar Loan", but not telling them why. Or, well, not telling them "right away" the reasoning, allowing their brains to wonder, to float upon the sea of ponderism.

Vlad Dracula's Infamous Castle in Brasov; Ah, If only