Locations have been a vital part of the story of Dracula so far as there are notable settings like Count Dracula’s castle in Transylvania which is explained in detail by Jonathon’s time there. Of all the places the characters travel to and explore, certain locations are backed by the superstition of vampires, seeing as this is a novel focused on them. Connecting to another text, Emily Gerard specifically talks about the history of superstitions and the locations attached to them in Transylvanian Superstitions (1885). Two important elements of superstition Gerard notes are “the indigenous superstition of the country” and “the spirit of evil” (332-333), which focus on the actual location superstitions are known to appear and their evil nature.<\/p>\n
Transitioning to Dracula, the location of the graveyard at the church is essential in chapters 15 and 16 as this is where Lucy is found to be a vampire and killed by the men of the novel. Dr. Seward described the tomb as “grim and gruesome enough…miserable and sordid than could have been imagined. It conveyed irresistibly the idea that life – animal life – was not the only thing which could pass away” (Stoker 163). Before the events concerning Lucy occurred, this description of the tomb showcases the negative connotations attached to superstitions. The final line promotes the idea that not only is this area devoid of life but it is the perfect breeding ground for vampires. An important factor is that this description comes from their visit at night whereas the next day when they revisit the tomb, Dr. Seward’s tone changes. Dr. Seward’s notes that the tomb “was not so gruesome as last night, but oh, how unutterably mean-looking when the sunshine streamed in” (Stoker 167). Although it is still mean-looking, it is not the grim and gruesome place he recounted the night before. This further supports Gerard’s explanation that it isn’t just the location but the elements of a specific superstition connected to the place.<\/p>\n
There is also a cultural and historical factor in superstitions that we see in Dracula as Van Helsing left “garlic and a crucifix” to “seal up the door of the tomb” (Stoker 168). Garlic is used commonly throughout this novel to ward off monsters and the crucifix is an important tool to keep evil spirits away. By putting these tools specifically at the location of the tomb, rituals and religion also become a factor in what makes the graveyard a location connected to the superstition of vampires. Gerard also gives information on vampires by explaining they “will continue to suck the blood of other innocent people till the spirit has…a stake through the corpse” and “it is further recommended to cut off the head and replace it in the coffin with mouth fulled with garlic” (334). All of these techniques are used in chapter 16 when Van Helsing and the other men kill Lucy in her vampire form. With the evidence found in Dracula and Gerard’s writing, it is apparent that locations can become associated with superstitions but only if they connect to the cultural, historical, and religious elements of said superstition.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Locations have been a vital part of the story of Dracula so far as there are notable settings like Count Dracula’s castle in Transylvania which is explained in detail by Jonathon’s time there. Of all the places the characters travel to and explore, certain locations are backed by the superstition of vampires, seeing as this … Continue reading Locations and their Superstitions<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5368,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[125361],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1006","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-2023-blog-post"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishlit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1006","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishlit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishlit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishlit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5368"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishlit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1006"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishlit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1006\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishlit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1006"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishlit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1006"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishlit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1006"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}