The Stalking Fog

In this blog post, I will discuss and elaborate upon a vampire myth that was not discussed in class: the idea that vampires can become a ghastly fog in order to hunt their prey. In the Bram Stoker novel, Dracula, one of the protagonists, Johnathan Harker noticed “quaint little specks floating in the rays of the moonlight [that] gathered in clusters in a nebulous sort of way”(52). In addition to this, the particulate matter in the air seemingly became “three ghostly women… [who had]  materialized from the moonbeams”(53).  In response, Johnathan “fled [to his room where he] felt somewhat safer… where there was no moonlight”(52). These individuals that Harker witnessed were the three vampiric women that nearly consumed him during the end of chapter 3. These women, through their ghostly forms, are able to skulk throughout Dracula’s castle until it is time to appear. The idea that vampires can assume this form is solidified when the log of the ship, Demeter, is reviewed. Over the course of a month, sailors disappeared because something  was killing them. In addition to this, they were unable to navigate the sea due to a fog which “seemed to move with” the ship (94). One sailor reported that he saw “a man, tall… thin… [and]  ghostly pale”(94). When this sailor stabbed the entity, “the knife went through it, empty as the air”(94). This individual’s physical description matches Count Dracula, who we know is a vampire through popular culture and his actions in the novel. In addition to this, the fact that a sailor attempted stab Dracula, but is unable to, demonstrates the intangible properties of a vampire in this form. The idea that a vampire can transform into fog demonstrates their potential predatory tendencies, as they are able to hunt and ambush their human prey.