THIS COMING NOVEMBER marks the 165th anniversary of the birth of Dracula author, Bram Stoker. Stoker, renowned for creating Count Dracula, one of the most celebrated villains of literature and cinema, was born in Clontarf, and lived and worked within Dublin’s city centre before emigrating to London in 1878.
Originally published in 1897, Dracula tells the story of Jonathan Harker and his encounter with the Count in his castle. Filled with suspense and terror, it’s no wonder that the story has gripped readers for 125 years. Halloween, in particular, presents the opportunity to sit down with the lights off and watch one of the many cinematic versions of this legendary vampire.
Over the years, Dracula has been portrayed by countless actors across a number of adaptations on the stage and screen. Most famously, Bela Lugosi played the bloody-thirsty count in 1931 and Christopher Lee two decades later in Terence Fisher’s 1958 production. The Godfather and Apocalypse Now director Francis Ford Coppolla gave audiences a thrilling (and now cult classic) interpretation of the story and character with Gary Oldman in heavy prosthetics for Bram Stoker’s Dracula, released in 1992.
Much has been written about the enduring legacy of Stoker’s novel. It’s remarkable to consider the global and cross-generational impact Dracula has had, especially on those from his home of Dublin. Walking around the streets Stoker would have wandered, you can appreciate how the city informed the world of his seminal work.
It has been noted that Stoker regularly frequented Marsh’s Library, hidden behind St. Patrick’s Cathedral, to borrow books and it’s said that he was fascinated by the underground crypts in St. Michan’s Church and visited them often.
Those are just two examples of Dublin’s imprint on Stoker and his writings. Let’s explore some of the other significant locations from Bram Stoker’s formative years in Dublin.
A little outside of Dublin’s city centre, this is the location of Bram Stoker’s birth on November 7, 1847. He remained there until the Stoker family moved to Artane Lodge when he was 2 years old. He spent much of his childhood within the family home at Artane Lodge, where he lived with his parents and 6 siblings, confined to his bed until the age of 7 due to illness. Naturally, this time allowed the young Bram to develop his imagination and instil a passion for building stories in his head.
Today, across the road from 15 Marino Crescent is a quaint park named Bram Stoker Park in his memory.
When the time came for Bram to attend university, he enrolled in Dublin’s Trinity College in 1864. There, he studied and graduated with honours in mathematics in 1870. A year later, the university was attended by Oscar Wilde. While there, Bram spent many hours in the university’s much-visited Long Hall Library and was extremely involved in all aspects of student life from partaking in sports and societies.
Upon graduating from Trinity College, Bram followed in his father’s footsteps and worked as a civil servant in Dublin Castle. He remained in employment within the walls of Dublin Castle for a decade. During that time, after finishing his day’s work in the office, Bram was moonlighting as a writer for the Dublin Evening Mail newspaper, mostly contributing theatre reviews.
Situated close to his alma mater and moments away from Grafton Street, Bram lived at 30 Kildare Street. This was where he lived with his wife, Florence Balcombe until the couple inevitably emigrated to England. Across the pond, Bram worked as the manager of the Lyceum Theatre in London for almost three decades. This would be the final dwelling for Bram Stoker in Ireland.
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