livefromcastledracula

[livefromcastledracula]

[livefromcastledracula]

it’s amazing the entire dashboard is just old things. shakespeare. arthuriana. gargantua. the epic of gilgamesh. the brothers karamazov. beowulf. wuthering heights. medieval mystics. dracula novel discourse. lawrence of arabia 1962. al pacino. die girlies auf tumblr are thriving and having a ball going about as if media stopped happening post 2010

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We'll get here.

whitby abbey, england

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I don't think we give Jonathan Harker nearly enough credit for his absolutely unhinged choices. In 1897, that pathetic wet cat of a man was written with enough grit, willpower, and raw human stupidity to rival any of our modern horror podcast protagonists. When faced with a centuries-old vampire, in a coffin, drenched in fresh blood, he really thought the best thing to do was to hit it in the face WITH A SHOVEL. The audacity. The misplaced confidence. The sheer desperation. No plan. No hesitation. Running on fear and spite alone. And i fucking love him for it. Truly the character of all time.

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[livefromcastledracula]

Carmilla by Andrea Cruz

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Carmilla visits me tonight

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Today's entry is one of my absolute favourites because we haven't heard from Jonathan in so long and what we finally get to hear is just horror after horror

Like I know we all joke about Lizard Style™ but Jonathan knows the span of his life and has just seen a monster leave in a most unnatural way wearing his image. That's terrifying. Jonathan doesn't exist, he may as well already be dead, he has spent the last few weeks as a living ghost essentially, and before his time is up he has to see a monster playing with him in these final ways by wearing his clothes and using his very being as a disguise to murder a child.

And then we are reminded that this castle is simply danger incarnate. No where is safe for Jonathan - he is either trapped in rooms by or with the count, or he is at major risk of becoming a midnight snack for Dracula's three weed smoking roommates anywhere else. Even something as innocuous as dust in the moonlight is a threat. No wonder we haven't heard from Jonathan in so long; first for likely fear that he'll run out of paper and ink, secondly because he's been living through each precious day through constant control and fear

(yap about the woman and her death under the cut)

The death of the woman screaming for her child is genuinely one of my favourite sections of the whole book though. It offers a snapshot of the horrors wreaked upon people by Dracula outside the castle and outside the crew of light. I am always in awe of the sheer bravery and love this fictional background character must've had to walk up to the castle and scream demands for the sake of her family.

I also think it sets up the themes of familial love (in whatever form family takes) and the power of love. What happens through the rest of the novel wouldn't occur if the characters didn't care and love each other so ardently. Yes this woman's death is a terrifying display of Dracula's power and cruelty, but the woman's actions are a precursor to the love that characterises and motivates the rest of the plot.

Her death is shortly written. Neither we nor Jonathan know much about her so there's not much to say. There is little to pity as Jonathan is becoming well acquainted with The Horrors™ and understands that her death is perhaps not unordinary, but one line in particular stands out:

There was no cry from the woman

Dracula loves to exert his power and takes delight in cruelty; he has a pack of wolves waiting patiently at his heels and plays with his food the characters simply to cause torment. I suspect that Dracula wants people to scream, he wants to see people suffer. By refusing to voice her own agony as she is killed in one of the worst ways possible (you cannot convince me that literally being eaten alive is a nice way to go) her death becomes a final act of defiance in the face of the monster who revels in pain. She does not give Dracula the satisfaction of her death. She screams only in grief for her child, defying Dracula by the pure act of trying to confront him, and she defies him again in her own death.

Anyway thanks for coming to my ted talk <3

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Gothic Heroine Book Cover

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Proposal day! Proposal day!

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Carmilla, The Wanderer, by Isabella Mazzanti's Carmilla Illustrations

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Inspired by this lovely post, because I think it encapsulates Dracula and Jonathan’s whole deal over the length of the Vampire Hell Staycation.

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vampirism poses the question "what if there was a fundamental, horrible, unending well of want in your soul that, if truly satisfied, would lead to great pain for all those you hold closest and, in turn, their absolute and total revilement of you?" and naturally as a person with no problems I don't relate to this in any way at all.

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"I fear I am myself the only living soul within the place." My boy is starting to realise he's in the novel dracula. But he cannot allow himself to believe it. Yet.

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happy “ancient powerful vampire sorcerer pretends to be his own butler to mess with an Englishman” day to all who celebrate

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Each yeah her apprehension grows

But wait… this hasn’t happened before, right? This is his first trip as a solicitor…

So why the feeling of déjà vu?

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The most accurate Dracula summary.

I’ve been reading Dracula for the first time, im about halfway through, here’s my take on it so far

The polycule learns about monster hunting