Darkness Falls

"Dracula's Guest and Other Weird Stories" was published two years after Bram Stoker's death. "Dracula's Guest" made fans of "Dracula" turned. There was a semblance, but only Count Dracula's name was mentioned.

In the book's preface, Florence Balcombe, Stoker's widow, pointed out that "Dracula's Guest" was excluded because the publisher thought it was superfluous to the story. Leslie S. Klinger, noted literary editor and annotator of classic genre fiction, supported Balcombe's claim by reading "Dracula" carefully and coming up with an intriguing theory.

"Most likely, a different draft - one that identified the narrator as Harker - was included in... an early version of [the Dracula manuscript]. It may be that Stoker's publisher requested that the book be shortened, or the publisher (or Stoker) may have felt that the 'stylistic' aspects of the narrative were more important than its veracity. For whatever reason, the material was excised, and only later did Stoker return to the material and work it into its published form," he said.

Indeed, this short story would be the perfect tale to tell on Halloween. But it took place during Walpurgis Night.

Some nights are better spent indoors

An unnamed Englishman was tasked to provide legal support for a real estate transaction overseen by his employer. The Carpathian Mountains were far away, so he thought of spending the night in Munich. The hotel owner warned him not to stay out too late, but he didn't heed it. The carriage reached a spot where a village once stood, which the driver said was cursed. He became rattled when he saw dark clouds approaching. The horses were scared when they noticed a lanky stranger on the nearby hill. The young man was left alone.

He took shelter on the grove of cypress when it began to snow. A full moon appeared moments later, which revealed his whereabouts. He was in a cemetery. He was drawn to the marble tomb of a certain Countess Dolingen. He was startled by the inscription:

The dead travel fast.

A lightning bolt was followed by the opening of the tomb's bronze door. The young man caught a glimpse of a beautiful woman with rounded cheeks and red lips. Another lightning hit the iron spikes, destroying the tomb. He heard a woman's scream, and then blackness came over. He was awakened by a warm body in his chest, only to be terrified by a pair of flaming eyes. He passed out again. Military horsemen attended him when he became conscious.

The night is the beginning

The Englishman was unsure if he saw a wolf. But he couldn't forget those eyes. What puzzled him was how the horsemen found him. The hotel owner received a message from Count Dracula, reminding him that the young man must make it to Transylvania.

The short story was straightforward, its style far from “Dracula”. But it was a hair-raising tale, as good as the novel. The night at Munich was a warning. Science became superstition.