Bram Stoker (1847-1912) won a place in literary history with one book, Dracula (1897). It was not his only novel, but it is his only masterpiece in the long form. The novels that followed range from passable (The Jewel of The Seven Stars, 1903) to down-right bizarre (The Lair of the White Worm, 1911). Stoker’s earlier works are best not discussed.
Stoker may have had only one great novel in him, but he did produce a small number of short stories that might have won him a reputation without Dracula. Most of these stories were collected in his posthumous collection Dracula’s Guest And Other Weird Stories (1914).
While not all of the stories in Dracula’s Guest are great works –many are just potboilers — at least half are considered classics horror tales that rank with the best in the genre and are often anthologized. In fact, if someone asked me what is the most anthologized story of the paperback era of horror collections, I would pick “Dracula’s Guest”. According to ISFDB, beginning in 1963, the story was reprinted over 180 times.
The book was edited by Bram Stoker’s widow, Florence. In her introduction she explains where “Dracula’s Guest” comes from: “To his original list of stories in this book, I have added an hitherto unpublished episode from Dracula. It was originally excised owing to the length of the book, and may prove of interest to the many readers of what is considered my husband’s most remarkable work.”
“Dracula’s Guest”, appropriately, opens the collection. Jonathan Harker is on the road to Dracula’s castle, when he decides foolishly to walk in the Transylvanian woods. A snowstorm drives him into a cursed graveyard where the undead attack him. Only the appearance of a large grey wolf with red eyes saves him from the ghouls and the cold of the night. The wolf is, of course, the Count.
“The Judge’s House” is another Stoker classic. A man spends a night in a house haunted by the spirit of an evil “hanging judge”. The phantom returns in the form of a malignant giant rat.
“The Squaw”, also known as “The Iron Maiden”, is a revenge tale about an American visiting a castle in Europe, who kills a kitten through carelessness. The mother cat receives her revenge when she trips the man, causing him to fall into an old torture device.
“The Secret of the Growing Gold” is another Poesque tale. A man kills his first wife and buries her under a large floor stone. Her golden hair continues to grow (at least in his own mind), haunting him.
“The Gipsey Prophecy” is a pedestrian prophecy tale in which a woman is warned of an up-coming accident, and her misinterpretation cause it to happen. She is fortunately saved at the last minute.
“The Coming of Abel” is another “Tell-Tale Heart” copy. A suitor kills his rival only to be haunted by his dead body.
“The Burial of the Rats” is Stoker’s second masterpiece, after Dracula. A foolish youth wanders into the wrong part of town only to be hunted by thieves. The chase scene is so tense that no supernatural element is needed to give the story terror.
“A Dream of Red Hands” is another potboiler about a man who suffers for a death he caused. The dead man haunts the killer with a recurring dream of bloody red hands.
“Crooken Sands” is a doppleganger story about a foppish man who meets his own other self at an oceanside resort. The encounter cures him of his eccentric dress.
Weird Tales reprinted a number of the stories from this book. “Dracula’s Guest” (December 1927), “The Burial of the Rats” (September 1928), “The Secret of the Growing Gold” (December 1933), “The Coming of Abel Behanna” (September 1934), “The Judge’s House” (March 1935), and “The Gipsy Prophecy” (February 1937). sadly, the stories were not illustrated but had a generic “reprint’ header. Famous Fantastic Mysteries did better when they reprinted stories with “The Secret of the Growing Gold” (August 1946), and “The Burial of the Rats” (October 1946).
Two stories not included in Dracula’s Guest are: “The Crystal Cup”(1872), an uncharacteristic Stoker story, a romantic tale of a dead man and the crystal cup he creates; and “The Dualists”, a grim story featuring two evil little boys who murder two babies and frame their father for the deed.
