1. I read “Dracula” for the first time some years ago as a skeptic and was pleasantly surprised by the depth and awesomeness I found in it. It quickly became one of my favorite books! The genuinely Christian elements move it into true excellence.
    Re Point 3, especially the last paragraph, from my (by no means exhaustive) reading of Victorian “sensational” or popular literature, I find that it tends to be more realistic about physical and mental limitations than some modern stories. Men are portrayed as having weaknesses, even as women are (which is all anyone seems to remember), and sometimes deal with severe health issues after their exciting adventures.
    Re the third footnote (and sparkly vampires), I don’t mind a few cheesy vampires, because much of their horrifying power is robbed by cartoonizing them. In fact, Dracula invented so many tropes and is so different from previous versions of vampires that I sometimes find him a little cheesy himself. For a story involving old vampire myths, I highly recommend reading “The Cruel Painter” by George MacDonald, which is funny and scary and wonderfully complex.

  2. Ticia says:

    Other books building on the Dracula lore do say crosses and other symbols of faith would work. More modern books will say it’s the symbol of faith, not the Christian faith that works.

What say you?