Monster A-Go-Go: Dracula

Little did Bram Stoker realize in 1897 that he would be creating the most legendary of horror icons when he penned the epic horror masterpiece, "Dracula". Within the generation of a single novel, the very mythology and lore was set loose to devour an eager public and become the dominant image of 20th century terror, lasting well into the modern age. There's no denying that vampires are the big-wigs of scares and none is more important than the grandfather ghoul himself, Dracula.

Unlike many monsters, the chilling nature of Dracula stems directly from his humanity. Without the proper tools and equipment gathered from you local church or vegetable market, Dracula appears to be nothing more than a regular human.

Dracula is a smooth player who's dignity and style have all the ladies swooning and the men coming over to his castle to watch the Football game. He's completely unassuming. But buried beneath his almost human frame is a blood-sucking demon who happens to be hellbent on turning you into a hollowed husk of beef jerky.

Its this quality that makes Dracula, and all vampires for that matter, so dreadful. They remind us that murderers and monsters lurk amongst our own and plays on the natural fear we have for one another. The person living next door could be a serial killer, but you would never know it from his friendly hospitality and good demeanor. This primal fear and mistrust we have for even the closest of friends and family is the driving force behind our interest in vampire stories.

As a result of this universal paranoia we have for one another, Dracula has risen from his grave time and time again to conquer most of the world's pulp fiction. World wide Dracula has appeared in books, movies, comic books, video games, and just about every other form of popular expression one can imagine. He's just as much a slice of wholesome Americana as he is British legend or Japanese myth.

Now with so many adaptations of Dracula, one must assume that I have a favorite. Well, if you must know, and if I must choose, then I will say that Christopher Lee's portrayal in the classic Hammer horror pictures claims my number one spot for greatest vampire ever. No one can beat his performance; Lugosi fans may call foul, but Christopher Lee is just hardcore.