Dracula Chronology

A user-friendly guide to the origins, exploits and influence of Count Dracula

PRE - 1800
Vampire myths from antiquity.

Vlad "the Impaler" Tepes, prince of Wallachia, c1430-c1477.

Elizabeth Bathory (1560-1614), Hungarian countess seeking rejuvenation, slaughters as many as 650 girls to bathe in their blood.

Early 1700s: vampire hysteria sweeps Europe.

1734
The word "vampyre" enters the English language in translations of German accounts of vampire frenzy.

1797
Goethe's Bride of Corinth.

1816
Lord Byron's Fragment of a Novel.

1819The Vampyre by John Polidori. A story conceived at the Shelleys' celebrated house party that spawned Frankenstein.

1820 - 1830
Vampire craze in Paris theatres.

Der Vampyr, opera by Heinrich Marschner.

1847
Bram Stoker born in Dublin.

Varney the Vampyre, or, The Feast of Blood by James Malcolm Rymer.

Verdi's Macbeth.

1852
Adaptation of Le Vampire by Dumas and Maquet.

1859
Darwin's On the Origin of Species posits evolutionary link between man and lower animals.

1871
Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu.

1875
Bram Stoker's first published horror fiction, The Chain of Destiny

1876
Bram Stoker meets Henry Irving.

1878
Bram Stoker marries Florence Balcombe and simultaneously accepts position as acting manager of Irving's Lyceum Theatre.

1882
Bela Blasko born, Lugos, Hungary.

Bram Stoker publishes macabre collection of children's stories, Under the Sunset.

Publication of Hall Caine's Recollections of Dante Gabriel Rossetti, which describes an incident said to have inspired Bram Stoker's portrayal of Lucy Westenra as a full-blooded vampire. The story goes that Rossetti buried a book of love poems with his late wife, but decided seven-and-a-half years later that he was going to retrieve it for publication. As a result the coffin was raised and opened. Rossetti's wife was found to have been perfectly preserved, and to have a kind of halo around her. The strange thing was that much of her beautiful hair came away in Rossetti's hand, as he extricated the book from where it was entwined, and the spectral halo faded.

1885
Faust enters Lyceum repertoire; Henry Irving portrays Mephistopheles.

1886
Robert Louis Stevenson publishes The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

1890
Oscar Wilde publishes The Picture of Dorian Gray.

Bram Stoker begins research on his novel, The Un-Dead.

1893
Freud commences publication of Studies on Hysteria.

1894
Trilby published; George du Maurier introduces Svengali.

1895
The trial of Oscar Wilde.

The Time Machine by H.G. Wells.

1897
The Un-Dead published as Dracula.

Staged reading at the Lyceum Theatre.

Kipling's poem The Vampire accompanies exhibition of painting by Philip Burne-Jones.

1901
First British paperback abridgement of Dracula.

1902
Burne-Jones' The Vampire shown in New York.

1904
Freud publishes The Interpretation of Dreams.

1905
The death of Henry Irving. Bram Stoker suffers stroke and begins memoirs during his recuperation.

1906
Publication of Bram Stoker's Personal Reminiscences of Henry Irving.

1910
Bram Stoker's last novel, The Lair of the White Worm.

1912
Death of Bram Stoker.

Sinking of the Titanic.

1913
Bram Stoker's working notes for Dracula sold at auction.

Publication of Dracula's Guest.

Birth of Peter Cushing.

1919
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, prototype horror movie, produced in Germany.

1920
Record of lost Hungarian film entitled Drakula.

First French edition of Dracula.

1922
Nosferatu: Eine Symphonie des Grauens produced as a pirated film by Prana-Film, Germany. Florence Stoker takes legal action through the British Society of Authors.

1924
Hamilton Deane enters into contract with Florence Stoker for a stage adaptation of Dracula.

1925
German court rules in favor of Stoker's claim and orders all prints of Nosferatu destroyed.

Florence Stoker prevents a private screening of Nosferatu by the Film Society, London.

Deane stage version has preview/premiere at Grand Theatre, Derby.

1926
Deane play successfully tours the provinces.

1927
London production of Dracula opens in February at the Little Theatre.

Horace Liveright contracts for American stage rights, hires John L. Balderston to write adaptation.

Florence Stoker privately commissions another stage adaptation of the play to which she owns all rights. Charles Morrell version is unsuccessfully produced at the Royal Court Theatre, Warrington, in September.

Deane and Balderston version opens at Fulton Theatre, New York in October, with Bela Lugosi as star.

Metro Goldwyn Mayer produces a vampire film, London After Midnight, with Lon Chaney as star. Producer Irving Thalberg, fearing infringement of Dracula, instructs director Tod Browning to make story changes.

1928
American stage version closes after successful run; west coast tour mounted.

Universal Pictures leaks false press announcement that it has purchased film rights, and mentions Conrad Veidt as possible star. Universal's British agent grants permission to Film Society to screen Nosferatu on the grounds that Universal now controls copyright. Florence Stoker and lawyers threaten action.

1929
Film Society turns over their print of Nosferatu to Florence Stoker for destruction.

Legitimate negotiations for film rights begin.

Nosferatu surfaces in New York and Detroit. Agent Harold Freedman negotiates with exhibitor to obtain print.

Liveright's gross earnings on stage play said to exceed $2 million.

Stock market crash.

1930
Universal, Pathe, Columbia, and Metro all consider Dracula. Carl Laemmle, Sr., opposes production without Lon Chaney, who is under contract to Metro and terminally ill.

Producer Horace Liveright threatens to block film sale with litigation. Settles for $4,500.

Liveright loses stage rights over $600 in owed royalties.

Universal purchases novel and film for $40,000.

Nosferatu turned over to Universal "for purposes of destruction."

Novelist Louis Bromfield, hired to write screen adaptation, is replaced by Dudley Murphy and Garrett Fort. Bela Lugosi cast after extended studio indecision. Filming commences in September, finishes in November. Spanish-language version shot simultaneously using same sets, but different cast and crew.

1931
January: Spanish film previewed to good notices.

February: American film premieres at Roxy Theatre, New York.

Attempt at Broadway revival in wake of the film is unsuccessful; closes after a few performances.

April - May: Dracula receives belated West Coast premiere. Spanish and American versions exhibited simultaneously in Los Angeles.

Tod Browning leaves Universal and returns to Metro.

Nosferatu director F.W. Murnau dies in Hollywood.

Swedish director Carl Dreyer produces Vampyr as art film in France.

Dracula ends the year as one of Universal's top money-makers, despite mixed notices. Studio has its only profitable year of the decade.

1933
David O. Selznick options Dracula's Guest and hires John L. Balderston to draft a treatment called Dracula's Daughter. Metro fears infringement of Universal film, and negotiates sale of property to Universal.

Due to a loophole in the American copyright law, the novel Dracula is judged to have always been in the public domain.

Death of Horace Liveright.

1935
Tod Browning remakes London After Midnight as The Vampires of Prague for Metro with Lugosi as a caped count. Universal unsuccessfully seeks a restraining order. Film released as Mark of the Vampire.

1936
Dracula's Daughter released by Universal.

1937
Death of Florence Stoker.

U.S. horror film cycle comes to a temporary halt due to British embargo on monster films.

1938
Dracula successfully re-released on double bill with Frankenstein. Some prints tinted green.

Orson Welles dramatizes novel for radio; Mercury Theatre on the Air production features Welles as Dracula and Agnes Moorehead as Mina.

1939
Hamilton Deane secures rights to Balderston adaptation and finally acts the role of Dracula on the London stage.

Actor Bernard Jukes, who played Renfield over 4,000 times, killed in an air raid.

Tod Browning directs his last film, Miracles For Sale.

1941
Birth of Anne Rice.

Birth of Christopher Lee.

1943
Son of Dracula with the remarkably miscast Lon Chaney, Jr.

Lugosi appears as a thinly disguised Count for Columbia in Return of the Vampire.

Lugosi tours eastern seaboard in revival of Dean and Balderston play.

1944
Dracula teamed with other Universal monsters in House of Frankenstein.

1945
House of Dracula, another monster fest from Universal.

1947
Theatrical release of Dracula by Universal.

1948
Lugosi plays Dracula on film for the second and last time in Abbott and Costello meet Frankenstein (U.K. title Abbott and Costello meet the Ghosts).

1952
Lugosi appears in stage revival of Dracula in Brighton, England, films Old Mother Riley Meets the Vampire and takes The Bela Lugosi Revue to Las Vegas.

1953
First non-Western adaptation, Drakula Istanbulda, produced in Turkey.

1954
John L. Balderston dies.

1955
Lugosi commits himself for well-publicised treatment of drug addiction.

1956

Bela Lugosi makes his last screen appearance in Edward D. Wood Jr.'s cult classic Plan Nine From Outer Space.

Bela Lugosi dies of a heart attack on August 16; he is buried in Dracula costume and makeup.

John Carradine plays the Count in first television adaptation of Dracula on Matinee Theatre.

1957
United Artists produces the first non-Universal Dracula title, The Return of Dracula (later titled The Curse of Dracula), starring Francis Lederer.

1958
Hammer Films produces Dracula (called Horror of Dracula in the U.S.). Christopher Lee is established as the cinema's new king of vampires and Peter Cushing takes on the role of Van Helsing.

American International Pictures capitalizes on the title, though not the character or story, in Blood of Dracula.

El Vampiro (Mexico) with German Robles as the first Spanish vampire since Carlos Villarias.

Universal's horror film series, Shock Theatre, released to television. Regional TV "horror hosts" such as Zacherley and Vampira promote monsters to an impressionable new generation.

Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine is established as the bible of monster culture. Readership will include future film mega-mogul Steven Spielberg.

The death of Hamilton Deane.

1959
Eminent Shakespearean actor Sir Donald Wolfitt wears Bela Lugosi makeup for Blood of the Vampire (U.K.).

Maurice Richardson publishes influential article, 'The Psychoanalysis of Ghost Stories', placing Dracula in an overtly Freudian context for the first time.

1960
Brides of Dracula (U.K.). First Hammer follow-up to Christopher Lee remake, this one heavily Oedipal and with no Count in sight, despite the title.

Black Sunday (Italy). Homage to the vampire genre directed by Mario Bavaone. One of the most evocative and frightening horror films ever made.

Blood and Roses (France). Roger Vadim's atmospheric foray into Carmilla titled To Die of Pleasure in Europe.

1961
The Bad Flower. First Korean adaptation.

1962
Harry Ludlam publishes A Biography of Dracula: The Life Story of Bram Stoker.

Tod Browning dies.

1963
Universal's commercial licensing of monster toys and games reaches a fever pitch. Bela Lugosi's heirs commence legal action, charging unjust exploitation of his likeness.

1964
Dracula is revived as a tired Jewish grandfather in the CBS television series The Munsters. Transylvania and suburbia blur.

1965
Christopher Lee returns in Hammer's Dracula: Prince of Darkness.

1966
John Carradine travels west for Billy the Kid vs. Dracula.

Il Imperio de Dracula (Mexico).

Dark Shadows. ABC daytime television serial brings Dracula trappings to New England.

1967
The Count makes a brief appearance in Conrad Rooks' Chappaqua.

1968
Limited theatrical re-release of Dracula and Frankenstein to revival house and college circuits.

Dracula Has Risen from the Grave (U.K.), once again starring Christopher Lee.

Dracula Meets the Outer Space Chicks (U.S.)

1969
The Fearless Vampire Killers (U.K.). Roman Polanski's extravagant spoof, featuring Polanski, Sharon Tate, and elaborate references to earlier films.

Blood of Dracula's Castle (U.S.).

Men of Action Meet Women of Dracula (Philippines).

Dracula Sucks (first version).

Dracula (The Dirty Old Man).

1970
Guess What Happened to Count Dracula (U.S.).

Dracula (U.K.). BBC TV production with Denholm Elliot.

Dracula vs. Frankenstein (Spain).

Count Dracula. A low-budget, though faithful multi-national adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel, notable for Christopher Lee's close resemblance to Stoker's physical description. With Klaus Kinski as Renfield.

The Scars of Dracula (U.K.). Christopher Lee again. This time he stabs as well as bites.

Taste the Blood of Dracula (U.K.) in which hypocritical Victorian men looking for kicks dabble in demonism. Stylish, witty, and gruesome. Christopher Lee sets an all-time record for film portrayals of Dracula in a single year.

Dracula vs. Frankenstein. Yet another version, this one American, in a bumper-crop year.

Jonathan (West Germany). A Dracula-like premise in a parable of fascism.

Lake of Death (Japan), also known as The Lake of Dracula and Japula.

1971
Count Dracula by Ted Tiller becomes a popular vehicle in regional, community and college theatres.

1972
Blacula. A Caribbean Count.

Dracula A.D. 1972 (U.K.). You can't keep a good vampire down - Christopher Lee proves his durability, as England swings.

El gran amor de Conde Dracula (Spain).

Raymond T. McNalley and Radu R. Florescu publish In Search of Dracula, the first modern account of the "historical Dracula", Vlad Tepes.

California court rules in favor of Bela Lugosi's son and widow in lawsuit against Universal Pictures; plaintiffs awarded $72,000. Universal appeals decision.

1973
La saga de los Draculas (Spain).

The Satanic Rites of Dracula (U.K.). Christopher Lee round eight, this time as a CEO in a corporate office tower, plotting world domination via germ warfare.

Dracula. TV film with Jack Palance.

Andy Warhol's Dracula (Italy/France).

Half-vampire superhero Blade makes his debut appearance in issue 10 of Marvel Comics' The Tomb of Dracula.

1974
The Seven Brothers Meet Dracula (U.K./Hong Kong co-production).

Tender Dracula or The Confessions of a Blood Drinker (France).

Old Dracula (U.K.) with David Niven.

1975
Spermula (U.S.).

Alucarda (Mexico).

Daniel Farson publishes second full-length Stoker biography, The Man Who wrote Dracula.

Carmilla in a musical stage adaptation by Wilford Leach.

Deafula in sign language, for the hearing-impaired.

Publication of Salem's Lot, Stephen King's foray into the world of the vampire.

1976
Dracula, père et fils. Christopher Lee on vacation in France.

Author Anne Rice receives a $1 million advance for her first novel, Interview with the Vampire.

1977
Zoltan-Hound of Dracula (U.K.) or Dracula's Dog (American title).

Deane and Balderston play revived on Broadway in a tongue-in-cheek production designed by Edward Gorey with Frank Langella in the title role.

California Supreme Court reverses lower court decision on 'Lugosi vs. Universal Pictures' - studio's Dracula merchandising found not to be in violation of Lugosi's film contract. Actor's claim on likeness held not to survive death.

The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew Meet Dracula (U.S. television film).

1978
Count Dracula. British television adaptation with Louis Jourdan; perhaps the most ambitious attempt to faithfully reproduce the novel.

1979
Dracula. Universal's stylish $40 million remake on the heels of the Broadway revival with Frank Langella repeating his role opposite Laurence Olivier as Van Helsing. Kate Nelligan co-starred.

Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht (West Germany). Werner Herzog's idiosyncratic homage to Murnau, filmed in two versions, German and English (the latter considered unreleasable). With Klaus Kinski and Isabelle Adjani.

Love at First Bite. George Hamilton stars in one of the best spoofs of the genre.

The True Life of Dracula (Romania).

Dracula Sucks (U.S.) yet again, this time with porno star Jamie Gillis.

Vampire Dracula Comes to Kobe: Evil Makes Women Beautiful (Japanese TV movie).

The Passion of Dracula by Bob Hall and David Richmond is an off-Broadway hit.

1980
Dracula's Last Rites (France).

1982
Phyllis A. Roth publishes first full-length critical survey of Bram Stoker.

Dracula inspired cartoon character Count Duckula makes his debut appearance in the British television series, Danger Mouse

1983
Cliff's Notes published for Dracula.

1984
Restored version of Nosferatu screened at the Berlin Film Festival with live orchestral accompaniment.

1985
Anne Rice's The Vampire Lestat published; reaches best-seller lists as the second novel in her Vampire Chronicles.

1986
Dracula image used to advertise the Lutheran and Episcopal churches.

1988
1931 Dracula poster sells to collector for a rumored $9,000, over three times what Bela Lugosi received to appear in the film. Lugosi autographs will soon ask as much as $1,000, original-release stills from Dracula up to $250 each.

Mama Dracula (France).

Draculas' Widow.

Restored archival print of Universal's Dracula released on videodisc.

The Queen of the Damned, Anne Rice's third vampire best-seller.

Count Duckula gets his own television series.

1989
Romania overthrows and executes its dictator, Nikolai Ceaugescu, widely referred to in the news media as "Dracula".

Dracula tours and historical sites become an important part of the Romanian tourism economy.

1990
Dracula announced as a syndicated television series.

1991
Bram Stoker's Dracula (U.S.). Francis Ford Coppola's epic attempt at a faithful adaptation of Stoker's novel.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (U.S.). The humble movie beginning of the Buffy phenomenon.

Dracula Rising (U.S.).

Dracula's Hair (Russia).

1992
Publication of The Tale of the Body Thief, the fourth installment in the story of Lestat.

1994
Interview with the Vampire (U.S.). Neil Jordan's masterful adaptation of the Anne Rice novel.

Cronos (Mexico). Imaginative take on the vampire theme and the directorial debut of respected filmmaker Guillermo del Toro.

1995
Dracula Dead and Loving It (U.S). Mel Brooks spoof, largely based around the Universal film.

Vampire in Brooklyn (U.S). Another vampire comedy, this time starring Eddie Murphy and directed by horror veteran Wes Craven.

Publication of Memnoch the Devil, the fifth episode in Anne Rice's Lestat saga.

1996
From Dusk Till Dawn (U.S.). Vampires receive the Quentin Tarantino treatment.

The Northern Ballet Theatre achieves unprecedented success in the U.K. with its stunning ballet adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel, which was destined for a series of revivals in the years that followed.

1997
Publication of The Vampire Armand, the first novel in Anne Rice's New Tales of the Vampires series.

Pilot episode of 20th Century Fox's Buffy the Vampire Slayer television series.

Vampires or John Carpenter's Vampires (U.S.). Acclaimed horror director John Carpenter tries his hand at a vampire movie.

1998
Publication of Pandora the second novel in Anne Rice's New Tales of the Vampires series.

Blade (U.S). Wesley Snipes stars as Marvel's half-vampire super-hero in the first of a series of movie outings.

1999
Publication of Vittorio the Vampire, the third novel in Anne Rice's New Tales of the Vampires series.

From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money (U.S.). Follow up to 1996 movie directed by Scott Spiegel