History Literature / Dracula

* TheWoobie: Arthur. He loses his dad, his fiancee, and his soon-to-be mother in law in less than a week of each other. [[TheChewToy And then he has to kill his undead fiancee]], who's turned into an unholy abomination against nature.

* TheRenfield: TropeNamer!

* ScienceMarchesOn: When Van Helsing realizes that Lucy is anemic because her blood is being drained by Dracula, he orders that her three suitors give her blood transfusions to save her life. It is apparently too little, too late. The thing is, ''Dracula'' was published in 1897, and the human blood group system was discovered in 1901. Van Helsing's treatment could easily have killed Lucy by itself. This has led to a more than one {{Alternate Character Interpretation}} wherein [[DraculaTheUn-Dead Dracula just took a quick nip from Lucy for food and wouldn't have seriously hurt her, but ultimately turned her into a vampire only because she was dying anyway from the blood transfusions]].

* ScienceMarchesOn: When Van Helsing realizes that Lucy is anemic because her blood is being drained by Dracula, he orders that her three suitors give her blood transfusions to save her life. It is apparently too little, too late. The thing is, ''Dracula'' was published in 1897, and the human blood group system was discovered in 1901. Van Helsing's treatment could easily have killed Lucy by itself. This has led to a more than one {{Alternate Character Interpretation}} wherein Dracula just took a quick nip from Lucy for food and wouldn't have seriously hurt her, but ultimately turned her into a vampire only because she was dying anyway from the blood transfusions.
** That or she's an AB, so she's a universal acceptor.

* DaylightHorror: Stroker had Dracula walking freely during the day, something that was eventually lost in vampire lore and did not return until recent years.

* ChildEater: Dracula's vampire companions and Lucy after she turned, though the latter never really fully drained her victims cause circumstance would force her to leave them behind before she could.

* ApocalypticLog: The journal of the captain whose ship Dracula came over on is ''chilling''.

* TooDumbToLive: The Heroes (See Xanatos Sucker) as well as [[spoiler: Dracula. Seriously, you'd think after managing to turn Lucy, he would be more aware that the main character would be on to him when he goes after Mina. He about as subtle as a brick so it no surprise he ends up dusted at the end.]]

* XanatosSucker: Most of the good guys, sadly, are ''morons''.
** Seriously. [[spoiler: Well, the vampire can only enter a house into which he is invited... I know, let's keep his victim in a house that we ''know'' Dracula can already enter A-OK!]]
** Also: [[spoiler:Lucy died and rose as a vampire after becoming paler and weaker over many days. Mina's not feeling well and looking rather pale, but she'll be fine after a good night's sleep.]]

* StayintheKitchen: The men can't decide if leaving Mina out of their affairs is safer for her, or damning for them all. They flipflop on the issue at least twice. [[spoiler: And it this indecision that almost get her vamped. Ironically afterwards, she decides for them]]

* HighOctaneNightmareFuel: The book is, despite what you might expect from [[AdaptationDecay everything else about it]], ''terrifying''. Renfield in particular is creepy as all hell.

The original Bram Stoker novel the PublicDomainCharacter {{Dracula}} comes from. [[AdaptationDecay Accept no substitutes!]]

* SouthernGentleman: Quincey Morris, [[EverythingsBiggerInTexas Texan]], and a very positively portrayed American; typical in British works of the day but surprising today.