History YMMV / Dracula

* AluminiumChristmasTrees: Van Helsing, a Dutch doctor, often breaks out in GratuitousGerman. Was Stoker getting the Dutch and German languages mixed up? Probably yes, [[AccidentallyCorrectWriting but]] German ''was'' the major language of Western science in the late 19th century, particularly when it came to medicine, as well as being a lingua franca in much of Europe (Jonathan communicates with the people he meets in Romania via limited German on both sides) so it's very likely that Van Helsing would have regularly spoken German and fallen back into it when excited or stressed.

** Any time the name 'Van Helsing' is mentioned in any form of media, it either depicts the character himself as a hardcore VampireHunter or gives the audience the heads up that the character in question is a HunterOfMonsters. In the original book Van Helsing is nothing of the sort; he has a wide range of accomplishments and interests, and his knowledge of Balkan folklore is by no means his speciality. Seward initially turns to him because he's an expert in obscure ''diseases,'' so it takes him a fairly long time to suspect that Lucy's condition might be unnatural, at first trying to cure her through scientific means before turning to more traditional methods of protection against evil, and in the end his efforts to save her life are all in vain. Van Helsing is able to lead the group to the conclusion of vampires ''not'' because he is an vampire expert with experience slaying them but because he is an open-minded scholar willing to seriously consider folklore, myth, and ridiculous-sounding claims. Most of his hypotheses about vampires derive from comparing descriptions in various old stories and texts to his experience with Lucy and the observations Jonathan made in his journal, and even as the heroes set out on their mission he constantly needs to do further research on how to understand and defeat Dracula and the vampires created by him, basically adapting as he goes along and hoping desperately that his ideas work rather than knowing everything right from the start.

* CompleteMonster: [[{{Dracula}} Count Dracula]] himself is the TropeCodifier for the [[OurVampiresAreDifferent modern vampire]]. A hideous, blood-sucking monster, Dracula commits a number of crimes over the course of the novel, including keeping Jonathan Harker prisoner and trying to drive him insane; kidnapping a baby to [[EatsBabies feed to his fellow vampires]], before sending wolves to kill the mother when she demands her baby back; driving his own servant, [[TheRenfield Renfield]], to madness; sending a wolf after Lucy Westenra and her mother to gain entry to her house before draining her blood and turning her into a vampire (killing Lucy's mother through sheer fear at the wolf's appearance in the process); and turning Wilhelmina "Mina" Harker into a vampire to uncover his enemies' plans against him. Dracula ultimately plans to move to England so that he can feast on the people of London to his heart's content. Overall, the vampire Count is an undead abomination devoid of humanity and worthy of no sympathy.

*** May [=4th=], "''Franchise/StarWars'' Day." [[labelnote:Explanation]] Since it's ''Star Wars'' Day "[[{{Pun}} May the Fourth be with you]]" wish your good friend Jonathan Harker may the Force be with him. He's gonna need it.[[/labelnote]]

*** May [=8th=], "Foul Bauble of Van's Vanity" Day [[labelnote:Explanation]] In the May [=8th=] entry, Jonathan does not see Dracula behind him in his shaving glass, and Dracula hurls it out the window to shatter in the courtyard below. Festivities include yeeting hand mirrors out of windows, and watching out for falling mirrors.[[/labelnote]]

* OnceOriginalNowOverdone:
** It can be easy to assume SadlyMythtaken after ''Film/{{Nosferatu}}'' and other such vampire-themed works gave us a different example of what a vampire is.
** The book was a DeconstructorFleet for GothicHorror, subverting, averting and deconstructing VictorianNovelDisease, ScienceIsBad and CreepyCatholicism among other tropes. Now that the book is the archetypal vampire novel and many of the above all but {{Discredited| Trope}} or {{Dead Horse Trope}}s, it can be hard to understand its innovativeness.

** Paprika[[labelnote:Explanation]]In his first journal entry, Jonathan describes his comparably mundane trip so far, including a paprika hendl he had at a local inn that he enjoyed and hoped to get the receipe for. Paprika quickly became Jonathan's TrademarkFavoriteFood, along with many a joke about Jonathan being so GenreBlind that he was more interested in the food he ate along the way than the repeated warnings from weeping townsfolk giving him crucifixes[[/labelnote]]

** How much of Jonathan's [[GenreBlindness obliviousness]] and SkewedPriorities at the start of the novel is legit, and how much is him essentially going into survival mode in a ''very bad'' situation he can't easily get out of? Memes aside, his journals indicate that he has a sense something really isn't right ''very'' early into his journey; he muses that 'If this book should ever reach Mina before I do, let it bring my good-bye', and he does hang on to the rosary the innkeeper's wife gives him despite being raised to regard such things as idolatrous. He says it's because she was so genuinely concerned and kind and he didn't want to discard her gift, but it could also indicate that deep down, he's not sure it wouldn't help to have a holy symbol on him. Later, when he realizes Dracula has no reflection, and the Count shatters his mirror, Jonathan's first reaction is to comment that it's annoying because now he can't shave properly... but the rest of that entry describes him realizing he's trapped in the castle, and he is clearly ''freaking the hell out''. It's very possible Jonathan was honing in on irrelevant or silly details, like being able to shave or the food he's enjoying, and trying to ignore the increasingly-obvious bloodsucking elephant in the room, because his only other option was to panic and/or go insane. At least once, Jonathan writes in his journal that he feels like he's losing his mind, and that he's journaling for much the same reason as [[Literature/TheMartian Mark Watney]]: to try and keep his head in a stressful, life-or-death situation, and have an outlet to talk himself through plans for survival.