Dracula's Guest

Bram Stoker is an author that should be remembered.This book is even better than Dracula!

I had never heard of this book before, but when I ran across it and saw who the author was, I snatched it up and started reading. What we have here is a series of short stories published by Mrs. Stoker after the passing of her husband. The stories range from the disturbing supernatural tale of "The Judge" to the vampiric title tale of "Dracula's Guest" some versions of this book include the "Lair of the White Worm" which although it is not one of my favorite of Mr. Stoker's Cannon, it is still a very creepy and disturbing novella. This is a VERY short read, and can be completed in a day without trouble. As with all short story collections some will be more to your taste than others. None really packed the punch of "Dracula" but then few tales do. My personal favorites were "Dracula's Guest" in which a British fellow fails to head the warning of the locals and ventures into a hellish evening of wolves and the supernatural... and we are left with the feeling that his next venture may prove even worse for him. "The Judge" was also interesting... though I really would have liked for there to be more to this story. A learned man takes up residence in the local haunted mansion to get some peace and quite while studying. He gets more than he bargained for in the end. This was a very interesting and dark tale with "Twilight Zone" or "Tales from the Crypt" written all over it. It is very cinematic in tone and could have been much longer. In all there are tales of vengeance, redemption, the supernatural, pacts with the Devil, angry black cats, beggars run amok, murderers, insanity... if you love the short stories of Edgar Allen Poe, then you really need to pick up this collection. If you have read and re-read Dracula and can't get enough, then pick up this book... it's hard to find (my copy came from a used bookstore and it looked like a dog had gone to town on the cover) but it is well worth the hunt.

Dracula being one of my favorite books, I was thrilled to find this collection of Bram Stoker's short stories. I enjoy horror writers who can provoke old-fashioned fright without relying too heavily on graphic details; while those details have a place, too many of them dampen a story. I was hoping that this collection would be as skillfully crafted as Dracula; I'm happy to say that this anthology mostly lived up to my expectations. While there's plenty of ghoulish tension throughout the book, these stories also provide moral lessons, cautionary tales, some hair-raising plot twists, and even a few happy anecdotes that keep the collection from feeling monolithic. Disclaimer: I tried to keep the "spoilers" in this review to a minimum - that is, I did not include any details that you would not read within the first half of the stories. Read on if you want more information about each individual tale; otherwise, suffice it to say that fans of gothic horror writing will probably find this collection very enjoyable and worth a read. "Dracula's Guest": A headstrong stranger faces danger when he does not heed the advice of the locals. I was glad I knew Dracula as well as I do when I started reading this selection because Stoker draws a lot of parallels to the opening scenes of his novel (a carriage ride, mountainous terrain, wolves, baleful weather, the dangers of Walpurgis Nacht), which made the reading experience feel rich and familiar. "The Judge's House": A young man stays in a house with an unpleasant, angry past, much to the chagrin of the surrounding townsfolk. Again, Stoker points out the foolishness of willfully neglecting superstition/advice; I'll admit that this felt a bit predictable after "Dracula's Guest," but I still found myself enthralled with the narrative. "The Squaw": A couple's honeymoon does not exactly go as planned. Some truly horrific events transpire in the few pages of this story, which is far and away the most disturbing, graphic tale in the book. I won't spoil it with any more details. "The Secret of Growing Gold": A callous lover learns that he cannot bury his past. This one felt like the most conventional story for me, perhaps because it does deal with a jilted lover, which is one of the oldest themes in storytelling. Still, even in Stoker's most conventional stories, he has a good knack for maintaining a menacing enough tone that you want to keep reading. "A Gipsy Prophecy": A young couple must figure out how to deal with a terribly upsetting prophecy they receive from a local gipsy. Kind of self-explanatory, but I liked this one quite a bit. "The Coming of Abel Behenna": Two men and one woman find themselves embroiled in a fiercely competitive love triangle. I found the tone of this story more mocking and satiric than the other stories in the book, which was refreshing. Stoker condemns the fickleness of affection and the repercussions of jealousy while still weaving a ghastly story in the process. "Th

I consider this to be one of Stoker's best books. I would rate it right up there with "Dracula" and "The Jewel of the Seven Stars". The short stories in this collection are great. I especially liked the stories `Dracula's Guest' (which is supposed to be an exercised chapter from Dracula) and `The Judge's House'. The nine stories in this collection are: Dracula's Guest The Judge's House The Squaw The Secret of the Growing Gold A Gipsy Prophecy The Coming of Abel Behenna The Burial of the Rats A Dream of Red Hands Crooken Sands If you enjoyed "Dracula" you should definitely read this book.

I was amazed when I listened to "Dracula's Guest" and "The Secret of the Growing Gold" on this cassette. I am a fan of classic stories, horror films and Victor Garber, but I had never owned an audio cassette of a classic story until now. While the possibility of "listening" to these stories thrilled me, I was concerned if I would enjoy them. My fears were very quickly laid to rest. Victor Garber is a wonderful stage-trained actor who has a very understated and unforced vocal delivery. So, I can only describe these recordings as "classy". The way he changes his voice with each character is very effective although it is clearly his own all the way through.Some of you may prefer reading over listening but don't overlook buying this cassette. For one thing, it is more fun to listen to these stories than reading silently, and, probably, reading aloud. Both stories are fairly easy to follow, but "The Secret of the Growing Gold" is the hardest. Despite that, I strongly feel that this audio cassette is a must-hear. I recommend this to all fans of classic stories and audio books.