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Dracula Beyond Stoker
Dracula Beyond Stoker Issue 3: The Bloofer Lady
Experience all the heartbreak and horror of Lucy Westenra with 11 brand new Bloofer Lady stories, a classic reprint, a sonnet, and an analysis from a co-creator of the StokerVerse. And did you see that Si Chinook cover!?!?
Dracula Beyond Stoker is a fiction journal dedicated to celebrating and continuing the legacy of Bram Stoker’s novel by expanding upon his characters and themes.
Dracula Beyond Stoker is a fiction journal dedicated to celebrating and continuing the legacy of Bram Stoker’s novel by expanding upon his characters and themes.
- GenresHorror
178 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 15, 2023
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7 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 21, 2023
The essay on Lucy Westenra by Chris McAuley was pretty good. I enjoyed it and he made sound points from sound reasoning."
“2023" by Katie Gill was an interesting comparison on how Lucy of 1897 would compare to a hypothetical Lucy of 2023. It's more a critique of our society vs London's in 1897. I don't know if the author is British or not, or if her hypothetical Lucy is based in London, though. She makes some good points in her critique, but I was hoping for more of a horror story. Still a worthy read.
"Bloofer Games" by Doris V. Sutherland started off with promise. It sounded like a horror story. But then becomes epistolary as it jumps forward two generations without the author telling us so. That was annoying. Just add years to the dates on the letters! I liked the inclusion of Lord Godalming and how he interferes in the publication of stuff about the Bloofer lady.
“Longing for the Sea" by Stephanie Kemler was a pretty good horror story. I thought it a poignant and horrifying way for a new Bloofer lady to be born. While not about the Stoker characters at all (aside from names), I really enjoyed this one.
“Pernicious Portland Podcast" by John Kiste puts Lucy in the modern day as a podcaster. I've never listened to a podcast, but it reads like she's doing talk radio. Anyway, here Lucy survived because the Bloofer Lady was someone Lucy turned back then and they destroyed her instead. Now a descendant of Van Helsing named Van Heusen (maybe he sells Izod shirts?) calls her to tell her he's on her trail. No character arc and it lacked stakes. Lucy is safe, and she knows where the professor is, and she is about to move her podcast elsewhere. In previous issues, he also wrote "Dracula: For One Night Only" where Dracula was reimagined as a comedian and "Renfield, M.E." which was an alternate universe Renfield written in a comedic style.
“Love, Lucy" by Kay Hanifen was EXCELLENT. Stories like this is what I was hoping for. Not only was Lucy believable, and how she watched over her loved ones, I liked how the author brought in Dracula's brother, Radu III of Wallachia. Great conclusion, good story. My favorite in this volume so far. I hope this author writes more for future volumes.
“A Muse, Shrouded," by JG Faherty, was an interesting story where Lucy inspired Bram Stoker's books, and eventually turned Stoker into a vampire. There are a lot of these stories around, where Mary Shelley meets the Monster, or Bram meets Dracula, but making Lucy the inspiration was kind of cool. I liked this one.
“Loose End" by Henry Herz was okay. At least he didn't throw in unatmospheric Lovecraftian monsters this time. Lucy was great. I liked the way he wrote Lucy. He's written stories in the last two volumes, and I like the idea of a series. He's very good with action, but his dialogue feels stilted sometimes, and he doesn't do well creating an atmosphere of horror and monsters.
“Frightful Things," by Mark Oxbrow read like it was written by someone experienced with ghost stories. Turns out he is (from his little biography at the end of the story). I liked this one. I thought it showed a really different side to both Lucy and Van Helsing. This one was EXCELLENT.
“My Name on All Their Lips" by Zachary Rosenberg was okay. Interesting enough, I guess. This story recasts Lucy as a protector of children rather than the predator of them (Stoker portrayed her as a predator to show how vampirism changes a person). Personally, I think the horror loses something when told from the point of view of the monster. There's a reason Dracula isn't given a POV in Bram Stoker's novel. I was surprised to read the biography of the author and find he was experienced at writing horror stories, so it seemed strange to me that this POV and recasting was made.
“At Night She Walks" by Steven Philip Jones was EXCELLENT. This is the kind of stories I want to read in this fiction journal. It fits in with the novel, and expanded on it. Perfect. It was atmospheric and hinted at things I wanted to know more about.
“House of Westenra" by Vince Stadon was a humorous bit that incorporated several Universal movies into the narrative. Coming as it did on the heels of the excellent story by Jones, this one fell flat for me. I love the Universal monsters and I liked the call-outs to them. He knows the old movies, that's for sure.
“My Arms Are Hungry" by Traci Castleberry was a queer take on Dracula. It took Lucy's last victim, and had him raised by Holmwood."
This was the best issue of this journal yet. At least three excellent stories, several really good stories, and only a couple that landed badly.
“2023" by Katie Gill was an interesting comparison on how Lucy of 1897 would compare to a hypothetical Lucy of 2023. It's more a critique of our society vs London's in 1897. I don't know if the author is British or not, or if her hypothetical Lucy is based in London, though. She makes some good points in her critique, but I was hoping for more of a horror story. Still a worthy read.
"Bloofer Games" by Doris V. Sutherland started off with promise. It sounded like a horror story. But then becomes epistolary as it jumps forward two generations without the author telling us so. That was annoying. Just add years to the dates on the letters! I liked the inclusion of Lord Godalming and how he interferes in the publication of stuff about the Bloofer lady.
“Longing for the Sea" by Stephanie Kemler was a pretty good horror story. I thought it a poignant and horrifying way for a new Bloofer lady to be born. While not about the Stoker characters at all (aside from names), I really enjoyed this one.
“Pernicious Portland Podcast" by John Kiste puts Lucy in the modern day as a podcaster. I've never listened to a podcast, but it reads like she's doing talk radio. Anyway, here Lucy survived because the Bloofer Lady was someone Lucy turned back then and they destroyed her instead. Now a descendant of Van Helsing named Van Heusen (maybe he sells Izod shirts?) calls her to tell her he's on her trail. No character arc and it lacked stakes. Lucy is safe, and she knows where the professor is, and she is about to move her podcast elsewhere. In previous issues, he also wrote "Dracula: For One Night Only" where Dracula was reimagined as a comedian and "Renfield, M.E." which was an alternate universe Renfield written in a comedic style.
“Love, Lucy" by Kay Hanifen was EXCELLENT. Stories like this is what I was hoping for. Not only was Lucy believable, and how she watched over her loved ones, I liked how the author brought in Dracula's brother, Radu III of Wallachia. Great conclusion, good story. My favorite in this volume so far. I hope this author writes more for future volumes.
“A Muse, Shrouded," by JG Faherty, was an interesting story where Lucy inspired Bram Stoker's books, and eventually turned Stoker into a vampire. There are a lot of these stories around, where Mary Shelley meets the Monster, or Bram meets Dracula, but making Lucy the inspiration was kind of cool. I liked this one.
“Loose End" by Henry Herz was okay. At least he didn't throw in unatmospheric Lovecraftian monsters this time. Lucy was great. I liked the way he wrote Lucy. He's written stories in the last two volumes, and I like the idea of a series. He's very good with action, but his dialogue feels stilted sometimes, and he doesn't do well creating an atmosphere of horror and monsters.
“Frightful Things," by Mark Oxbrow read like it was written by someone experienced with ghost stories. Turns out he is (from his little biography at the end of the story). I liked this one. I thought it showed a really different side to both Lucy and Van Helsing. This one was EXCELLENT.
“My Name on All Their Lips" by Zachary Rosenberg was okay. Interesting enough, I guess. This story recasts Lucy as a protector of children rather than the predator of them (Stoker portrayed her as a predator to show how vampirism changes a person). Personally, I think the horror loses something when told from the point of view of the monster. There's a reason Dracula isn't given a POV in Bram Stoker's novel. I was surprised to read the biography of the author and find he was experienced at writing horror stories, so it seemed strange to me that this POV and recasting was made.
“At Night She Walks" by Steven Philip Jones was EXCELLENT. This is the kind of stories I want to read in this fiction journal. It fits in with the novel, and expanded on it. Perfect. It was atmospheric and hinted at things I wanted to know more about.
“House of Westenra" by Vince Stadon was a humorous bit that incorporated several Universal movies into the narrative. Coming as it did on the heels of the excellent story by Jones, this one fell flat for me. I love the Universal monsters and I liked the call-outs to them. He knows the old movies, that's for sure.
“My Arms Are Hungry" by Traci Castleberry was a queer take on Dracula. It took Lucy's last victim, and had him raised by Holmwood."
This was the best issue of this journal yet. At least three excellent stories, several really good stories, and only a couple that landed badly.
December 8, 2023
There is a lot of pretty bonus artwork that came with this book, I like it. The book has great horror stories in it. Highly recommend.
I normally don't read short stories, but these stories are great.
I got a complimentary copy of #DraculaBeyondStokerIssue3TheBlooferLady from #LibraryThing #DBSPress but was not required to post a review.
#horror #ShortStories #Artwork #FavoriteBooks
I normally don't read short stories, but these stories are great.
I got a complimentary copy of #DraculaBeyondStokerIssue3TheBlooferLady from #LibraryThing #DBSPress but was not required to post a review.
#horror #ShortStories #Artwork #FavoriteBooks
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews