Published in 1914, “Dracula's Guest and Other Weird Stories” is a short story collection comprising of nine different stories, written by the Bram Stoker. Although some of these stories were pre-published, the book was published from stories that his wife recovered after his death.
As with all my short story collection reviews, I rate each story individually and then calculate the average rating as the total rating for the book. But, I warn you…. All of the reviews for each individual story include a brief synopsis. Some readers may not want to know as much information that I have provide. I write my short story reviews this way for future reference to remind me of which ones are worth the time re-reading and which ones are not. In this case, there was not one story that I did not enjoy. But, you can avoid learning more than you would like to know about these stories by skipping to the very bottom of the review, where it says “FINAL VERDICT”. That is where my overall review for “Dracula's Guest and Other Weird Stories” is listed. The stories within the collection include;
DRACULA’S GUEST – This story was adapted for comics by E. Nelson Bridwell for Eerie Magazine…. The narrator, a ballsy Englishman in Munich, is warned by a German fellow named Johann (as well as a hotel Maitre D’) not to journey to a depopulated village where the death by suicide lay…. Naturally, being English and stubborn as hell, his thirst for adventure cannot be overcome and he consequently ignores these pleads and proceeds with his quest nonetheless. This story was very enjoyable and had a slow, yet constant build-up of suspense. Stoker detailed the environment in every aspect, which further added to the entertainment.
THE JUDGE’S HOUSE – Malcom Malcolmson is a man looking for some solitude to concentrate on his work. He decides to rent a rat infested house in Benchurch for three months. It is a place known as the “Judge’s House” and is said to have been vacant for at least the past one-hundred years…. Ignoring all warnings and pleads from the townsmen, Malcom moves right in and immediately makes himself at home. Upon his arrival, he notices the house is equipped with an alarm bell, located on the roof, that has a rope attached to it which travels down next to the fireplace in the room where he works. It is believed that this is the very rope which the hangman used for the victims of the Judges judicial rancour…. How lovely! Although the ending is of no surprise, this was another awesome story and well worth the read. The writing is brilliant, the environment is incredibly detailed, and the suspense grips you from start to finish. I can’t say enough good things about this story.
THE SQUAW – This story was adapted for comics by Archie Goodwin for Creepy Magazine and is about a dude walking on a street, sided with a high retaining wall, and means to scare a kitten he sees traveling below by dropping a rock right beside it. Of course this was meant to be a prank, but the uncoordinated idiot ends up crushing the kitten’s skull and killing it on accident. His wife is not pleased and neither is the kitten’s mother, who was at the scene and now sees her offspring’s brain seeping out of its head. The cat goes apeshit and follows the prick, his wife, and their friend (who tagged along) and wants revenge. Although, this was a great story, it had a predictable (and also unrealistic) ending.
THE SECRET OF THE GROWING GOLD – This is a ghost story about Margaret Delandre and her brother Wykham…. The pair have a quarrel over a man named Geoffrey Brent, who has captured Margaret’s attention, and Wykham ends up throwing her out of the house as a result. She is later seen around town in the presence of Geoffrey and the town gossip eventually gets back to Wykham that the two have developed a relationship. After looking to make amends, Margaret ignores Wykham’s attempts to reconcile and so does Geoffrey. After a year passes, Wykham hears word that both, Geoffrey and Margaret have been in an accident while travelling abroad. It is soon learned that Geoffrey survived the accident, but Margaret is missing and presumed dead. In the midst of plotting an act of revenge on Geoffrey for his sisters death, Wykham is greeted by Margaret’s ghost, who has her own act of revenge in mind for Geoffrey. Although this was a typical ghost story, it was a really fun read and recovered well from its slow start. I would highly recommend it to any fan of ghost stories and vengeful acts.
A GIPSY PROPHECY – Joshua Consadine and his friend Gerald set out to a gipsy camp for a reading of the stars, but do not receive the information they had hoped. When the gipsy Queen sees tragedy in Joshua’s palm, she warns him that if he truly loves his wife, Mary, he will leave her. If he refuses to believe what the stars have revealed, his wife will be murdered by his own hand. Upon hearing this news, Mary does not take this well and heads for the gipsy camp, only to find it empty. This was another terrific story, but had a familiar ending…. The ending would have been more impactful in the early 1900’s, of course, but it was still good.
THE COMING OF ABEL BEHENNA – A gold-diggin’ bitch of a mother is trying to marry-off her smokin’ hot slut daughter, Sarah…. Sarah is torn between two gentlemen, who are both in love with her. On one side, you have a back-stabbing shit bag named Eric…. On the other, you have a righteous saint named Abel. The mother tells both boys that in order to win the approval of her daughter’s hand in marriage that they must combine their life savings and put it all on the line in a winner-take-all scenario. The deal is, the man who wins a coin toss has to take all the money that both men have and bring it to Bristol to trade with it. He spends one year over there and then comes back to marry Sarah, living off whatever there may be as a result of the trading. While the winner is away trading, the loser gets to stay back and pork Sarah…. Sounds like the loser is actually the winner in more ways than one to me…. I will say that this story was probably my favorite one in the collection and I would recommend it to anyone.
THE BURIAL OF THE RATS – This story was adapted into film in 1995 by the same title, as well a comic book, and is about an English dude travelling in Europe to burn time while he waits for his probation to end so he can head back to England to after his chick. The guy has a thing for Paris and ends up running for his life. I can’t say I enjoyed this story. The pace was too slow for me to get into and by the time it picked up, it was just about over. I can’t say Ill be reading this one ever again, if I can help it.
A DREAM OF RED HANDS – The narrator has formed a friendship with a dude named, Jacob Settle. A man who has kept himself in confinement as punishment for a crime he had committed long ago. The nightmares he has experienced since the crime took place are a constant reminder that Heaven’s gate will remain closed for his sin and he lives with believing that every day. Sad story that went by quickly. It was also the perfect length. Definitely worth returning to this one in the future. I highly recommend it in those moments when you are looking for a depressing read.
CROOKEN SANDS – Some English dude goes to Scotland with his family and takes an interest in the dress those Highland Chiefs wear and the guy, for some odd reason, wants to wear one. Everyone, including his own family, laugh in his face…. The quicksand shall swallow those who do not repent for showering in vanity. This story got much better as it progressed, but I was in Bored City through the first half of it. The dialog was sometimes difficult to follow, as well…. It was the weakest stories in my opinion and I am disappointed with its place in the collection. It didn’t exactly wrap things up on a high note.
FINAL VERDICT: I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. There are some amazing stories in this collection. For once, I did not find one story that I did not enjoy and would read a second (or even a third) time. Even the “Crooken Sands” is a story that is worth a second read. I will definitely be reading more stories by Bram Stoker in the future.