Reader's Ink discussion

Jumping off Auntie Cheryl's comment about staging and suspense, how did Stoker build suspense? What did you find particularly creepy?

One thing I really liked in the book was using the diary approach. By each character writing about what they saw and experienced, it built a tremendous amount of suspense to me. I found that whoever was one of Dracula's targets, I found myself in terror if they would live or die.

I agree, Carol. The varying viewpoints allowed us as readers to see what another character might not have seen or detected.

In building suspense, Stoker had all the peasants crossing themselves at whatnot as Harker traveled through, the wolves were very threatening, both at the beginning and the end of the novel, but never actually proved deadly. And the way in which Dracula, in the castle, became ever so slowly more and more sinister and scary was, in my opinion, BRILLIANT.