Bram StokerBram Stoker unleashed his horrific creation upon an unsuspecting world over a hundred years ago. One could hardly imagine that his creature of the night could delight and inhabit the nightmares of every generation, from his to ours. Count Dracula has become an icon of evil and is perhaps the most widely recognized bogeyman in all of world literature. To date, more than a hundred films have been made about Dracula or other assorted vampires, not to mention countless novels, comics, works of nonfiction, toys, clubs and societies, even a children's breakfast cereal celebrating the myth of counting of the undead. Dracula's notoriety is of such epic proportions that it has almost overshadowed the man who gave us this delightfully terrifying character of fiction. Abraham “Bram” Stoker was born in Clontarf, Ireland, on November 8, 1847, the third of seven children. For the first eight years of his life he never stood up without help and was constantly bedridden due to unidentified illnesses (“ClassicNotes”). These illnesses and his sense of helplessness were traumatizing experiences, evident in his literary work. Eternal sleep and resurrection from the dead, which are the central themes of his Dracula, were of great importance to him, perhaps because he was forced to spend much of his youth in bed. Although he remained shy and studious, in his adolescence Stoker was far from sickly. Perhaps to compensate for his earlier frailty, by the time Stoker attended Trinity College, Dublin, he had become an accomplished sportsman and was named varsity athlete for his impeccable prowess in football and the marathon. At Trinity College, Stoker studied history, mathematics and philosophy and became president of the Philosophical Society and the Historical Society. It was there that he became acquainted with the works of American poet Walt Whitman and immediately became a devoted fan. He wrote Whitman a long, exuberant letter praising his work, but didn't send it until four years later. In 1870, Stoker graduated from Trinity with honors in mathematics. While at Trinity a series of events occurred that would forever change the direction of Stoker's life. A touring theater group came to Dublin offering a production of Sheridan's The Rivals with a young actor called Henry Irving (born John Henry Brodribb), the tallest... middle of the paper... time and died. Thereafter, a devastated Stoker went through life, managing various theater projects, working as a writer here and there, and publishing multiple novels, none of which compared to the one great creation of his life. “Bram Stoker died on 20 April 1912 in London, England and was buried at Golders Green Crematorium, London” (“Wikipedia”). Bram Stoker wrote numerous novels, short stories, essays and lectures, but Dracula is, by far, his most famous work. His other works have not aged well, but the story of Count Dracula continues to sell consistently today. Stoker coined the term “undead” (Stoker 195), and his interpretations of vampire folklore have powerfully shaped depictions of legendary monsters ever since. Works Cited "Bram Stoker". Literature E. January 4, 2004. "ClassicNotes: Bram Stoker." GradeSaver.com. January 5, 2004. .Folsom, Ed and Price, Kenneth M. Biography. The Walt Whitman Archive. January 5, 2004. Irving, Sir Henry. World Book Online Reference Center. January 2, 2004..Menon, Sindhu. Bram Stoker. January 2, 2004. .Miller, Elizabeth. Count Dracula. Memorial University of Newfoundland. December 31, 2003.