Dracula

When Jonathan Harker goes on a business trip to Transylvania with documents regarding the purchase of an estate in England, he has little idea what the sinister intentions of his client Count Dracula are... Dracula was a horrible vampire in the story as he drank blood. Have you ever imagined that there exists a real vampire in the world?


Topic for Discussion :
Real Vampires
Does a flapping of wings outside our window mean a vampire is near?

Well, in Java there is a bat called the flying fox that has a wingspan (1) of 1.7 metres and a body length of 42 centimetres. During the day it hangs upside-down (2) from tree branches in groups of hundreds and thousands. When these bats finish their daytime rest and fly off into the night, it is a frightening spectacle, especially for those who have read Dracula. But there is really no reason to be afraid because these bats eat fruit, no blood.
Then there is a bat with large claws and big teeth, but this one eats fish.

What about blood? Isn't there a bat that drinks blood?

Well, among the 951 species (3) of bats in the world, there are, in fact, three that drink blood. They all live in the American tropics. They're a lot smaller than the flying foxes of Java, Being only around 8 centimetres long. They are incredibly agile (4) however, even when they are not flying. They can run on all four legs, or stand up on their back legs, and they jump very well too.
They feed on (5) the blood of both birds and mammals, but they especially like to feed on domestic animals like cows, horses and goats.


Vocabulary

1) wingspan: the distance from one end of the wing to another.
2) upside-down: with the head down.
3) species: groups, kinds.
4) agile: having the ability to move the body quickly.
5) feed on: obtain the food they need by eating.


Question
Which one do you think is more terrible, Dracula or vampire bat?
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To know more about 'Real Vampires' or other interesting information, please refer to
“Dracula” (/english/library/book/index.phtml?isbn=9620716622) of "Black Cat English Readers", published by the Commercial Press (H.K) Ltd.

Bram Stoker, who was born in Clontarf, Ireland in 1847, grew up listening to great horror stories. He was a sickly, bedridden boy and his mother often helped him pass the time by telling Irish tales of banshees, demons and ghouls.

After his sickly youth, Bram went to Trinity College where he received honours in oratory, composition and sports. He also discovered the poetry of the great American poet. Walt Whitman. Bram especially loved Whitman's poetry about 'manly men'. After graduating from Trinity College, it seemed that Bram was going to follow his father's footstep. He worked for several years for the Irish civil service. He even used his own and his father's great experience to compose a massive book called The Duties of Clerks of Petty Sessions in Ireland. But Bram continued to pursue his real passion, the theatre.

He spent all his free time going to the theatre and writing reviews for different newspapers. In 1867 Bram saw for the first time his own personal 'Dracula', the man who would suck out all of Bram's life and financial blood. This personal Dracula was Henry Irving the great Victorian actor.

After seeing Irving for the first time, Bram began to praise Irving in reviews and in December 1878 Bram became Irving's business manager. He worked with complete devotion for this tyrannical actor for 27 years. Bram made very little money, often worked 15 hours a day, and sometimes wrote as many as 50 letters a day for Irving. Bram's death certificate says that he died of 'exhaustion'.

Bram himself was a great storyteller, and both the food and tales of the Beefsteak Room, a club owned by Irving, were the beginning of Bram's greatest tales, Dracula. Count Dracula, who first appeared in 1897, is eternally young, and will, in one form or another, haunt our lives for many more years to come.