Chapter One. Count Dracula's Castle

Jonathan Harker's Diary – 3rd May, Bistritz

I left Munich at 8.35 in the evening on 1st May and I arrived early the next morning. My train was an hour late, so I didn't have a lot of time to visit Budapest. But, it's a lovely place. The West meets the East here: some of the places in the town are almost Turkish. The bridges over the River Danube are beautiful.

The following morning, we left on time. We arrived in Klausenburgh late in the evening. I stayed the night at the Hotel Royal. I had an excellent dinner; chicken with hot red pepper. I asked the waiter about it. It's a national dish called paprika hendl. I must ask for the recipe. I want to give it to Mina.

I'm going to meet an important man. He lives in Castle Dracula. He's a count. The castle is in the east of the country. It's between Transylvania, Moldavia and Bukovina. It's in the middle of the Carpathian Mountains. I'm going to his castle tomorrow. The count wants to buy a house in England. Mr Hawkins, my employer, has sent me here. We've found a large house for the count. It's in the village of Carfax. I have some drawings to show the count. I also took some photographs with my Kodak. It's quite an old house, but Mr Hawkins says it's perfect for the count. I hope Count Dracula likes it.

I didn't sleep very well after my dinner. My bed was comfortable, but I had a lot of strange dreams. A dog was howling under my window. It howled for a lot of the night. I was also very thirsty, perhaps because of the paprika. I had more paprika for breakfast in a dish called impletata. It was also very good. I must ask for the recipe for this dish, too.

After breakfast, I went to the station. My train was at 8 o'clock and the journey was beautiful. We passed small towns, castles, hills and rivers. It was early evening when I arrived here, in Bistritz. An old lady at the Golden Krone hotel was expecting me. She gave me a letter from Count Dracula. It has directions for my journey tomorrow.

4th May

I'm writing this while I'm waiting for the coach. The coach is going to take me to Count Dracula's castle. This morning, I asked the old lady and her husband about Count Dracula. I asked about his castle. They looked very frightened. Then they made the sign of the cross, several times. They said they didn't know anything. They didn't want to talk about it. A little later, the old lady came to speak to me, ‘Do you have to go, Sir? Do you have to go? Tomorrow is St. George's Day. Tonight, at midnight, all the bad things in the world will happen. You don't understand. Don't go, Sir. Please wait until after St. George's Day.'

Then, she took a cross from her neck. ‘For your mother,' she said and she put the cross around my neck. It was very strange. I must ask the count about it.

Ah! Here's the coach! Goodbye for now.

5th May – The Castle

I got on the coach and waited for the driver. He was talking to the old lady. They were talking about me. I didn't understand a lot of what they said, so I opened my little language dictionary. The words I heard didn't make me feel very happy. I heard stregoica – witch, then vrolok and vlkoslak – wolf or vampire! I must ask the count about this, too.

When the coach left, there were a lot of people at the coach station. They all made the sign of the cross. Then they pointed two fingers towards me. Again, I didn't feel very happy. I asked another passenger about this. He said that it was a sign against evil. The people wanted to protect me. But why? I didn't understand.

This journey was also very beautiful. The fields were green and the apple trees and cherry trees were full of flowers. In the distance, we could see the snowy mountains. The coach driver drove very fast, but sometimes the road was difficult. ‘These hills are difficult for the horses,' I said to the driver. ‘At home, we usually walk if the horses have problems. Why don't we walk?'

But the driver didn't want us to walk. ‘The dogs here are evil,' he said. ‘It's too dangerous to walk.'

It began to get dark. The driver stopped for a moment. He lit the lamps on the coach. Then, we started again. He was driving even more quickly. He seemed frightened of something. The horses seemed tired, but the driver didn't stop. He went faster and faster. We were getting near to my meeting place. The place where I had to meet Count Dracula's driver.

When we arrived, it was completely dark. There was no-one there.

All the other passengers wanted me to stay on the coach. They wanted me to go to Bukovina. Then, there was a sound in the distance. It was the sound of horses. We could see lights, too. Count Dracula's coach was coming!

The count's driver got down from the coach. He was a tall man with a large black hat. His hat covered his face, but I could see his eyes. They looked red in the light from our lamps. He went towards our driver and said, ‘Why are you so early? Did you want to miss me? Don't you want the gentleman to come with me?'

He smiled. It was a hard smile. He had very thin lips and very sharp white teeth. Our driver seemed afraid and he didn't answer.

I got onto the count's coach. The count's driver helped me. I could see that he was incredibly strong. The four huge black horses started off very fast. I was cold. I was also a little afraid. The driver put a coat around me and we went on, into the night. I looked at my watch in the light from the lamps. It was nearly midnight. In the distance, I heard a wolf howl. Then another, and another. It got louder and louder. I was afraid and the horses were afraid, too. The driver spoke to them and they became quiet. He wasn't afraid.

It got colder and colder. Snow started to fall. Suddenly, in the distance, I saw a blue light. The driver saw it, too. He got down from the coach and went towards the light. He held up his hand. The wolves stopped howling. Then, strangely, the wolves disappeared.

We drove on. Then, I saw it. The castle in the distance. Count Dracula's castle. The horses took us to the front of the castle. It was huge, dark and frightening.

The driver helped me down from the coach. Again, I saw that he was very strong. He put my bags down next to me. Then, he disappeared with the coach and horses. I was alone. I was alone in front of the huge castle door. I stood in silence and looked for a bell. I couldn't see one. I was frightened; I didn't know what to do. What kind of place was this? Where was I?

I waited and waited. It seemed like a very long time. Then I heard something. Someone was coming to the door. Slowly, the huge door opened. A tall man stood in front of me. He was holding a lamp. He had a long, white moustache and was very pale. He was dressed completely in black. He spoke to me in excellent English, ‘Welcome to my home. Please come in.'

Then he shook my hand. His hands were incredibly strong. It almost hurt me. ‘Count Dracula?' I asked.

‘Yes, I'm Dracula. Welcome to my home, Mr Harker. Come in. The night is cold and you're probably tired and hungry.'

Then he picked up my bags and I followed him. He took me up the stairs and along a long corridor. More stairs! Then along another corridor. The castle seemed dark and depressing. At the end of the second corridor, he opened a huge door. ‘Here. This is your room. I hope you'll be comfortable.'

I was happy to see the room was full of light. There was a beautiful fire. ‘Thank you. I'm sure I will be,' I said.

‘Now, when you're ready, please come downstairs for supper.'

The count left me. I washed and I changed my clothes. Then, I went downstairs to have something to eat. The food was excellent.

There was some chicken, some cheese and some salad. The count didn't eat anything. ‘I had my supper before you arrived,' he said.

While I ate my supper, I looked at the count. He was tall, with a thin, sharp nose. He had a lot of hair on his head, but he also had hair on his hands. His face was pale and his lips were blood red. His teeth were very white and very sharp. Two of them were longer. These two teeth came over his lips. They looked like a dog's teeth. He looked very strange.

‘And now you must go to bed,' said the count. ‘Sleep for as long as you want.'

In the distance, we could hear the wolves howling.

‘Listen to them. Listen to the music they make. They're like the children of the night!' said the count.

I was surprised. I didn't like the sound of the wolves.

7th May

I had a good day yesterday. I woke up late and went downstairs. Breakfast was ready. There was a note on the table.

I have to go away for some time today. Enjoy your breakfast. Do not wait for me – D.

After breakfast, I looked around the castle. It's a very strange place. A lot of the doors are locked. It's very quiet. The only sounds I hear are the sounds of the wolves. In some rooms, there's some beautiful furniture and there are some beautiful pictures. In other rooms, some of the furniture is dirty and old. I haven't seen any servants. Strangely, there are no mirrors in the castle. I used my small travel mirror to shave this morning.

This afternoon, I found a kind of library. I was very happy to find some English books in there. The count says I can use the library at any time. I can also go into any rooms in the castle, except the rooms which are locked.

In the evening, he asked me about the great house in Carfax. I told him about it. I showed him my Kodak photographs of it. It's not a very nice place. It's old and big and a little bit depressing. It has an old chapel in the gardens. There's a psychiatric hospital near it, but there aren't many houses. The count thinks that's a good thing. He doesn't like places which are full of people. He likes old places. He seems happy with it. I still think he's a very strange man. Again, we talked until late. Again, I had my supper alone. The count didn't eat with me.

8th May

I woke up late this morning. I seem to be living my life at night, not during the day. While I was shaving, the count came into my room. I was surprised, so I cut myself. I couldn't see him in my mirror! I turned around and he saw the blood on my face. He tried to attack me. He seemed to want my blood! Then, his hand touched the cross on my neck. He moved back. Almost immediately, he became calm. Then, he surprised me again. He took my mirror and threw it out of the window. It broke into a thousand pieces. Now, how am I going to shave?

I had my breakfast alone. The count wasn't there. It's strange, I've never seen him eat or drink. After breakfast, I looked around the castle some more. It's on the edge of a very high cliff. Below it, there's a huge forest. More importantly, there isn't an exit. All the doors are locked. The only way out is through the very high windows. An impossible exit. It's a prison and I'm a prisoner. I'm a prisoner here!