10 things you didn't know about Dracula

1: Name that vampire

Neither the vampire or Bram Stoker's novel itself were originally going to be called Dracula.

When he was developing the basic plot, Stoker gave his creation the not-exactly-subtle name of Count Wampyre. The book, meanwhile, had the working title "The Un-Dead" until just weeks before publication.

2: Undead and unsuccessful

Dracula was anything but a smash hit when it was first published in 1897.

Apart from a few astute critics who compared it to Frankenstein (which came out decades before), most reviewers dismissed the landmark horror novel as pulpy drivel. The book – and the vampire – only became well known thanks to the movie adaptations which came out well after Bram Stoker's death.

3: Dracula's Guest

Another story featuring Dracula was published under Stoker's name in 1914, two years after the writer's death.

Called Dracula's Guest, the short story follows an unnamed narrator as he prepares to visit Dracula in Transylvania, but finds himself haunted by the ghost of a female vampire. For many years scholars believed it to be an early chapter from Dracula that was edited out by the original publisher – but there is now a growing consensus that it was actually written before Dracula and served as a sort of trial run for the eventual novel.

4: Dracula's ancestors

Dracula, which was published in 1897, was actually inspired by three previous 19th Century vampire tales.

The first and most significant was the 1819 story The Vampyre – written by Lord Byron's doctor, John Polidori. The bloodsucking villain, Lord Ruthven, was literature's first "aristocratic vampire" and the direct model for Count Dracula. The 1845 story Varney the Vampire, written by James Malcolm Rymer, established other trademarks of the genre, such as twin puncture wounds on victims' necks, and a vampire with supernatural strength. Finally, there was Sheridan Le Fanu's Carmilla, the story of a lesbian vampire published in 1872. Le Fanu was actually a friend of Stoker's, and his story features a vampire-hunting doctor who bears more than a passing resemblance to Dracula's Dr Van Helsing.

5: Dracula in daylight

If you think Count Dracula only comes out at night, think again. In the novel, he can happily wander around in the sun, and actually takes a stroll through London in broad daylight.

The idea of daylight being deadly to vampires was developed in early film and TV versions of the story. That said, Francis Ford Coppola's 1992 movie starring Gary Oldman, and, later the 2006 BBC TV adaptation, followed Stoker's cue and restored the Count's ability to stalk about before sunset.

6: Florence the vampire slayer

The very first film adaptation of Dracula was very nearly destroyed by Bram Stoker's widow, Florence.

Now regarded as a classic silent movie, Nosferatu was directed by legendary German filmmaker FW Murnau in 1922. The only snag was, he didn't own the rights to Stoker's book, so all the character names were changed (Dracula became Count Orlok, Harker became Hutter, and so on). Not surprisingly, this wasn't enough to appease Stoker's widow Florence, who took the producers to court. The judge decreed that all prints of the film be destroyed, but luckily the movie had already been distributed by then and survives today as a landmark in horror cinema.

7: The real Dracula

OK, so there wasn't an actual Dracula who went around feasting on succulent Victorian women. But the character was directly modelled on one of the greatest figures of the day.

The man in question was Henry Irving, the most famous and acclaimed actor of his time (think Laurence Olivier crossed with George Clooney). A powerful and foreboding figure, Irving employed Bram Stoker as a theatre manager and was the ultimate bullying boss. His mannerisms and physical appearance went into the Count, and scholars believe the relationship between Dracula and his grovelling assistant Renfield was based on Stoker's own subservient friendship with Irving.

8: The Vlad connection

It’s a common misconception that Dracula was inspired by the notorious cruelty of Romanian prince and warrior Vlad the Impaler, aka Vlad Dracula.

In fact, Stoker had very little knowledge of Vlad's bloodthirsty reign and had already started writing the book when he came across the name Dracula in a history book and decided to pinch it because it means Son of the Devil (or Dragon) in Romanian.

9: Dracula in science

Dracula has had a rather amusing influence in the world of zoology, as "draculin" became the name of a compound used by vampire bats.

Draculin is an anticoagulant present in bats' saliva. In other words, it prevents the blood of bitten victims from scabbing over while the bat is feasting. The Count would be proud.

10: The two Draculas

The popular image of Dracula as a dashing man in a bow-tie and cape stems back to the 1931 movie which starred Bela Lugosi and was released in 1931. But did you know another adaptation was made at exactly the same time?

The cast and crew of the Lugosi version actually shared their set with the producers and actors of a Spanish-language version (called Drácula) - the former filming during the day while the latter filmed at night. The now-obscure Spanish adaptation, which starred one Carlos Villarias as Dracula, is today regarded by many film buffs as superior to the iconic Lugosi movie.