Dracula's Deleted Ending: A Mini-Essay

     Revision is a natural part of the creative process. Whether it's a dance, novel, painting, sculpture, or song, an artwork undergoes a series of transformative stages. Indeed, Peter Barry emphasizes that, with each reprint and new edition of a text, authors are given the opportunity to amend their works. As a result, alternate versions of a literary composition may exist. According to Barry, these revisions allow scholars a candid glimpse into the methods of an artist’s creativity. Interestingly, Barry fails to discuss that, while some changes are enacted intentionally by the creator, others are done to satisfy the demands of audiences and distributors. In the case of the latter, these alterations reveal more about cultural ideology than the artist’s craft. Oscar Wilde's manuscript for The Picture of Dorian Gray, for example, went through extensive modifications between July of 1890 and April of 1981 as publishers and friends persistently requested the author prune much of the text's homosexual overtones. 
     At the same time Wilde was reluctantly editing his work, Bram Stoker began his manuscript for The Un-Dead. Between March of 1890 and May of 1897, the text underwent several changes: Professor Max Windshoeffel was renamed Dr. Abraham Van Helsing; the setting was shifted from Germany, then Styria, and finally Transylvania; Count Wampyr was rechristened Count Dracula; and the title was altered to showcase the count's new foreboding name. One of the most intriguing alterations occurred in 1897 as the book's final contract was signed. Originally, the novel ended with a dramatic destruction of Dracula's castle, obliterating all traces of the nefarious vampire. As the work reached completion, this afterward - part of Jonathan Harker’s journal - was deleted (read the original ending below). No known reason was given and, over the century, literary scholars have reached several differing opinions. Was the castle deliberately left standing to signal a potential return of the count, with the publisher and/or Stoker considering a sequel? In fact, Barbara Belford postulates that there might have been discussions about a series of stories revolving around Van Helsing as a psychic detective. Was the adjustment enacted because, as Jim Steinmeyer postulates, it offered an unrealistic and sensational climax? Was the ending modified because it held too close a parallel to the finale of Edgar Allan Poe’s "The Fall of the House of Usher"? Or, as Noel Montague-Etienne Rarignac proposes, was there a far simpler explanation: the modification was not born from any commercial consideration, but merely part of an artist’s process of refining “a working draft in an indeterminate state of development.” The reasoning, of course, will never be known and, similarly, it will forever remain a mystery if Stoker - akin to Wilde - was pressured by editors to change the ending or had willingly done so as part of his own creative process.

~ 

     As we looked there came a terrible convulsion of the earth so that we seemed to rock to and fro and fell to our knees. At the same moment, with a roar which seemed to shake the very heavens, the whole castle and the rock and even the hill on which it stood seemed to rise into the air and scatter in fragments while a mighty cloud of black and yellow smoke volume on volume in rolling grandeur was shot upwards with inconceivable rapidity.

      Then there was a stillness in nature as the echoes of that thunderous report seemed to come as with the hollow boom of a thunder clap – the long reverberating roll which seems as though the floors of heaven shook. Then down in a mighty ruin falling whence they rose came the fragments that had been tossed skyward in the cataclysm.

      From where we stood it seemed as though the one fierce volcano burst had satisfied the need of nature and that the castle and the structure of the hill had sunk again into the void. We were so appalled with the suddenness and the grandeur that we forgot to think of ourselves.

Works Referenced

Barry, Peter. English in Practice: In Pursuit of English Studies. London: Arnold Publishing, 2003.

Belford, Barbara. Bram Stoker: A Biography of the Author of Dracula. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press, 1996.

Rarignac, Noel Montague-Etienne. The Theology of Dracula: Reading the Book of Stoker as a Sacred Text. Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Company, Inc., 2012.

Steinmeyer, Jim. Who Was Dracula? Bram Stoker's Trail of Blood. New York: Jeremy P. Tarcher, 2013.
 
Stoker, Bram. Bram Stoker’s Dracula: The Extended Edition. 1897. Vancouver, BC: Superjet Press, 2016.

Voodoo Skull

$15 - $20 (based on 2015 prices)

Makes one skull

No voodoo-themed haunt is complete without a bevy of snakes and painted skulls. For this project, I decided to combine both, weaving a snake around a skull decorated with cryptic symbols. Although I added button eyes for additional detail, you can embellish the prop with other features: a few plumes of chicken feathers, some dried herbs, or a strand of beads (see the voodoo beads how-to).

• One life-size resin skull
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat black*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat red*
• Two buttons large enough to fit inside the skull’s eye sockets
• One yard of light brown twine
• One 4 oz. bottle of all-purpose tacky glue*
• One 0.07 oz. tube of super glue
• One long rubber snake

1. With a pencil, sketch voodoo-like symbols onto the skull. I chose a mixture of astrological signs and some of my own creation. Drawing the images in pencil first allows you to erase mistakes before permanently painting them.

2. Trace over the pencil markings with black and red paint (you can use different colors based on your theme). One or two coats are enough. You want the symbols to look haphazardly painted by an old voodoo priestess, not pristine and precisely applied by a yard haunter.

3. Paint the inside of the eye sockets and nose black to darken their appearance.

4. Cut the twine into four nine-inch sections and thread them through the buttons. To give the prop more character, do not use matching buttons. Rather, select two random pieces which have different colors, patterns, and sizes.

5. For each button, wrap two lengths of the twine around the zygomatic arch and zygomatic process of the frontal bone. Pull the strings taut, knot them, trim the excess, and glue the knot with tacky glue to reinforce it. It may help to have a second set of hands assist you during this step.

6. Stretch the third string across the nasion and the fourth down the frontal process of the maxilla into the nasal cavity. Ensure that the buttons are centered inside the eye sockets and super glue the third and fourth strings into place. Here, too, a second set of hands can prove useful.

7. Weave the snake through the right zygomatic arch, down into the mouth, and up through the left zygomatic arch. You will want to leave enough of the tail and head to wrap around the top of the skull.

8. Coil the snake around the top of the skull. You may want to play with its positioning to achieve a natural look before super gluing it into place. Try to elevate the head during this process. To do this, I rested it atop the tail at a slight angle.

*You will not use the entire bottle’s content for this project.

Creepy Doll (Version One)

$10 - $15 (based on 2015 prices) 

Makes one doll  

Creepy dolls are always a nice addition to several yard-haunt themes, especially since many people find them unnerving. For this version, I crackle painted a second-hand doll and dressed her in a weathered flour sack. She looked particularly spooky sitting on the voodoo alter in 2015’s haunt and will look right at home draped over a cluster of pumpkins in 2016’s haunt. 

• One twelve-inch doll with vinyl limbs and head
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat black*
• One 8 oz. bottle of wood glue*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flesh tone*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat brown*
• One 5 lbs. flour sack
• At least four tablespoons of dark roasted coffee grounds
• One pan large enough to soak the flour sack
• One to two yards of light brown twine

1. Remove all of the doll’s clothes and, on a newspaper-lined surface, paint its limbs and head black. Although I only used one coat, you may want more depending on your desired coverage. Keep in mind, though, that this is the base coat for the crackle paint and much of it will be covered up by the second layer. While I chose black, you can use a different color to tailor the prop for your specific needs. 

2. Once the paint has dried, use a thick brush to apply a smattering of wood glue to the prop. Try not to over think your application (a random pattern produces the best results). Also, it may be easier to work with one limb at a time rather than attempting to glue and paint the entire doll at once.

3. Let the glue sit for a minute to become tacky and then cover the doll with the flesh tone paint. Here, too, I only used one coat; however, you may want more. As the glue and paint dry, they will form cracks, making the base coat visible.

4. Once the glue and paint have fully dried, brush a light coat of brown paint onto the doll to simulate dirt. During this process, try to focus on areas where dust and grime would normally accumulate: in the lines between fingers and toes, along the creases of elbows and knees, and inside the ears and mouth.

5. Boil enough water to completely submerge the flour sack and pour it into the pan. Add the coffee. The longer you allow the coffee to brew, the darker the stain will become. Likewise, greater amounts of coffee will produce a richer stain. Submerge the sack in the coffee mixture and soak it until it reaches the color you desire. I soaked mine for four days and scattered the coffee grounds over the top of the fabric to add spots. Remove the sack from the water and allow it to dry.

6. Once the flour sack has dried, cut a hole along the bottom seam and two along the sides large enough for the doll’s head and arms to fit through. Using a darning needle, thread the twine along the outer edges of the sack (do not sew up the three holes). You want the needlework to look messy and uneven, giving the outfit a disheveled appearance.

7. Dress the doll in the sack. You can add further distress by shredding parts of the fabric or smudging it with brown paint.

*You will not use the entire bottle’s content for this project.

"The Skeleton in Armor" (A Poem)

The literary canon is filled with stories of tormented specters recounting their tragic fates to the living. One of my favorites is Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's "The Skeleton in Armor." Published in Ballads and Other Poems (1841), the poem details the encounter between the narrator and a Viking spirit, the latter demanding that his tale of adventure and heartbreak be retold to the masses. Although not unlike other works in the genre, it is interesting to note that the text was inspired by the 1832 discovery of an armor-clad skeleton in River Fall, Massachusetts. As Erik Ingvar Thurin highlights, scientists at the time believed the corpse (subsequently destroyed in a fire in 1843) was a Viking warrior; however, contemporary historians - and some intellectuals during its excavation - believe the body was from a local Native-American tribe. Despite its contestable origin, the figure proved ample fodder for Longfellow's narrative.

“Speak! speak! thou fearful guest! 
Who, with thy hollow breast 
Still in rude armor drest, 
     Comest to daunt me! 
Wrapt not in Eastern balms, 
But with thy fleshless palms 
Stretched, as if asking alms, 
     Why dost thou haunt me?” 

Then, from those cavernous eyes 
Pale flashes seemed to rise, 
As when the Northern skies 
     Gleam in December; 
And, like the water’s flow 
Under December’s snow, 
Came a dull voice of woe 
     From the heart’s chamber. 

“I was a Viking old! 
My deeds, though manifold, 
No Skald in song has told, 
     No Saga taught thee! 
Take heed, that in thy verse 
Thou dost the tale rehearse, 
Else dread a dead man’s curse; 
     For this I sought thee. 

“Far in the Northern Land, 
By the wild Baltic’s strand, 
I, with my childish hand, 
     Tamed the gerfalcon; 
And, with my skates fast-bound, 
Skimmed the half-frozen Sound, 
That the poor whimpering hound 
     Trembled to walk on. 

“Oft to his frozen lair 
Tracked I the grisly bear, 
While from my path the hare 
     Fled like a shadow; 
Oft through the forest dark 
Followed the were-wolf’s bark, 
Until the soaring lark
     Sang from the meadow. 

“But when I older grew, 
Joining a corsair’s crew, 
O’er the dark sea I flew 
    With the marauders. 
Wild was the life we led; 
Many the souls that sped, 
Many the hearts that bled, 
     By our stern orders. 

“Many a wassail-bout 
Wore the long Winter out; 
Often our midnight shout 
     Set the cocks crowing,
As we the Berserk’s tale 
Measured in cups of ale, 
Draining the oaken pail, 
     Filled to o’erflowing. 

“Once as I told in glee 
Tales of the stormy sea, 
Soft eyes did gaze on me, 
     Burning yet tender; 
And as the white stars shine 
On the dark Norway pine, 
On that dark heart of mine 
     Fell their soft splendor. 

“I wooed the blue-eyed maid, 
Yielding, yet half afraid, 
And in the forest’s shade 
     Our vows were plighted. 
Under its loosened vest 
Fluttered her little breast, 
Like birds within their nest 
     By the hawk frighted. 

“Bright in her father’s hall 
Shields gleamed upon the wall, 
Loud sang the minstrels all, 
     Chanting his glory; 
When of old Hildebrand 
I asked his daughter’s hand, 
Mute did the minstrels stand 
     To hear my story. 

“While the brown ale he quaffed, 
Loud then the champion laughed, 
And as the wind-gusts waft 
     The sea-foam brightly, 
So the loud laugh of scorn, 
Out of those lips unshorn, 
From the deep drinking-horn 
     Blew the foam lightly. 

“She was a Prince’s child, 
I but a Viking wild, 
And though she blushed and smiled, 
     I was discarded! 
Should not the dove so white 
Follow the sea-mew’s flight, 
Why did they leave that night 
     Her nest unguarded? 

“Scarce had I put to sea, 
Bearing the maid with me, 
Fairest of all was she 
     Among the Norsemen! 
When on the white sea-strand, 
Waving his armed hand, 
Saw we old Hildebrand, 
     With twenty horsemen. 

“Then launched they to the blast, 
Bent like a reed each mast, 
Yet we were gaining fast, 
     When the wind failed us; 
And with a sudden flaw 
Came round the gusty Skaw, 
So that our foe we saw 
     Laugh as he hailed us. 

“And as to catch the gale 
Round veered the flapping sail, 
‘Death!’ was the helmsman’s hail, 
     ‘Death without quarter!’ 
Mid-ships with iron keel 
Struck we her ribs of steel; 
Down her black hulk did reel 
     Through the black water! 

“As with his wings aslant, 
Sails the fierce cormorant, 
Seeking some rocky haunt, 
     With his prey laden, — 
So toward the open main, 
Beating to sea again, 
Through the wild hurricane, 
     Bore I the maiden. 

“Three weeks we westward bore, 
And when the storm was o’er, 
Cloud-like we saw the shore 
     Stretching to leeward; 
There for my lady’s bower 
Built I the lofty tower, 
Which, to this very hour, 
     Stands looking seaward. 

“There lived we many years; 
Time dried the maiden’s tears; 
She had forgot her fears, 
     She was a mother; 
Death closed her mild blue eyes, 
Under that tower she lies; 
Ne’er shall the sun arise 
     On such another! 

“Still grew my bosom then, 
Still as a stagnant fen! 
Hateful to me were men, 
     The sunlight hateful! 
In the vast forest here, 
Clad in my warlike gear, 
Fell I upon my spear, 
     Oh, death was grateful! 

“Thus, seamed with many scars, 
Bursting these prison bars, 
Up to its native stars 
     My soul ascended! 
There from the flowing bowl 
Deep drinks the warrior’s soul, 
Skoal! to the Northland! skoal!” 
     Thus the tale ended.

Works Referenced

Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. "The Skeleton in Armor." 1841. The Poems of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Ed. Louis Untermeyer. Norwalk, CT: The Easton Press, 1980. 

Thurin, Erik Ingvar. The American Discovery of the Norse: An Episode in Nineteenth-Century American Literature. London: Bucknell University Press, 1999.

Snapper Walkway

With Independence Day on Monday, I want to highlight a simple trick my brother and I used during our yard haunt. It's cheap, easy, and highly effective. During the holiday season, firework stands and retail stores carry ample amounts of small noisemakers (they go by several names - poppers and snappers are the most common). Because these fireworks possess an extremely high mass ratio of gravel to explosive, their detonation is rather weak and they rarely produce any form of physical damage, making them a popular novelty toy sold to children. Scatter a few along the walkways of your haunt. As trick-or-treaters travel down the paths, they'll trigger one or two. Stock up over the holiday weekend when retailers are running blow-out sales to unload excess merchandise. If stored in gallon-size freezer bags away from light and moisture, the product will keep for quite a while (my brother and I stockpiled dozens of boxes in a closet for years).