Dracula by Bram Stoker was first published on May 26, 1897, and this year turns 125 years old. Dracula may not have been the first ever vampire, but he is undoubtedly the most famous.
Countless books, plays, and movies have been based on Stoker's spooky character. Here at Proseposters, we went so far as to transform Dracula from the book into a stunning piece of wall art. How did we capture Bram Stoker's horror tale in an art print? Read on to find out!
How much of the book is on the poster?
Our largest Dracula wall poster (24"x36") is created using the text from the first 14 chapters of the book. Dracula has 27 chapters in total, so that's more than half!
Our smaller art prints (18"x24" and A2) are created using the text of the first 9 chapters.
Why red and black?
Although there isn't a direct color symbolism in Bram Stoker's Dracula, we chose red and black as the colors for our Dracula art print because they suit the story perfectly.
Black and red go hand in hand with the dark, gothic themes of the novel. Historically, black also represents evil while red represents the loss of innocence.
“Do you not know that tonight, when the clock strikes midnight, all the evil things in the world will have full sway? Do you know where you are going, and what you are going to do?”
Dracula is heavy on themes about loss of innocence. Throughout the novel, Count Dracula preys and corrupts women who, by Victorian standards, personified purity and innocence. Of course, red is also the color of blood and symbolises the gory vampiric practice of feasting on the blood of living things.
In the book, it's suggested various times that one of Dracula's powers is shapeshifting. He can transform at will into various animals, or even fog or mist. Of course, one of the most memorable animals Count Dracula becomes is a bat.
“Then I caught the patient’s eye and followed it, but could trace nothing as it looked into the moonlight sky, except a big bat, which was flapping its silent and ghostly way to the west.”
This is perhaps the most suitable to his nature, because not only do bats drink blood too, but their black, winged figures are reminiscent of Count Dracula's cloaked form. Hence, we chose to represent the evil vampire as a black bat on our poster. Even better, a bat with blood-red eyes...
If you're a fan of the dark and the macabre, you'll love the spooktacular Dracula wall poster in the Proseposters shop!
The words of Bram Stoker’s iconic novel, Dracula, come together to form a spectral image that will haunt your darkest dreams.