Brides of Dracula
Encyclopedia
The Brides of Dracula are characters in Bram Stoker
's 1897 novel Dracula
. They are three seductive female vampire
"sisters" who reside with Count Dracula
in his castle in Transylvania
, where they entrance male humans with their beauty and charm, and then proceed to feed upon them. Dracula provides them with victims to devour, mainly infants and children.
Like Dracula, they are the living dead
, repulsed by religious objects. In chapter three of the novel, two are described as dark haired and the other as blonde, though some film adaptations depict them as blonde, brunette and redhead. The Brides of Dracula usually meet their end at the hands of Abraham Van Helsing
, whether it be a stake in the heart, decapitation or exposure to sunlight.
Although the three vampire women in Dracula are popularly referred to as the "Brides of Dracula", they are never referred to as such in the novel, instead referred to as the 'sisters'; whether they are married to Dracula or not is never mentioned, nor are they described as having any other relation to him. Though it is mentioned by the sisters that Dracula does not love, nor has he ever loved them, the count himself claims he once loved them in the past. The two dark-haired women, however, are described by Jonathan Harker
to have "high aquiline noses, like the Count's". It has been suggested from this that it may have been Stoker's intent that these two are Dracula's daughters, extending the sexuality
metaphor of vampirism to incest
.
Harker and Van Helsing are both attracted to, and yet repulsed by them. Harker encounters them when he wanders the castle during Dracula's absence and enters a luxurious salon where the sisters are kept. The blond vampire is depicted as the "leader" of the three and Dracula's favorite, as one of the brunettes describes in their encounter with Harker, "Your's is the right to begin", meaning that the blond has first bite of any of their victims, but she is also referred to as "The First" meaning that she might be Dracula's wife and therefore the mother of the two dark-haired females, if indeed they are the count's daughters. The sisters are powerful in their own right, but live in fear of Dracula, although the blond vampire can be seen defying him when she demands to feed upon Harker.
Sometime near the beginning of the novel, they visit Harker and try to feed on him. Harker tries to resist their seduction and is saved by Dracula, who drives them back. He then leaves Harker to the sisters when he heads for England
after Harker finishes their business deal. Harker manages to escape the castle, but is badly traumatized.
Near the end of the novel, they attack a camp consisting of Van Helsing and Mina Harker
, beckoning the latter to join them and referring to her as their "sister". However, Mina is repulsed by them (mostly due to the holy circle Helsing created around her using holy water
, negating the vampirism in her. Had he not, Mina would have heeded the sisters call and been turned). Van Helsing wards them off, but the sisters manage to kill their horses. Van Helsing subsequently goes to Dracula's castle and, after locating their tombs, destroys them by staking and decapitating them.
, in which two appear, and The Horror of Dracula, where a single bride appears. They are typically depicted as enchantingly beautiful young women, coquettish and seductive in manner, often appearing to men like succubi in the night, dressed in flowing silk nightgowns and behaving in a wild and sexually aggressive manner.
Although missing from the silent film
Nosferatu, the Brides made silent appearances in the 1931 film Dracula
and the Spanish language
version of Drácula. (The latter film, shot simultaneously on the same sets at night with a separate cast and crew, depicts the brides as more obviously sexual than in the more chaste English-language version.) Likewise the three brides are present but silent in the Jack Palance
television adaptation, in which they succeed in feeding on and turning Harker into a vampire. They had lines in the 1977 BBC
production entitled Count Dracula
.
In Francis Ford Coppola
's 1992 film Bram Stoker's Dracula, the brides were played by Monica Bellucci
, Michaela Bercu
and Florina Kendrick. They lure Jonathan Harker to a secluded bedchamber in Dracula's castle before sexually abusing
him in an erotic frenzy. When Dracula voyages to England to seduce Mina, Harker is given to The Brides. They keep him prisoner, regularly raping
him and draining just enough of his blood to keep him in an anaemic stupor. He eventually escapes them, and they are not seen again until a confrontation with Van Helsing in the Carpathian mountains
, after which he beheads them. Bellucci, Bercu and Kendrick's dialogue was entirely in Romanian
, and Kendrick reportedly helped her co-stars to speak her native tongue correctly.
While the Brides usually remain nameless, they are called Marishka, Aleera, and Verona (played by actresses Josie Maran
, Elena Anaya
and Silvia Colloca
, respectively) in the 2004 film Van Helsing
. For the first time, the Brides are more than brief background, becoming important minions of Dracula and powerful combatants. In Van Helsing, both Dracula and his Brides have the ability to transform into large winged monsters.
The concept was also present in the 1987 horror comedy The Monster Squad
, where Dracula has abducted three young women (Mary Albee, Joan-Carrol Baron, and Julie Merrill) and turns them into his vampire brides. In Dracula 2000
, the Brides are composed of Dracula victims Solina (Jennifer Esposito
), Valerie Sharpe (Jeri Ryan
), and Lucy Westerman (Colleen Fitzpatrick
). Each bride is destroyed in the end.
The Brides also appeared in the Buffy The Vampire Slayer in the season 5 premier "Buffy vs. Dracula". They were renamed as "The Three Sisters." As Buffy fights Dracula, the Brides work to "distract" Giles
from coming to her aid. They are credited as "Vampire Girls" and played by Marita Schaub, Leslee Jean Matta, and Jennifer Slimko.
They also appear in the French Canadian musical Dracula - Entre l'amour et la mort
played by Rita Tabbakh, Elyzabeth Diaga, Brigitte Marchand, and Casiopée.
, author John Marks
re-imagines the Brides of Dracula as Greek
brothers.
In the alternate history novel Anno Dracula
, Dracula becomes dominant in Britain and eventually weds Queen Victoria
, becoming Prince consort
and Lord Protector
. Despite being married to Victoria he keeps his retinue of brides, who despise the now-powerless and chained Victoria. It is mentioned that one of the brides is Barbara of Celje
.
In the first sequel, The Bloody Red Baron
, the Brides of Dracula are mentioned as including Mata Hari
, Lady Marikova (from the novel The House of Dracula by Ronald Chetwynd-Hayes
), Lola-Lola (from the film The Blue Angel), Sadie Thompson
, Lemora
, and the Baron Meinster (from the film The Brides of Dracula).
In the beginning of the second sequel, Dracula Cha Cha Cha, a list of Dracula's official brides is given. They are: Elisabeta of Transylvania
(from Bram Stoker's Dracula), 1448–1462; Ilona Szilagy (Vlad III
's real-life second wife), 1466–1476; Marguerite Chopin of Courtempierre (from Vampyr
), 1709–1711; Queen Victoria, 1886–1888; and Sari Gábor
, 1948-1949. The plot surrounds Dracula's engagement to Princess Asa Vajda (from Black Sunday).
Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
has written a trilogy called Sisters of the Night, with each book featuring the story of one of brides: Kelene: The Angry Angel (1998), Fenice: The Soul of an Angel (1999) and Zhameni: The Angel of Death (unpublished).
In The Diaries of the Family Dracul by Jeanne Kalogridis
, the Brides are imagined as Zsuzsanna Tsepesh, a descendant of Vlad Dracul (believed in the novels to be his niece); Dunya, a Transylvanian servant of Vlad's mortal descendants, and Elisabeth Bathory, the notorious Hungarian noblewoman who murdered hundreds of her servants and bathed in their blood.
In the 2011 horror novella The Brides, Raven c.s. McCracken gave a new twist to Dracula's origins, with the three sisters now becoming the driving force behind the legend, creating Dark Princes over the years to cover their own tracks, until they create the "wrong" Dark Prince.
Bram Stoker
Abraham "Bram" Stoker was an Irish novelist and short story writer, best known today for his 1897 Gothic novel Dracula...
's 1897 novel Dracula
Dracula
Dracula is an 1897 novel by Irish author Bram Stoker.Famous for introducing the character of the vampire Count Dracula, the novel tells the story of Dracula's attempt to relocate from Transylvania to England, and the battle between Dracula and a small group of men and women led by Professor...
. They are three seductive female vampire
Vampire
Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...
"sisters" who reside with Count Dracula
Count Dracula
Count Dracula is a fictional character, the titular antagonist of Bram Stoker's 1897 Gothic horror novel Dracula and archetypal vampire. Some aspects of his character have been inspired by the 15th century Romanian general and Wallachian Prince Vlad III the Impaler...
in his castle in Transylvania
Transylvania
Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
, where they entrance male humans with their beauty and charm, and then proceed to feed upon them. Dracula provides them with victims to devour, mainly infants and children.
Like Dracula, they are the living dead
Undead
Undead is a collective name for fictional, mythological, or legendary beings that are deceased and yet behave as if alive. Undead may be incorporeal, such as ghosts, or corporeal, such as vampires and zombies...
, repulsed by religious objects. In chapter three of the novel, two are described as dark haired and the other as blonde, though some film adaptations depict them as blonde, brunette and redhead. The Brides of Dracula usually meet their end at the hands of Abraham Van Helsing
Abraham Van Helsing
Professor Abraham van Helsing is a protagonist from Bram Stoker's 1897 novel, Dracula.Van Helsing is a Dutch doctor with a wide range of interests and accomplishments, partly attested by the string of letters that follows his name: "M.D., D.Ph., D.Litt., etc." The character is best known as a...
, whether it be a stake in the heart, decapitation or exposure to sunlight.
Novel
In the novel the three vampire women are known as the 'sisters'.Although the three vampire women in Dracula are popularly referred to as the "Brides of Dracula", they are never referred to as such in the novel, instead referred to as the 'sisters'; whether they are married to Dracula or not is never mentioned, nor are they described as having any other relation to him. Though it is mentioned by the sisters that Dracula does not love, nor has he ever loved them, the count himself claims he once loved them in the past. The two dark-haired women, however, are described by Jonathan Harker
Jonathan Harker
Jonathan Harker is one of the main protagonists in the 1897 horror novel Dracula by Bram Stoker. His journey to Transylvania and encounter with Count Dracula and the Brides of Dracula at Castle Dracula constitutes the dramatic opening scenes in the novel and most of the film adaptations.-In the...
to have "high aquiline noses, like the Count's". It has been suggested from this that it may have been Stoker's intent that these two are Dracula's daughters, extending the sexuality
Human sexuality
Human sexuality is the awareness of gender differences, and the capacity to have erotic experiences and responses. Human sexuality can also be described as the way someone is sexually attracted to another person whether it is to opposite sexes , to the same sex , to either sexes , or not being...
metaphor of vampirism to incest
Incest
Incest is sexual intercourse between close relatives that is usually illegal in the jurisdiction where it takes place and/or is conventionally considered a taboo. The term may apply to sexual activities between: individuals of close "blood relationship"; members of the same household; step...
.
Harker and Van Helsing are both attracted to, and yet repulsed by them. Harker encounters them when he wanders the castle during Dracula's absence and enters a luxurious salon where the sisters are kept. The blond vampire is depicted as the "leader" of the three and Dracula's favorite, as one of the brunettes describes in their encounter with Harker, "Your's is the right to begin", meaning that the blond has first bite of any of their victims, but she is also referred to as "The First" meaning that she might be Dracula's wife and therefore the mother of the two dark-haired females, if indeed they are the count's daughters. The sisters are powerful in their own right, but live in fear of Dracula, although the blond vampire can be seen defying him when she demands to feed upon Harker.
Sometime near the beginning of the novel, they visit Harker and try to feed on him. Harker tries to resist their seduction and is saved by Dracula, who drives them back. He then leaves Harker to the sisters when he heads for England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
after Harker finishes their business deal. Harker manages to escape the castle, but is badly traumatized.
Near the end of the novel, they attack a camp consisting of Van Helsing and Mina Harker
Mina Harker
Wilhelmina "Mina" Harker is a fictional character in Bram Stoker's 1897 horror novel Dracula.- In the novel :She begins the story as Miss Mina Murray, a young school mistress who is engaged to Jonathan Harker, and best friends with Lucy Westenra...
, beckoning the latter to join them and referring to her as their "sister". However, Mina is repulsed by them (mostly due to the holy circle Helsing created around her using holy water
Holy water
Holy water is water that, in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Lutheranism, Oriental Orthodoxy, and some other churches, has been sanctified by a priest for the purpose of baptism, the blessing of persons, places, and objects; or as a means of repelling evil.The use for baptism and...
, negating the vampirism in her. Had he not, Mina would have heeded the sisters call and been turned). Van Helsing wards them off, but the sisters manage to kill their horses. Van Helsing subsequently goes to Dracula's castle and, after locating their tombs, destroys them by staking and decapitating them.
In other media
Commonly all three brides appear in film adaptations of the novel, though some adaptations show fewer than three, such as the 1995 spoof Dracula: Dead and Loving ItDracula: Dead and Loving It
Dracula: Dead and Loving It is a 1995 comedy film starring Leslie Nielsen, directed by Mel Brooks. It is a parody of the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker, and of some of the films it inspired....
, in which two appear, and The Horror of Dracula, where a single bride appears. They are typically depicted as enchantingly beautiful young women, coquettish and seductive in manner, often appearing to men like succubi in the night, dressed in flowing silk nightgowns and behaving in a wild and sexually aggressive manner.
Although missing from the silent film
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
Nosferatu, the Brides made silent appearances in the 1931 film Dracula
Dracula (1931 film)
Dracula is a 1931 vampire-horror film directed by Tod Browning and starring Bela Lugosi as the title character. The film was produced by Universal and is based on the stage play of the same name by Hamilton Deane and John L...
and the Spanish language
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
version of Drácula. (The latter film, shot simultaneously on the same sets at night with a separate cast and crew, depicts the brides as more obviously sexual than in the more chaste English-language version.) Likewise the three brides are present but silent in the Jack Palance
Jack Palance
Jack Palance , was an American actor. During half a century of film and television appearances, Palance was nominated for three Academy Awards, all as Best Actor in a Supporting Role, winning in 1991 for his role in City Slickers.-Early life:Palance, one of five children, was born Volodymyr...
television adaptation, in which they succeed in feeding on and turning Harker into a vampire. They had lines in the 1977 BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
production entitled Count Dracula
Count Dracula (1977)
Count Dracula is a British television adaptation of the famous novel Dracula by Bram Stoker. It first aired in December 1977. It is among the more faithful of the many adaptations of the original book...
.
In Francis Ford Coppola
Francis Ford Coppola
Francis Ford Coppola is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. He is widely acclaimed as one of Hollywood's most innovative and influential film directors...
's 1992 film Bram Stoker's Dracula, the brides were played by Monica Bellucci
Monica Bellucci
Monica Anna Maria Bellucci is an Italian actress and fashion model.-Early life:Bellucci was born in Città di Castello, Umbria, Italy as the only child of Luigi Bellucci, who was born in the British protectorate of Zanzibar, East Pakistan...
, Michaela Bercu
Michaela Bercu
Michaela Bercu is a Romanian-Israeli model and actress. She grew up in Bucarest, Romania with her parents and now she's living in Paris with her husband and her children. She is represented by Elite...
and Florina Kendrick. They lure Jonathan Harker to a secluded bedchamber in Dracula's castle before sexually abusing
Sexual abuse
Sexual abuse, also referred to as molestation, is the forcing of undesired sexual behavior by one person upon another. When that force is immediate, of short duration, or infrequent, it is called sexual assault. The offender is referred to as a sexual abuser or molester...
him in an erotic frenzy. When Dracula voyages to England to seduce Mina, Harker is given to The Brides. They keep him prisoner, regularly raping
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
him and draining just enough of his blood to keep him in an anaemic stupor. He eventually escapes them, and they are not seen again until a confrontation with Van Helsing in the Carpathian mountains
Carpathian Mountains
The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians are a range of mountains forming an arc roughly long across Central and Eastern Europe, making them the second-longest mountain range in Europe...
, after which he beheads them. Bellucci, Bercu and Kendrick's dialogue was entirely in Romanian
Romanian language
Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...
, and Kendrick reportedly helped her co-stars to speak her native tongue correctly.
While the Brides usually remain nameless, they are called Marishka, Aleera, and Verona (played by actresses Josie Maran
Josie Maran
Johanna Selhorst "Josie" Maran is an American model and actress.-Early life:Maran was born in Menlo Park, California. She attended Castilleja School, an all-girls' school in Palo Alto, California. She is of Russian-Jewish descent on her paternal side. Her first cover was Glamour in 1998...
, Elena Anaya
Elena Anaya
Elena Anaya is a Spanish actress whose career dates back to 1995.Anaya is the youngest of 5 children. She first received international attention in 2001 for her role in the sexually explicit drama Lucía y el sexo and also appeared in Pedro Almodóvar's Hable con ella .Her best-known Hollywood film...
and Silvia Colloca
Silvia Colloca
Silvia Colloca is an Italian actress.Colloca was born in Milan to Loredana and Mario Colloca. Her first major film role was in Van Helsing, in which she played Verona, one of Dracula's brides. In September 2004, she married the Australian actor who played Dracula in that film, Richard Roxburgh...
, respectively) in the 2004 film Van Helsing
Van Helsing (film)
Van Helsing is a 2004 American action horror film directed by Stephen Sommers. It stars Hugh Jackman as vigilante monster hunter Gabriel Van Helsing, and Kate Beckinsale...
. For the first time, the Brides are more than brief background, becoming important minions of Dracula and powerful combatants. In Van Helsing, both Dracula and his Brides have the ability to transform into large winged monsters.
The concept was also present in the 1987 horror comedy The Monster Squad
The Monster Squad
The Monster Squad is a comedy/horror film written by Shane Black and Fred Dekker and directed by Fred Dekker . It was released by Tri-Star Pictures on August 14, 1987. The film features the classic monsters , led by Count Dracula...
, where Dracula has abducted three young women (Mary Albee, Joan-Carrol Baron, and Julie Merrill) and turns them into his vampire brides. In Dracula 2000
Dracula 2000
Dracula 2000, also known internationally as Dracula 2001, is a 2000 horror film written and directed by Patrick Lussier. The film stars Gerard Butler, Christopher Plummer, Jonny Lee Miller, Justine Waddell, Omar Epps, Colleen Fitzpatrick, Jeri Ryan, and Jennifer Esposito.Dracula 2000, the...
, the Brides are composed of Dracula victims Solina (Jennifer Esposito
Jennifer Esposito
Jennifer Esposito is an American actress, dancer and model, known for her appearances in films such as I Still Know What You Did Last Summer, Summer of Sam and Crash and in television series such as Spin City, The Looney Tunes Show and Samantha Who?.-Early life:Esposito, an Italian-American, was...
), Valerie Sharpe (Jeri Ryan
Jeri Ryan
Jeri Lynn Zimmermann Ryan is an American actress best known for her roles as the liberated Borg, Seven of Nine, on Star Trek: Voyager; Tara Cole on Leverage; and Veronica "Ronnie" Cooke on Boston Public. She was also a regular on the science fiction show Dark Skies and the legal drama series...
), and Lucy Westerman (Colleen Fitzpatrick
Vitamin C (artist)
Colleen Ann Fitzpatrick is an American pop music singer, songwriter, dancer, and actress better known by her stage name, Vitamin C. Her singles include "Graduation ", "As Long As You're Loving Me", "The Itch", and her most successful hit the Top 20 Gold certified "Smile"...
). Each bride is destroyed in the end.
The Brides also appeared in the Buffy The Vampire Slayer in the season 5 premier "Buffy vs. Dracula". They were renamed as "The Three Sisters." As Buffy fights Dracula, the Brides work to "distract" Giles
Rupert Giles
Rupert Giles is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The character is portrayed by Anthony Stewart Head. He serves as Buffy Summers' mentor and surrogate father figure...
from coming to her aid. They are credited as "Vampire Girls" and played by Marita Schaub, Leslee Jean Matta, and Jennifer Slimko.
They also appear in the French Canadian musical Dracula - Entre l'amour et la mort
Dracula - Entre l'amour et la mort
Dracula – Entre l'amour et la mort is a Québécois musical created by Bruno Pelletier. Lyrics are written by Roger Tabra; music is by Simon Leclerc; the original concept is credited to Bruno Pelletier and Richard Ouzounian.The musical ran in Quebec from January 13, 2006, to December 16, 2006.The...
played by Rita Tabbakh, Elyzabeth Diaga, Brigitte Marchand, and Casiopée.
In literature
In FanglandFangland
Fangland is a 2007 novel written by John Marks, a former producer for 60 Minutes. It is a reimagined story for the Dracula tale by Bram Stoker, setting in a post 9/11 New York. Like its predecessor, Fangland is written in parts as a epistolary novel through e-mails, diary entries and letters...
, author John Marks
John Marks
John Marks may refer to:*John Marks , mayor of Tallahassee, Florida*John Marks , former NHL player for the Chicago Black Hawks*John Marks , Australian tennis player*John B. Marks , a political figure in Upper Canada...
re-imagines the Brides of Dracula as Greek
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
brothers.
In the alternate history novel Anno Dracula
Anno Dracula (novel)
Anno Dracula is a 1992 novel by British writer Kim Newman, the first in the Anno Dracula series. It is an alternate history using 19th century English historical settings and personalities, along with characters from popular fiction...
, Dracula becomes dominant in Britain and eventually weds Queen Victoria
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
, becoming Prince consort
Prince consort
A prince consort is the husband of a queen regnant who is not himself a king in his own right.Current examples include the Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh , and Prince Henrik of Denmark .In recognition of his status, a prince consort may be given a formal...
and Lord Protector
Lord Protector
Lord Protector is a title used in British constitutional law for certain heads of state at different periods of history. It is also a particular title for the British Heads of State in respect to the established church...
. Despite being married to Victoria he keeps his retinue of brides, who despise the now-powerless and chained Victoria. It is mentioned that one of the brides is Barbara of Celje
Barbara of Celje
Barbara of Cilli was the spouse of Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund and as such Holy Roman Empress. She was by marriage also Queen of Hungary and Bohemia and also Holy Roman Empress. She received the sobriquet "Messalina of Germany" for her political intrigues, and was instrumental in creating the...
.
In the first sequel, The Bloody Red Baron
The Bloody Red Baron
The Bloody Red Baron is a 1995 novel by British author Kim Newman. It is the second book in the Anno Dracula series and takes place thirty years after the former.-Plot:...
, the Brides of Dracula are mentioned as including Mata Hari
Mata Hari
Mata Hari was the stage name of Margaretha Geertruida "M'greet" Zelle , a Dutch exotic dancer, courtesan, and accused spy who was executed by firing squad in France under charges of espionage for Germany during World War I.-Early life:Margaretha Geertruida Zelle was born in Leeuwarden, Friesland,...
, Lady Marikova (from the novel The House of Dracula by Ronald Chetwynd-Hayes
Ronald Chetwynd-Hayes
Ronald Chetwynd-Hayes was an author, best known for his ghost stories. His first published work was the science fiction novel The Man From The Bomb in 1959...
), Lola-Lola (from the film The Blue Angel), Sadie Thompson
Sadie Thompson
Sadie Thompson is an American silent film that tells the story of a "fallen woman" who comes to Pago Pago on the island of Tutuila to start a new life, but encounters a zealous missionary who wants to force her back to her former life in San Francisco. The film stars Gloria Swanson, Lionel...
, Lemora
Lemora
Lemora: A Child's Tale of the Supernatural is a 1975 American horror film written and directed by Richard Blackburn...
, and the Baron Meinster (from the film The Brides of Dracula).
In the beginning of the second sequel, Dracula Cha Cha Cha, a list of Dracula's official brides is given. They are: Elisabeta of Transylvania
Transylvania
Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
(from Bram Stoker's Dracula), 1448–1462; Ilona Szilagy (Vlad III
Vlad III the Impaler
Vlad III, Prince of Wallachia , also known by his patronymic Dracula , and posthumously dubbed Vlad the Impaler , was a three-time Voivode of Wallachia, ruling mainly from 1456 to 1462, the period of the incipient Ottoman conquest of the Balkans...
's real-life second wife), 1466–1476; Marguerite Chopin of Courtempierre (from Vampyr
Vampyr
Vampyr is a 1932 horror film directed by Danish director Carl Theodor Dreyer. The film was written by Dreyer and Christen Jul based on elements from J. Sheridan Le Fanu's collection of supernatural stories In a Glass Darkly. Vampyr was funded by Nicolas de Gunzburg who starred in the film under...
), 1709–1711; Queen Victoria, 1886–1888; and Sari Gábor
Zsa Zsa Gabor
Zsa Zsa Gabor is a Hungarian-born American stage, film and television actress.She acted on stage in Vienna, Austria, in 1932, and was crowned Miss Hungary in 1936. She emigrated to the United States in 1941 and became a sought-after actress with "European flair and style", with a personality that...
, 1948-1949. The plot surrounds Dracula's engagement to Princess Asa Vajda (from Black Sunday).
Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
-Biography:She was born in Berkeley, California. She attended Berkeley schools through high school followed by three years at San Francisco State College .In November 1969 she married Donald Simpson and divorced in February 1982...
has written a trilogy called Sisters of the Night, with each book featuring the story of one of brides: Kelene: The Angry Angel (1998), Fenice: The Soul of an Angel (1999) and Zhameni: The Angel of Death (unpublished).
In The Diaries of the Family Dracul by Jeanne Kalogridis
Jeanne Kalogridis
Jeanne Kalogridis , also known by the pseudonym J.M. Dillard is an Greek-American writer of historical and horror fiction.She was born in Florida and studied at the University of South Florida, earning first a BA in Russian and then an MA in Linguistics...
, the Brides are imagined as Zsuzsanna Tsepesh, a descendant of Vlad Dracul (believed in the novels to be his niece); Dunya, a Transylvanian servant of Vlad's mortal descendants, and Elisabeth Bathory, the notorious Hungarian noblewoman who murdered hundreds of her servants and bathed in their blood.
In the 2011 horror novella The Brides, Raven c.s. McCracken gave a new twist to Dracula's origins, with the three sisters now becoming the driving force behind the legend, creating Dark Princes over the years to cover their own tracks, until they create the "wrong" Dark Prince.