Stoker Evolution of a Vampire

by Cherry, Calvin

• ISBN13: 9781592115969
• ISBN10: 1592115969
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2025-10-28
• Publisher: Histria Fiction

Summary

Discover the dark inspiration behind Dracula in this thrilling Gothic prequel.

 

No one can deny that Abraham Stoker penned a Gothic tour de force in 1897. All readers and moviegoers are familiar with the name Dracula, as a parade of literary colleagues and Hollywood directors have probed the monster's conscience for generations. Even so, few artists have explored Stoker's motivations for creating such a loathsome, seductive protagonist. Welcome to Bram's Frightmare: a wild, historical tale that fuses the life and times of a struggling author, a ruthless prince, and vampire mythology.

Set in London in 1887, aspiring writer and stage manager Bram Stoker attends a séance that changes his life forever. What starts as an innocent ritual spirals into a series of unforeseen yet connected plot twists and encounters with the bloodthirsty beast mistakenly freed from the underworld on that fateful night. As Bram's young son Noel intervenes to pull his father from the madness that ensues, wife Florence’s health begins to decline, and his employer, actor Henry Irving, is being questioned about a violent murder that takes place outside his Lyceum Theater.

To save careers, families, and souls, father and son seek answers to the darkest secrets hidden within the Carpathian Mountains, an ancient monastery, a ruined castle, and a forbidden cavern.

This Dracula prequel is meant to pay homage to a brilliant man, writer, and Romantic masterpiece, mixing fantasy, fact, and Gothic elements to show how literary art is born.

Author Biography

Calvin H. Cherry was born in Marietta, Georgia, and relocated to rural Red Boiling Springs, Tennessee, at age fifteen. In 1988, he joined the Navy as a Radioman where he spent a year in San Diego, two years in Sicily, and twelve months onboard the USS Thorn (DD-988) during the commission of Operation Desert Storm.

When his enlistment ended in 1992, he moved back to Marietta where he began a career in insurance. In 2002, he earned an undergraduate degree in Business Management from Kennesaw State University. In 2009, he earned a Project Management Professional (PMP) and Six Sigma Green Belt certifications, and retired from the Navy Reserve as an Information Technician First Class Petty Officer.

Calvin’s hobbies include music, movies, literature, hiking, and traveling. He currently lives in Macon, GA, with his spouse Kevin Scott Bilbrey and their cat Francis and works as a Life Claims Specialist for The Standard.