Dracula's Guest

Rating:
Summary: Terrific stories from a true master of horror
Review: Even had Bram Stoker not penned the fabulously successful Dracula, efforts such as the stories in this book would more than qualify him as a gifted, masterful writer, with a special penchant for writing horror. The most prominent story in these pages is of course "Dracula's Guest," a story excised from the final manuscript of Dracula. This is an interesting, well-told tale, but its exclusion from the aforementioned novel seems to me to be rather inconsequential. The real jewel of this collection is "The Judge's House." I have read this story several times over the last decade or so, and I must say that this is my favorite horror story of all time. It somewhat chagrins me to make such a pronouncement, thinking of the masterful tales of Lovecraft, Poe, and King, yet I am compelled to make it. The ending may be somewhat cliched , but the dark, brooding, smothering atmosphere Stoker creates in this house is powerful and brilliant. The Judge's House may well be the most haunted house in literature.

The other seven stories are less noteworthy but eminently readable. Again, there are some cliches to be found among them, but they all "work." "The Squaw" is my least favorite--it is, to some degree, silly n terms of its characters and ending. I should also add that animal lovers such as myself may well be somewhat traumatized by one incident in the story--I certainly was. "The Secret of the Growing Gold," "The Gypsy Prophecy" and "The Coming of Abel Behenna" are pretty standard fare. "The Burial of the Rats" presents a thrilling, well-thought-out story of danger and escape (as well as a grim portrait of some of society's underbelly). "A Dream of Red Hands" is a sort of moralistic story that puts me in mind of some of Hawthorne's work. Finally, "Crooken Sands" is a good doppelganger tale whose presentation and overall air seem different, if not unique, from the other tales in this book. If you love old Scottish dialogue, you will reap some benefits from this story--for the rest of us, though, it makes for some slightly harder reading (but I think the story would be much less effective without it).

All in all, Stoker was a more than capable short story writer, even though he did sometimes stick too closely to the classic form; cliches and predictable plot points do diminish the quality of a few stories but by no means do they seriously hamper the effectiveness of them. It is unfortunate that many people think Stoker wrote Dracula and nothing else. The selections in this book are classic horror stories that only help to grant legitimacy to the genre.

Rating:
Summary: A very worthy audio classic for horror and classic fans
Review: I was amazed when I listened to "Dracula's Guest" and "The Secret of the Growing Gold" on this cassette. I am a fan of classic stories, horror films and Victor Garber, but I had never owned an audio cassette of a classic story until now. While the possibility of "listening" to these stories thrilled me, I was concerned if I would enjoy them. My fears were very quickly laid to rest. Victor Garber is a wonderful stage-trained actor who has a very understated and unforced vocal delivery. So, I can only describe these recordings as "classy". The way he changes his voice with each character is very effective although it is clearly his own all the way through.

Some of you may prefer reading over listening but don't overlook buying this cassette. For one thing, it is more fun to listen to these stories than reading silently, and, probably, reading aloud. Both stories are fairly easy to follow, but "The Secret of the Growing Gold" is the hardest. Despite that, I strongly feel that this audio cassette is a must-hear. I recommend this to all fans of classic stories and audio books.

Rating:
Summary: A very worthy audio classic for horror and classic fans
Review: I was amazed when I listened to "Dracula's Guest" and "The Secret of the Growing Gold" on this cassette. I am a fan of classic stories, horror films and Victor Garber, but I had never owned an audio cassette of a classic story until now. While the possibility of "listening" to these stories thrilled me, I was concerned if I would enjoy them. My fears were very quickly laid to rest. Victor Garber is a wonderful stage-trained actor who has a very understated and unforced vocal delivery. So, I can only describe these recordings as "classy". The way he changes his voice with each character is very effective although it is clearly his own all the way through.

Some of you may prefer reading over listening but don't overlook buying this cassette. For one thing, it is more fun to listen to these stories than reading silently, and, probably, reading aloud. Both stories are fairly easy to follow, but "The Secret of the Growing Gold" is the hardest. Despite that, I strongly feel that this audio cassette is a must-hear. I recommend this to all fans of classic stories and audio books.

Rating:
Summary: A very worthy audio classic for horror and classic fans
Review: I was amazed when I listened to "Dracula's Guest" and "The Secret of the Growing Gold" on this cassette. I am a fan of classic stories, horror films and Victor Garber, but I had never owned an audio cassette of a classic story until now. While the possibility of "listening" to these stories thrilled me, I was concerned if I would enjoy them. My fears were very quickly laid to rest. Victor Garber is a wonderful stage-trained actor who has a very understated and unforced vocal delivery. So, I can only describe these recordings as "classy". The way he changes his voice with each character is very effective although it is clearly his own all the way through.

Some of you may prefer reading over listening but don't overlook buying this cassette. For one thing, it is more fun to listen to these stories than reading silently, and, probably, reading aloud. Both stories are fairly easy to follow, but "The Secret of the Growing Gold" is the hardest. Despite that, I strongly feel that this audio cassette is a must-hear. I recommend this to all fans of classic stories and audio books.

Rating:
Summary: Best short story of horror genre for it's time period
Review: The book lives up to it's title. It's a fantastic read for something of its age. It easily beats off the new-comers to the horror genre. I'd recommend it to people who have at least a little experience with Bram Stoker's "Dracula" or something similar.

Rating:
Summary: The Replacement Chapter
Review: This "short story" was originally part of "Dracula." It was left out at the behest of the publisher and published after Stoker's death by his wife. I've read "Dracula" many times in my life, and enjoy "Dracula's Guest" as a "lost chapter". It is obvious where the account fits into the book because it builds up to the letter from D. to the innkeeper which *is* in the book.

In defense of the original publisher's ax to the chapter, the story is much more rapid paced and has less of the "haunting realness" that rest of "Dracula" has - it is more in the pulp style of Stoker's "Lair of the White Worm".

SPOILER >> It adds a little depth to Jonathan Harker's journey to the castle in the form of a foreshadowing encounter with another vampire. << SPOILER

Rating:
Summary: The Replacement Chapter
Review: This "short story" was originally part of "Dracula." It was left out at the behest of the publisher and published after Stoker's death by his wife. I've read "Dracula" many times in my life, and enjoy "Dracula's Guest" as a "lost chapter". It is obvious where the account fits into the book because it builds up to the letter from D. to the innkeeper which *is* in the book.

In defense of the original publisher's ax to the chapter, the story is much more rapid paced and has less of the "haunting realness" that rest of "Dracula" has - it is more in the pulp style of Stoker's "Lair of the White Worm".

SPOILER >> It adds a little depth to Jonathan Harker's journey to the castle in the form of a foreshadowing encounter with another vampire. << SPOILER

Rating:
Summary: The Replacement Chapter
Review: This "short story" was originally part of "Dracula." It was left out at the behest of the publisher and published after Stoker's death by his wife. I've read "Dracula" many times in my life, and enjoy "Dracula's Guest" as a "lost chapter". It is obvious where the account fits into the book because it builds up to the letter from D. to the innkeeper which *is* in the book.

In defense of the original publisher's ax to the chapter, the story is much more rapid paced and has less of the "haunting realness" that rest of "Dracula" has - it is more in the pulp style of Stoker's "Lair of the White Worm".

SPOILER >> It adds a little depth to Jonathan Harker's journey to the castle in the form of a foreshadowing encounter with another vampire. << SPOILER