Welcome to Dracula Season 2025!
We're only a few weeks shy of May and our journey with Jonathan into the Carpathians. As we prepare for another helping of paprika hendl and ensuing horror, let's refresh with some of the Dracula-adjacent goodies that have accumulated over the last year...
The Substack that started it all. Dracula Daily was started by Matt Kirkland in 2021, though it took off in the Tumblr book club in 2022. Since then, weāve turned Dracula Season, the period between May 3 and November 7, into a months-long undead extravaganza of memes, literary analysis, and overdue love for Bram Stokerās novel, Dracula as the fantastic gothic gift it is. With the simplified format of putting the bookās entries in chronological order, each one emailed out on the same date they were written, weāre forced to live on the same calendar and waiting game as the characters. Whether youāre a new reader or a returning bookworm, welcome to Castle Dracula!
Dracula Daily Substack: Link
2. The Holmwood Foundation
Fresh from crowdfunding and wrapping up production of its first season, The Holmwood Foundation, @theholmwoodfoundation on Tumblr, is an indie podcast coming around the corner with a genuinely unique take on a supernatural sequel to the events of Draculaā¦which didnāt end quite how Bram Stokerās in-universe novel depicted. The first episode is out, featuring a pair of unlucky archivistsāwhat horror podcast is complete without them?āthe ghosts of Jonathan and Mina Harker, Draculaās severed head, and a hiking trip across the moors to escape some shambling undead horrors. Give the preview and its miscellaneous teasers a listen if you want a taste of contemporary revenant scares (and to listen to the worldās most irate descendant of the Harkers pop a blood vessel).
The Holmwood Foundation homepage: Link
Podcast episodes and side content: Link
Another indie audio drama trying to crowdfund its way out of the coffin! Not only an adaptation of Dracula, but one set just a short step into the 21st century, @starstrider-productions' Dracula: 2004 wants to tell the story of our beloved Victorian vampire targets-turned-slayers in an era of flip phones, Dictaphones, and found footage-tinted horror. To judge by the summary and extremely promising character bios for our refreshed cast, itās going to be a one-of-a-kind listen. But only if we can get them to their goal! By the time I post this, theyāll have less than 20 days left to cover the production cost.
If you want to drag this beautiful undead carcass into the moonlight, please chip into their campaign if you can and share it with your fellow Dracula lovers and horror podcast enthusiasts! The smallest tier is Ā£10 GBP, ($13 for my fellow āmurricans), and every bit helps. Ā
Indiegogo crowdfunding page: Link
4. Re: Dracula, Re: Carmilla, (Coming Soon: Re: Frankenstein!)
Giving an undead rebirth to the original Dracula Daily format, the podcast Re: Dracula turns the same chronological date-by-date read of the novel an audio drama twist. Itās made of professional voice acting, soundscaping, and has its own soundtrack! This thing is also replete with many a meme and interview as the garlic garnish on top. Give it a listen if you havenāt already and check out their Tumblr, @re-dracula.
Likewise, you need to check out their most recent projects. Re: Carmilla, which gives Sheridan le Fanuās Carmilla its own supple and sinuous sapphic treatment, and the upcoming Re: Frankenstein, currently on the hunt for voice actors to fill the roles of Mary Shelleyās gothic opus, Frankenstein. Everyone say thank you to this cast and crew for feeding us the overdue classic supernatural theatre feast weāve been waiting on for actual centuries.
Re: Frankenstein (Casting Call!): Link
5. The League of Extraordinary Gentlefolk
You want the Drac Attack Pack (plus a surviving Quincey Morris) with the Harkers happily married and questionably human? You want Irene Norton nĆ©e Adler treated with respect and allowed to actually have her chosen romance with Godfrey Norton that was half the damn point of āA Scandal in Bohemia,ā along with appearances from a certain consulting detective and his doctorial companion? You want Dr. Jekyll as an upstanding scientist on the brink of some unsavory new changes? You want Wellsā Invisible Man being cantankerous and developing friendships against his will? You want sundry forces of mortal and supernatural peril roiling up from under the foundations of Victorian era literature like an eerie eldritch smoke? Then The League of Extraordinary Gentlefolk is the comic for you!
An ongoing webcomic, fresh from its second story arcāa certain submarine, a bastard of a marksman, and an uncanny gothic villainess are involvedāLXGF brings together a huge crossover cast of everyoneās favorite characters from the Classics section. Started by the amazing @mayhemchicken and posted on @lxgentlefolkcomic, this series is a love letter to beloved Victorian era lit that actually understands, acknowledges, and loves the books and their canons! What a concept! Alan.
Non-Canon Silliness: Link
6. Blood of My Blood (and Other Gorgeous Gothic Dramas of the Ibrithir-Was-Here Universe)
Ā Iāve made a lot of amazing friends since Dracula Season became my favorite time of the year (read: most of it). Many of those friends have been brain-meltingly talented and creative in the works theyāve made based in or inspired by Dracula and adjacent works. But one of the best in terms of artful storytelling has to be @ibrithir-was-here.
Me and other scribblers and spit-ballers tripped and fell into what began as a dark Dracula Bad Ending improv, everyone chasing after each other with āYes, andā,ā additions to a vampiric domestic horror story. Thatās turned into a full 100+ chapter tale with its concluding climax just now about to hit its zenith. That story is Blood of My Blood, an incredibly fun and fiendish gothic what-if? One in which we answer the questions:
What if things took a grim turn in the climax at Transylvania? What if half our heroes died and Mina turned, with a child already growing in her undead womb? What if Jonathan threw himself on the twisted āmercyā of Dracula to protect his family, trading his servitude, sanity, blood, and participation in an intimately worrying series of mind games with his new master? What if young Quincey Harker was raised in this warped castle and then, at the cusp of manhood, was sent out into the world to learn the buried truths of his family? What if Dracula was none too thrilled about his adopted heir leaving the nest, and took grisly measures to bring him back..?
The answers have been written and lushly illustrated for the past year and change, ripe with romances, revenges, bloodshed, and one of the most gloriously fucked up family dynamics youāve ever seen in a gothic drama.
ā¦And if youāre in the mood for another flavor of the latter, Ibrithir has also cooked up a pile of sinister samples to indulge in.
(n)Ever Loved, a take on the origins of the āWeird Sistersā before they were munching kids meals.
The Wretched Family, an AU in which Frankensteinās Creature saved the little girl from the river a moment too late, and coerces Victor into reviving her drowned body as a Creature like himself.
A Cruel Love, giving a spotlight to a possible history of Countess Mircalla and how love played a part in her undeath and the demise of her first smitten paramour.
Second Stanza, a certain Opera Ghost returns to haunt Christine and Raoulās son, supposedly as a guardianāwhether the boy likes it or not.
Rosemary is for Remembrance, in which a young artist grapples with the bloody shadow of a man who shares her face. A long dead hedonist by the name of Dorian Grayā¦
The Wretched Family: Link 1, Link 2
A Cruel Love: Link 1, Link 2
Rosemary is for Remembrance: Link
7. Draculaās Guest the Comic
Want a glimpse of what Jonathan Harker may have gotten up to prior to reaching Castle Dracula? Well, take a look at the comic adaptation of Stokerās, āDracula Guest,ā by @isablooo! It features our good friend Mr. Harker, some sightseeing, and more than the usual bloodsuckers out for his neck.
8. Dracula Beyond Stoker Press
Have you ever thought to yourself, āI wish I had an anthology dedicated entirely to stories about one or more specific characters of Dracula?ā Me too! And Dracula Beyond Stoker Press is here to deliver. Their most recent issue coming out is about our good friend Jonathan Harkerāalready preordered my copy!āwith Mina Harkerās issue accepting story and cover art submissions starting May 1, 2025. DBS Press already has an amazing store full of paperback zines and merch to go through for other characters and general Dracula-flavored goodies. Go give them and the submission guidelines a gander.Ā Ā
Dracula Beyond Stoker Press: Link
9. Harker (and Other Arcane Horrors)
Harker is my work-in-progress, a novel expanding on the experiences of Jonathan Harker which we never get to see between his and the othersā journal entries in Dracula. It also adds some creative and menacing fleshing out for just how and why Jonathan Harker changed on October 3rdāand perhaps explains what exactly he changed into.
As of now, I am well over twenty chapters in, with over 750 pages written. In the draft, Mina is only just now about to read Jonathanās journal for the first time. This thing is massive. And Iāve been releasing preview chapters since last Dracula Season! The latest of which is due to drop very soon.
Until then, thereās also an abundance of other horrors Iāve scribbled up in the interim. Some serial, some self-contained, and one in the form of a published novella, The Vampyres, which concerns some undead bastards of classic lit caught under the blade of a very practiced psychopomp. There are a couple preview chapters up to skim too!
The Vampyres: eBook Paperback
[REDACTED ā Surprise en route April 18th]
10. What Manner of Man (and Another Gothic Queer Nightmare)
@stjohnstarling has completed one tale of queer horror, romance, and erotica, and is hard at work on the next story. The first was What Manner of Man, a novel with some borrowed blood from Dracula and a wonderful twist on an intense relationship that forms between a priest and a vampire. This book is now completed on the Substack and as an eBook! His next work in progress: A Companion in Vice, building off the patchwork anatomy of Frankenstein.
What Manner of Man (Substack): Link
What Manner of Man (eBook): Link
A Companion in Vice (Summary): Link
An online library of countless classic public domain works. Get on it, bookworms!
Sheridan le Fanu collection - Link
As the name says, itās an archive. It preserves damn near everything, including my favorite balletā¦
Dracula Ballet by Michael Pink ā Link
13. Romancing the Gothic - My Wild Heart Bleeds
Carmilla fans, storytellers, and scholars, this one is for you. My Wild Heart Bleeds is set to be an anthology dedicated entirely to Sheridan le Fanuās Carmilla, including commentaries, original works, international and historic perspectives, discussions of adaptations and works inspired by the storyā¦ And you have the chance to contribute to it! Regarding submissions, the page says:
Abstracts of 3-400 words and a bio of 2-250 words should be sent to the editors Dr. Sam Hirst and Simon Bacon by June 30th 2025. Chapter of between 5-6000 words will be required by July 2026.
We also welcome original creative pieces (artwork, short stories [up to 1,500 words], flash-fiction, poetry, etc) that are inspired by and/or critically engage with āCarmillaā or themes mentioned above.
Abstracts or queries should be set to: [email protected]
My Wild Heart Bleeds: Link
@cry-ptidd ā Blessed us with getting to see the Dracula cast in Hellsing style and showing us why Kohta Hirano didnāt dare to have them in the manga: The Harkers are simply too badass when canonical. (And the Suitors would be too stylish.)
@bluecatwriter ā Expanding from Dracula fic to Carmilla fic. Smut abounds.
Poetry ā For bonus gothic vampire reference material:
āLenoreā by Gottfried August BĆ¼rger, translated by Dante Gabriel Rossetti: Link
āChristabelā by Samuel Taylor Coleridge: Link
Libby the Library App (Sign Up! Support Your Libraries!) - Link
All the Dracula Season goodies compiled last year: Link
