fight me bitch

As Jonathan Harker sets off on his totally normal business trip, follow along by eating the same meals as he does on this day, May 3rd, the official opening of Dracula Season!

At the start of his journey, Jonathan's journal entries read very much like the notes of a lifestyle travel vlogger. He makes observations about the local scenery, people, and a smattering of history - and, of course, the food.

I have found two contemporary recipes for the infamous paprika hendl that Jonathan eats, one of which is weirdly obsessed about chickens... If you can't actually make and eat paprika hendl along with Jonathan, at least you can get a very immersive, slightly melodramatic Victorian commentary on it!

Like what do you mean every single year the Harkers, the suitor squad and Van Helsing are forced to relive the worst year of their life

Sure they win in the end but over and over they are forced to loose the people they love, be striped of their personhood and fight what must have seemed like an impossible battle.

And nobody is even aware of this time loop except us and we just feed into this narrative. “Oh my friend Jonathan has just sent me another letter let’s hope this goes better than last year ;)”

And from a literary analysis standpoint this whole change is inane because it frames the book in an entirely new light. There is a meta layer of horror being applied to the book that was never possible before.