In 1890, Bram Stoker began research on what would become his most famous book, "Dracula." During this research, which spanned years, the Irish author kept extensive journals in which he scribbled down his findings from hours spent poring over ancient texts pulled from the Subscription Library in Whitby, England, and from interviews conducted with members of Whitby Harbor's Royal Coast Guard.
According to a fascinating account of Stoker's research written for Time by the author's great grand-nephew, Dacre Stoker, "Dracula" — which was eventually published in 1897 — was not intended to be entirely a work of fiction, but "a warning of a very real evil, a childhood nightmare all too real." And oceans of time later in 1992, Francis Ford Coppola turned that nightmare into a romance, which filled the hearts and minds of people the world wide with a burning desire to experience a condemned love as darkly beautiful as the one portrayed by Gary Oldman as Dracula, and Winona Ryder as his destined bride, Mina Murray.
