Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Conversation
The Conversation
Lifestyle
Stanley Stepanic, Assistant Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures, University of Virginia

'Dracula Daily' reanimates the classic vampire novel for the age of memes and snark

An online audience is reading the vampire novel for the first time, en masse. Diane Barros/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

If you’re an active social media user, perhaps you’ve noticed a surge in posts recently about paprika, reflective shaving glasses and castle hospitality in Transylvania. One hundred twenty-five years after its initial publication, Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” is having a resurgence.

The current popularity bump is thanks to an email newsletter called “Dracula Daily.” The original 1897 version of “Dracula” was told in epistolary format, meaning the novel’s plot is presented through journal entries, letters, newspaper articles and the like. Matt Kirkland hit on a simple idea: Release the novel “Dracula” by entry, by date. Subscribers to his Substack newsletter receive messages in their inboxes day by day as the vampire tale unfolds in real time. If there’s no action on that date, there’s no message sent.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.