Dracula Summary

Jonathan Harker, an English solicitor, journeys to a mysterious castle in Transylvania to finalize a property deal with an aristocrat, Count Dracula. Despite the eerie warnings from local villagers and their gifts of protective amulets, Harker proceeds to his destination. On reaching the castle, he is initially charmed by the count's educated and courteous nature, but soon finds himself imprisoned. As Harker delves deeper into his unusual circumstances, he discovers the count's paranormal abilities and sinister intentions. He almost falls victim to three captivating but deadly female vampires, but Dracula intervenes, claiming him as his own. Terrified, Harker plots to escape by scaling the castle's walls.

Back in England, Harker's love, Mina Murray, engages in correspondence with her friend, Lucy Westenra. Lucy, proposed to by three men, chooses to marry Arthur Holmwood. When Mina visits Lucy in the coastal town of Whitby, a bizarre incident occurs as a Russian ship crashes ashore with no crew, a dead captain, and a single large dog who escapes into the countryside. Amongst its cargo, fifty crates of soil from Dracula's castle are discovered. Shortly thereafter, Lucy starts sleepwalking and develops strange symptoms; she becomes noticeably weak and reveals two small red marks on her neck. Concerned and unable to diagnose, Dr. Seward summons his mentor, Professor Van Helsing.

Harker, battling brain fever, resurfaces in Buda-Pest, where Mina goes to be with him. Meanwhile, Van Helsing, suspecting vampiric activity, tries to protect Lucy with garlic, but this method is unintentionally sabotaged by Lucy's mother. Following Lucy's death, Van Helsing convinces Holmwood, Seward, and American Quincey Morris that Lucy is now a vampire. After witnessing her attack a child, they destroy her as per vampire-slaying rituals. Now unified, Mina, Harker, and the others trace Dracula's movements and possessions. Despite their initial progress, Mina falls prey to Dracula, leading to an urgent pursuit. The group splits to sterilize Dracula's sanctuaries and chase him back to Transylvania. In the climactic confrontation, the three female vampires are killed, and Jonathan and Quincey manage to eliminate Dracula before he can reach the safety of his castle.