(As the wolves begin to howl again, JONATHAN HARKER enters carrying a suitcase and a briefcase. He stands before the front doors of the decaying medieval Castle Dracula, located in the Carpathian Mountains. HARKER pulls his coat more tightly around him as the cries of the wolf pack surround him. Joining the wolf call, ILONA and ELIZABETA creep towards HARKER from the shadows. As HARKER’s terror peaks, DRACULA appears at the top of the stairs. The wolves stop howling. ILONA and ELIZABETA run off. DRACULA descends the stairs and extends his hand to HARKER in greeting. HARKER takes a step back at the sight of him.)
DRACULA
Mr. Harker, I am Dracula. I bid you welcome to my home.
(Noticing HARKER’s distress, he shows concern)
Have you become unwell on your journey?
HARKER
(Breathless)
I have just had the most disconcerting experience. Your coach raced through the woods barely out-running a hungry wolf-pack. They followed me to your door. Until you appeared, I thought I was about to be attacked.
DRACULA
Within these walls lies haven from the creeping dangers found in the surrounding forest.
HARKER
Coming from the city, I am not used to such wild and untamed lands. I must confess I have felt a sense of impending danger since we left the Borgo Pass.
DRACULA
My apologies, I take my surroundings for granted. Had I any comprehension of how the primordial nature of these mountains would affect you, I would have warned you in one of my missives.
HARKER
(Laughing nervously)
It was quite an introduction to Transylvania. I shall not soon forget it. I am grateful to be within the safety of your walls. Now I know to stay within them during my visit.
(Extending his hand to shake)
Count Dracula, I’m honored to finally meet you after so many months of correspondence. I fear I have embarrassed myself.
DRACULA
(Shaking hands)
Nonsense. It is intimidating to be a stranger in a strange land.
(HARKER is overwhelmed by DRACULA’s vice-like grip.)
Mr. Harker, I am Dracula. I bid you welcome to my home.
(Noticing HARKER’s distress, he shows concern)
Have you become unwell on your journey?
HARKER
(Breathless)
I have just had the most disconcerting experience. Your coach raced through the woods barely out-running a hungry wolf-pack. They followed me to your door. Until you appeared, I thought I was about to be attacked.
DRACULA
Within these walls lies haven from the creeping dangers found in the surrounding forest.
HARKER
Coming from the city, I am not used to such wild and untamed lands. I must confess I have felt a sense of impending danger since we left the Borgo Pass.
DRACULA
My apologies, I take my surroundings for granted. Had I any comprehension of how the primordial nature of these mountains would affect you, I would have warned you in one of my missives.
HARKER
(Laughing nervously)
It was quite an introduction to Transylvania. I shall not soon forget it. I am grateful to be within the safety of your walls. Now I know to stay within them during my visit.
(Extending his hand to shake)
Count Dracula, I’m honored to finally meet you after so many months of correspondence. I fear I have embarrassed myself.
DRACULA
(Shaking hands)
Nonsense. It is intimidating to be a stranger in a strange land.
(HARKER is overwhelmed by DRACULA’s vice-like grip.)
You will need to refresh yourself after such a long journey.
(DRACULA picks up HARKER’s luggage.)
My people are disposing of another matter. I will see to your comfort myself. Come.
(He starts back up the stairs motioning for HARKER to follow.)
HARKER
(Reaching for his luggage)
A man of your position shouldn’t be carrying my traps. Please, let me --
DRACULA
My people are disposing of another matter. I will see to your comfort myself. Come.
(He starts back up the stairs motioning for HARKER to follow.)
HARKER
(Reaching for his luggage)
A man of your position shouldn’t be carrying my traps. Please, let me --
DRACULA
Never! You are my guest.
(He motions HARKER to enter a bedroom where he has put down the luggage.)
(He motions HARKER to enter a bedroom where he has put down the luggage.)
I trust you will find all you need.
HARKER
Your welcome is most courteous.
HARKER
Your welcome is most courteous.
DRACULA
When you are ready, join me below in the drawing room.
(DRACULA goes back down the stairs to the drawing room where he sets a table for dinner as HARKER washes up and changes into formal evening attire. HARKER descends the stairs carrying his briefcase and enters the drawing room as DRACULA finishes.)
Mr. Harker, be seated and sup. I have ...
(Pouring a glass of red wine for HARKER.)
...dined already, and I do not sup.
HARKER
(Removing a sealed letter from his briefcase)
Then please be so good as to read this letter from my employer, Mr. Hawkins, while I dine. He regrets that he couldn’t meet you himself. His doctors warned him that the journey would worsen the gout from which he constantly suffers.
(DRACULA takes the letter, opens it, and reads as HARKER dines.)
DRACULA
Mr. Hawkins says he has complete confidence in your ability to fulfill my every desire.
HARKER
I’ll do all I can to live up to his wishes. He’s like a father to me. He took me in after my parents died and trained me to be a solicitor.
(DRACULA goes back down the stairs to the drawing room where he sets a table for dinner as HARKER washes up and changes into formal evening attire. HARKER descends the stairs carrying his briefcase and enters the drawing room as DRACULA finishes.)
Mr. Harker, be seated and sup. I have ...
(Pouring a glass of red wine for HARKER.)
...dined already, and I do not sup.
HARKER
(Removing a sealed letter from his briefcase)
Then please be so good as to read this letter from my employer, Mr. Hawkins, while I dine. He regrets that he couldn’t meet you himself. His doctors warned him that the journey would worsen the gout from which he constantly suffers.
(DRACULA takes the letter, opens it, and reads as HARKER dines.)
DRACULA
Mr. Hawkins says he has complete confidence in your ability to fulfill my every desire.
HARKER
I’ll do all I can to live up to his wishes. He’s like a father to me. He took me in after my parents died and trained me to be a solicitor.
DRACULA
What a kind fellow. You have no other family?
HARKER
We just have each other. His wife died a few years ago. Do you have family?
What a kind fellow. You have no other family?
HARKER
We just have each other. His wife died a few years ago. Do you have family?
DRACULA
Sadly, I am the last of my line.
Sadly, I am the last of my line.
HARKER
You never married?
I have buried three wives with no issue. Katrina died in childbirth, Elizabeta took her own life,
and Ilona was lost to politics.
HARKER
HARKER
My condolences.
DRACULA
So, we of different heritage find common ground in death and abandonment.
(A great sadness passes over his features for an instant, and is gone.)
And travel to foreign lands. Tell me of your journey…
(Smiling)
...before the wolves. My driver says your coach arrived early at the Borgo Pass.
HARKER
Yes. I was afraid we’d miss your caliché. Then, suddenly, it appeared out of the fog and the darkness, terrifying several of the passengers. One of them said the oddest thing. He said that our coach was fast, but the dead travel faster. Is this some local colloquialism?
DRACULA
Our people are a superstitious lot. They believe these mountains surrounding this castle are haunted by the damned.
HARKER
That would explain why the innkeeper’s wife spoke to me hysterically of ‘Ordog’ and ‘vrokol’ when she heard I was traveling this way. I’ve found the words to mean ‘Satan’ and ‘undead.’ When I told her I wouldn’t cancel my journey, she gave me this...
(HARKER pulls rosary beads out from under his shirt. DRACULA will not look at the crucifix and hides physical pain.)
(A great sadness passes over his features for an instant, and is gone.)
And travel to foreign lands. Tell me of your journey…
(Smiling)
...before the wolves. My driver says your coach arrived early at the Borgo Pass.
HARKER
Yes. I was afraid we’d miss your caliché. Then, suddenly, it appeared out of the fog and the darkness, terrifying several of the passengers. One of them said the oddest thing. He said that our coach was fast, but the dead travel faster. Is this some local colloquialism?
DRACULA
Our people are a superstitious lot. They believe these mountains surrounding this castle are haunted by the damned.
HARKER
That would explain why the innkeeper’s wife spoke to me hysterically of ‘Ordog’ and ‘vrokol’ when she heard I was traveling this way. I’ve found the words to mean ‘Satan’ and ‘undead.’ When I told her I wouldn’t cancel my journey, she gave me this...
(HARKER pulls rosary beads out from under his shirt. DRACULA will not look at the crucifix and hides physical pain.)
DRACULA
This is foolishness!
(Surprised by the reaction, HARKER puts the rosary away, DRACULA relaxes.)
HARKER
While I don’t take your peasant’s superstitions seriously, after my experiences on the way here, I can see how this area plays on their minds. The earth itself emanated a sinister presence as we passed through the thick pine forest and it felt as if something was spurring on the wolves’ pursuit. My rational mind knows it’s distance from the civilization of a large city which plays on my fears, yet I swear I feel a darkness here that seems to suck at my soul.
DRACULA
I can assure you the only hostile creatures in the area are wolves. As a youth I played in those darkened woods. My childhood bedtimes stories were tales of the godless spirits of the vanquished who supposedly walk in their midst. You see, for many centuries these lands buffered Christian Europe from the Ottoman Empire. We of the Dracul – my family -- were the proud warriors who defended this country again and again as the Sultan’s forces bore down upon it. We drove fear into the hearts of the infidels at the end of pike and sword, face to face, slaughtering all who stood in our path. The land was a thirsty beast quenched by a river of red, until blood became too precious a thing. Action gave way to diplomacy. Diplomacy led to betrayal, slicing through my heart long before an assassin’s blade reached it.
I am Voivode, and to us, the pride of our ancestors is our own pride. Their pain is our pain.
HARKER
With such a long family history here, I am surprised you wish to leave.
DRACULA
Until recently we had very little contact with the peoples of the world beyond our mountains, but I have been reenergized by the new blood which has found its way to my door. The steam engine has brought several adventurous spirits to our country. They fed my own need for adventure. These visitors told me that England is the greatest power in the world, wetting my appetite for a taste of what your country has to offer. Tell me of my new home there.
HARKER
The estate is called Carfax. A stone wall and forest of trees hides the house and a chapel with thick walls and few windows.
(Pulling papers from his briefcase)
Here are some photographs of the property for your perusal.
(Surprised by the reaction, HARKER puts the rosary away, DRACULA relaxes.)
HARKER
While I don’t take your peasant’s superstitions seriously, after my experiences on the way here, I can see how this area plays on their minds. The earth itself emanated a sinister presence as we passed through the thick pine forest and it felt as if something was spurring on the wolves’ pursuit. My rational mind knows it’s distance from the civilization of a large city which plays on my fears, yet I swear I feel a darkness here that seems to suck at my soul.
DRACULA
I can assure you the only hostile creatures in the area are wolves. As a youth I played in those darkened woods. My childhood bedtimes stories were tales of the godless spirits of the vanquished who supposedly walk in their midst. You see, for many centuries these lands buffered Christian Europe from the Ottoman Empire. We of the Dracul – my family -- were the proud warriors who defended this country again and again as the Sultan’s forces bore down upon it. We drove fear into the hearts of the infidels at the end of pike and sword, face to face, slaughtering all who stood in our path. The land was a thirsty beast quenched by a river of red, until blood became too precious a thing. Action gave way to diplomacy. Diplomacy led to betrayal, slicing through my heart long before an assassin’s blade reached it.
HARKER
You speak as if you were there.
DRACULA
DRACULA
HARKER
With such a long family history here, I am surprised you wish to leave.
DRACULA
Until recently we had very little contact with the peoples of the world beyond our mountains, but I have been reenergized by the new blood which has found its way to my door. The steam engine has brought several adventurous spirits to our country. They fed my own need for adventure. These visitors told me that England is the greatest power in the world, wetting my appetite for a taste of what your country has to offer. Tell me of my new home there.
HARKER
The estate is called Carfax. A stone wall and forest of trees hides the house and a chapel with thick walls and few windows.
(Pulling papers from his briefcase)
Here are some photographs of the property for your perusal.
DRACULA
(Glancing at the photographs)
I rejoice that there is a medieval chapel. We Transylvanian nobles do not love to think that our remains may lie among the common dead.
HARKER
Your only neighbor, though close to a mile away, is a lunatic asylum. You’ll not, however, see it from your grounds. Here is the contract we discussed in our correspondence.
I rejoice that there is a medieval chapel. We Transylvanian nobles do not love to think that our remains may lie among the common dead.
HARKER
Your only neighbor, though close to a mile away, is a lunatic asylum. You’ll not, however, see it from your grounds. Here is the contract we discussed in our correspondence.
DRACULA
Good.
(He signs the contract.)
Good.
(He signs the contract.)
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