Gruesome, creepy Count Dracula

He might have been at the door on Halloween, the gruesome, creepy one. Count DraculaFortunately, such a mini version of the dark Dracula was after something tasty, not blood. Enjoying himself and giggling secretly, he must have called out: "Trick or treat!" For the Transylvanian vampire from Bram Stoker's book, blood is a true delicacy. By drinking it, he remains eternally young. Did you know that Count Dracula looked very different from the image we have of him?

The 'real' Count Dracula on a postage stamp

Great Britain gave in 1997, 100 years after the issuance of the book This stamp is by Bram Stoker. The artist Ian Pollock drew Count Dracula as Bram Stoker described him in his book: an old man with pointed ears, a large moustache, and terrifying fangs. After his journey from the Carpathians to England, Count Dracula turned out to be wearing a black pointed beard and to be significantly rejuvenated. The latter likely due to drinking the blood of the crew members of the ship he traveled on. . . .

Count Dracula from the movie

Due to the many films made about Dracula over the years, we have a very different image of this vampire. Clean-shaven and with short black combed-back hair, like on the stamps above from the United States (1997) and Great Britain (1998), that is what we think of when we picture Count Dracula. He has a sneaky but sometimes also somewhat gentlemanly appearance, and in most films, he does not get younger. The appearance of the vampire on the stamp sheet issued by Ireland in 1997 to celebrate 100 years of Bram Stoker's Dracula is also based on the classic films.

Romanian 'son of the devil'

Naturally, Romania also issued stamps featuring Count Dracula. After all, the Count comes from Transylvania, which has belonged to Romania since the end of the First World War. Moreover,  Bram Stoker, depicted on the first of the four Romanian seals, the character Count Dracula is believed to be based on the Carpathian ruler Vlad Dracula. Dracula is Romanian for 'son of the devil'.

Count Dracula, a celebrity in many guises

He is a true celebrity, the gruesome, creepy Count Dracula. He appears in films and plays. A parody cartoon series was made about the vegetarian Count Duckula. ZZ and the Maskers scored a hit in 1964 with the song Dracula. Years later, Freek de Jonge also performed that same song. And Count von Count, the counting count from Sesame Street, is based on Count Dracula. He is, however, a lot friendlier than Count Dracula, and that is clearly visible on the stamps of the Cayman Islands, Samoa, and Fiji. Bram Stoker himself also had a thing for numbers. He studied mathematics (among other things). What would he think of the numbers-obsessed Count von Count? Would he be able to laugh about it?