Dracula Summary: Plot, Characters and Ending
Dracula tells how the vampire Count Dracula moves from Transylvania to England to spread his evil, and how a small group led by Professor Van Helsing hunts him down. It is told through diaries, letters and newspaper clippings.
Bram Stoker's novel shaped most of the vampire stories that came after it.
| Character | Who they are |
|---|---|
| Count Dracula | Ancient vampire nobleman |
| Jonathan Harker | Young English solicitor |
| Mina Murray | Jonathan's fiancée, later his wife |
| Lucy Westenra | Mina's best friend |
| Abraham Van Helsing | Dutch professor and expert in strange illnesses |
| Dr. John Seward | Doctor who runs an asylum |
| Arthur Holmwood | Lucy's fiancé |
| Quincey Morris | Texan friend of Lucy's suitors |
| Renfield | Asylum patient under Dracula's spell |
What happens to Jonathan in Transylvania?
Jonathan travels to Dracula's castle to finalize the Count's purchase of an estate near London. The Count is courteous but strange: he casts no reflection and climbs down the castle walls like a lizard. Jonathan realizes he is a prisoner, nearly falls victim to three vampire women and finds the Count lying in a coffin of earth. Dracula leaves for England, and Jonathan escapes, half mad.
↑ Back to the topWhat happens to Lucy?
A ship runs aground at Whitby with its captain dead at the wheel, and a huge dog leaps ashore. Lucy, staying there with Mina, begins sleepwalking and grows pale, with two small wounds on her neck. Dr. Seward calls in his teacher Van Helsing, who gives her blood transfusions and surrounds her with garlic, but she dies. Soon children report a beautiful lady who lures them away at night. Van Helsing proves to the others that Lucy has become a vampire, and Arthur drives a stake through her heart, releasing her.
↑ Back to the topHow does Dracula attack Mina?
Jonathan recovers and marries Mina. The group gathers its records and learns that Dracula has brought fifty boxes of his native earth to hide in. Renfield, who eats flies and spiders, is killed after he tries to protect Mina. The men burst into the Harkers' room and find Dracula forcing Mina to drink his blood. She is marked as his and slowly begins to change.
↑ Back to the topHow do they hunt Dracula?
The hunters find and destroy the boxes one by one across London. Dracula, with nowhere left to hide, flees back to Transylvania by ship. Under hypnosis, Mina can sense his thoughts through their bond, and she helps them track him. The group splits up to race him to his castle.
↑ Back to the topHow does Dracula end?
Van Helsing and Mina reach the castle first and destroy the three vampire women. At sunset, Dracula's hired men carry his box toward the castle. The others attack them. Jonathan slashes the Count's throat with a large knife while Quincey stabs him in the heart, and Dracula crumbles to dust. The mark vanishes from Mina's forehead. Quincey dies of his wounds. Seven years later, Jonathan and Mina have a son named Quincey.
↑ Back to the topMore about Dracula
This summary reveals the whole plot, including the ending.