Films: Horror of Dracula (1958), Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966), Dracula has Risen from the Grave (1968), Taste the Blood of Dracula (1969), Scars of Dracula (1970), Dracula AD 1972 (1972), The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973), The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires (1974)
Alias: Prince of Darkness
Type: Mystical
Location: Haunted home/Civilized area/Cave
Height/Weight: That of an average human.
Affiliation: Evil
Summary: Often considered to be the adaptation of Dracula that surpassed Legosi, old man Christopher Lee gave it his A-game when he performed as the dreaded Prince of Darkness. For almost two decades, this king of the vampires terrorized anyone who dare disturb his gothic domain, and no matter how many times he died, he would always come back for more. Just COUNT on it...oh, God, I'm sorry.
History: Dracula lived the high life for centuries. He was wealthy, deceivingly charismatic, and above all, the most powerful vampire in the world. Even when his castle was empty, people would cower in fear, as his shadow seemed to be eternally cast upon it. People would try and destroy him, but it was almost always met with gruesome failure. Only the lucky and the wise could stop him. But almost every time Dracula was killed, fate would not let him stay that way. Just ask the sacrifices and devil cults that wouldn't leave him alone. At some point, Dracula grew sick of his immortality, hoping to purge the world of all life with an artificial bacterium before killing himself. And after that failed, he went to China. The less said about that last venture, the better.
Notable Kills: Almost all his kills are the same (biting the neck), but one kill stands out. And ironically, it was one of his own vampiric mates. Upon seeing her sleeping with a human victim, he flies into such a rage that he whips out a knife, rapidly stabs her about fifteen times in the chest, and THEN drinks her blood. Even by Drac's standards, that was brutal.
Final Fate: Hooooo, boy. Dracula has probably been dealt more abuse than any other horror icon in Hammer's legacy. He has been, in order, burnt to ashes by a cross and the sun together, fallen under an icy lake, stabbed through the heart by a golden cross, burnt to ashes again after someone redecorates his home to look more holy, SET ON FIRE AND BURNT TO THE FLIPPING BONE AFTER LIGHTING STRUCK A SPEAR HE WAS HOLDING, impaled by a broken cart wheel (really), shoved into a pit full of stakes, got stuck in a hawthorn bush and stabbed with a makeshift stake, and finally stabbed by a sword and turned to ashes again. No wonder he got so nihilistic near the end of his run.
Powers/Abilities: Aside from being immortal, Dracula can infect others with his bite so that they become vampires themselves, which is how he must have gotten his brides. His very stare can also instantly demoralize the most determined of souls. He can also be resurrected via dropping fresh blood on his remains or drinking his blood so that he takes over the drinker's body. It's as weird as it sounds.
Weakness: Dracula cannot STAND holy imagery. This includes crosses, hawthorn bushes, and light itself. Just surrounding him with the stuff causes him to go out in smoke. However, the killer of the vamp must believe in a higher power, otherwise it's worthless. He's also weak against fire, stakes, and running water. Yes, running water irks him.
Scariness Factor: 5-Despite all those weaknesses, Dracula is the last thing anyone wants to encounter in their home. Switching from charming and soft-spoken gentleman to raving blood-crazed Hellspawn at the drop of a hat, the Prince of Darkness is pretty much man's fear of the night given flesh.
Trivia: -As the sequels kept coming, Christopher Lee expressed weariness and reluctance to keep being type-casted as Dracula, stating that he felt that the writers were just shoehorning him in as time went on.
-In the last film, John Forbes-Robertson played Dracula instead of Lee. John had previously worked with Hammer in a previous vampire movie, "The Vampire Lovers", as a bit role.
