Nowadays, one cannot walk into a bookstore without seeing "Team Edward" and "Sookie Stackhouse" posters lathering the walls. A personal favorite of mine is the various Vampire Diaries, Vampire Kisses and Vampire Knight series books that line the shelves. Where did these stories originate? Several romance novels draw upon Romeo and Juliet and Pride and Prejudice. The ever-popular Twilight and True Blood sagas seek their source from Bram Stoker, who in 1897, wrote Dracula.

This classic possesses all the elements mandatory for a Gothic novel. A foreboding, ominous castle nestled deep in Eastern Europe sets the stage for this fast-paced thriller. A courageous young maiden from London, a demure, rather shy lawyer, a gallant solider from Texas, a keeper of an insane asylum, and a professor with an uncanny knowledge of the undead team up in the face of evil. Dracula tells the quest of five incredibly different people, each with a common enemy, an enemy deemed a monster, a charmer — one Count Dracula.

Stoker creates his symbolism off various traditions and beliefs, profound even today. Symbols like a wooden stake, garlic, and crucifixes are ubiquitous in the narratives of Lestat and his followers. The book's mellifluous writing lures the reader in like the enchanting vampire it portrays; the hidden themes strive for one to question good and evil. Sunlight burns the flesh of a demon. Garlic wards it off. The crypt beneath the chapel serves as home to the monsters that the local Romanians speak of in hushed whispers. An upside-down cross and a mirror without reflection entice the band of hunters, perplexing them, and urging them to ponder their own morality, all within the fortress's uninviting walls.

The imagery of three seductive but lethal bloodthirsty maidens, their eyes bloodshot and curls billowing, send chills up spines in every rendition of the legend. The children of the night (the wolves) and the sweet music they make urge one to look twice at the full moon before bedtime. The Count, his pale skin luminous and fangs sharp, lies in his coffin, awaiting sunset and his next victim. The heroine and heroes of the story have to hunt him down.

The tales of Mina Murray, Jonathan Harker, Quincey Morris, John Seward and Abraham Van Helsing unfold in the form of letters, telegrams, journal entries and newspaper articles as the team of companions tread on a dangerous road to Transylvania. The characters lose themselves on a roller coaster of emotion, suspense and love as they seek answers to the riddle life has presented them. Is there a man to this monster? Can anyone escape his venomous grip? The novel is fast paced and thrilling. Even after reading it three times, I found myself eagerly anticipating the characters' moves. Head to the bookstore and purchase Dracula.

The Count beckons you.

Charlotte Smart is a junior at Santa Fe Secondary School. You can reach her at charchar@cybermesa.com.