Dracula's guest, by Bram Stoker

Having read Dracula by Bram Stoker, I was really looking forward to reading what I thought was a sequel, Dracula's guest.  It featured in a series of short stories and was published post-humously.

In it, we follow the adventures of the main character in Munich. It is Walpurgis Night and he decides to leave his carriage to wander off and see an abandoned village (which the driver has refused to drive to).

Obviously, there is a horrible storm and our character manages to seek refuge in a tomb.  Several minutes and many, many supernatural instances later, he is found lying with a wolf on top of him ready to kill him (drink his blood?), but not before military men discover and save him. The search had been ordered because of a demand from his host Dracula that he may have been lost.

Having read this short story, I have to admit I still preferred Bram Stoker’s original novel, Dracula, because the plot has a lot more complexity and offers material for every taste.  What I really liked about this story, however, is the rumour that this main character (who is never named) actually Jonathan Harker is before his first visit with the count (but that cannot be confirmed).  Meaning that this could really be the prequel, with which we are smoothly introduced into one of the best classics...

Read for the Ireland Reading and Mystery and Suspense Reading challenges