Folklore has always played an important role in literature.  Before becoming written down, most tales are oral and represent aspects of culture. When researching for Dracula, Stoker incorporated Romanian and European lore to create the most famous vampire novel known in history.
   In focusing on culture it's easy to note Bram Stoker's Irish heritage already led him into the realm of folktales. Each night, before he would sleep, it was quite common for him to hear legends of demons, fairies and other well-known creatures in Irish lore. From these stories he probably heard of the Leanan-Sidhe.  Like most Sidhe fae, she is noted in old legends on the Isle of Man as "a blood-sucking vampire and in Ireland the muse of poets.  Those inspired by her lived brilliant though short lives" (Froud 78).  Perhaps it is not a coincidence that Sidhe is most active at night as Dracula is in his story.  Writer Edain McCoy makes it quite clear, "Like all vampires, she is a blood sucker" (260). 
   So did the Sidhe give birth to Stoker's vampire idea?  This is hard to prove or disprove; but folklore definitely played an important part in the novel.  Around the beginning, we see the blatant reference to St. George. Harker's first journey to the castle begins on St. George's Eve in April. At this time the residents of Romania remind Harker of the date and to beware at midnight.  A lady tells him, "It is the eve of St. George's Day. Do you not know tonight, that when the clock strikes midnight, all the evil things in the world will have full sway?"  (Stoker 12)  Jonathon tries to convince her that there is nothing to worry about but even he admits to himself, "It was all very ridiculous, but I did not feel comfortable"
(Stoker 13).
   So what makes the occasion of April 23rd so significant? Stoker knew that St. George was a powerful figure in medieval folklore.  According to legend St. George was:

It comes as no surprise that the dragon symbolizes sin for many Christians.  Today St. George is revered as a heroic figure in many statues throughout Europe.  Later, "He was claimed as the protector of England, Catalonia, Aragon, Italy and Greece and revered in such diverse parts as Lithuania, Portugal and Constantinople" (Dorst 107).  As recognition was given to many English people it was known, "England's highest honor, the Order of the Garter, was established in his name" (Dorst 107).
   It is also not too much surprise that, "Saint George was  the patron of all who had to do with battle-knights, archers, saddle makers and sword smiths" (Dorst 107). How then does this relate to Dracula?  To answer this question it is imperative to turn and look at where his first slaying was held.  The idea of evil creatures gaining power at night was seen here.  The first dragon was slain near Silene, a city in South Africa.  First the killing of sheep and cattle occurred in pastures at night then children alone after day were also found dead.  It is noted that after a curfew was set, "The dragon was thus deprived of easy game" (Dorst 108).

   The dragon, like Dracula, seems more able to move at night and take victims.  When it appears in the day it is more noticeable.  However, in what manner does the eve of St. George foreshadow the presence of evil coming?

Knowing this Stoker used a perfect reference to foreshadow the coming of evil against Harker.  Imagine Jonathon as a bringer of Christianity or civilization to Romania.  Dracula and his country are the pagans ready to capture him and torture him with pleasure. 
   Another thing that Stoker uses in Dracula is the use of the stake to kill the vampires.  When gathering information about the novel, he discovered Vlad Dracula but also discovered something terrifying about him.  His nickname was Vlad Tepesh meaning "Vlad the Impaler."  The act of impaling was a gruesome sight as he: 

Such an act could have been what convinced Stoker to use the device of the stake as a means for killing vampires.  But even before Vlad came along, impaling was known to the people of Israel at least as early as 701 BCE when Assyrian King Sennacherib conquered the Israelite town of Lachish.  In the Assyrian reliefs, showing this victory, are found depictions of three nude Israelites impaled on stakes…probably the first depiction of the gruesome torture/execution method (Worley).
   Already the history of using the stake is established in history.  But after the Assyrians used this method, Jewish law adopted the punishment for sinners.

No doubt that the message is for the impaling to be "so terrible, so horrible, so shameful, that the sufferer is 'cursed of God' and accusation leveled against Jesus by the anti-Christian Jews to show that he could not of been the Messiah" (Worley).  There is no doubt that religion comes into play with the idea of the stake.  Perhaps Stoker knew of this for the stakes, as in folklore time and time again, were made of wood.  In the case of the Romanian vampire "The stake was the answer, and even certain types of wood were recommended, especially whitethorn since it was believed that Christ's crown of thorns came from this plant" (Worley). 
   Stoker also uses religious symbolism in Dracula in the beginning.  The imagery of a snake is seen in page 15.  As the carriage moves forward Harker describes "as we swept round the base of a hill and opened up the lofty, snow-covered peak of a mountain, which seemed, as we wound on our serpentine way, to be right before us."  The manner of motion is described as a 'serpent' and even describes a peasant's cart as having "long, snake like vertebra" (15).  If this does not foreshadow that evil is afoot then perhaps the continuous manner in which they, "Wound on our endless way, and the sun sank lower and lower behind us, the shadows of the evening began to creep round us" (15).  No doubt this gave Harker an uneasy feeling and seeing the scene outside, "By the roadside were many crosses, and as we swept by, my companions all crossed themselves" (15).  Is the wary feeling Harker feels just from superstition?  Stoker does not want us to believe so.
   The serpent in itself was one of God's most cunning creations.  It is of no coincidence when Van Helsing describes Dracula he attributes him as being, "This vampire which is amongst us is of himself so strong in person as twenty men; he is of cunning more than mortal, for his cunning be the growth of ages" (Stoker 209).  In the Garden of Eden the snake was indeed very smart.  Using his wits he managed to trick Eve into eating the forbidden fruit which banned her and Adam from Paradise.  The serpent told them that if God had such knowledge in fruit then surely God would not keep it from them.  He seemed to be a figure to trust and Eve soon feel for his trick.    Likewise, Harker was blind to the Count's deceit.  When Jonathon first enters the castle Dracula kindly tells him, "Welcome to my house!  Enter freely and of your own will."  While some people take the notion that vampires must have their victims enter their domain willingly it is also shown that Dracula picks up his bags and helps him with whatever he needs. Dracula is the one who sets the table and cooks.  Dracula is the one who  Harker notes does not have a secretary.  Indeed all these efforts on the Count's part begins to make Harker feel, "The light and warmth of the Count's courteous welcome seemed to have dissipated all my doubts and fears" (Stoker 23).  Jonathon's first impression of Dracula is a good one.
   But like the serpent leading the helpless humans to their downfall Harker soon finds out he is not as he seems.  As Jonathon continues to stay in the castle he notices a frightful sight:

The serpent imagery at the beginning is a good device Stoker uses.  Yet having Dracula resemble a lizard in his movements connects the count with the evil figure of the devil in Genesis.  A lizard is also a reptile like a serpent and as the novel progresses the count lives up to his reputation of being cunning and nimble.
   Another device Stoker uses in Dracula is his allusion to the cross.  Even in the beginning the cross was seen as a sacred symbol and used for protection from evil.  As many people have questioned in lore, "If a vampire is a supernatural creature, then why aren't supernatural death methods such as prayer, imprecations, and exorcisms sufficient to eliminate the vampire offender?" (Worley)  While they are not enough to eliminate the creature entirely, they are enough to shun the vampire away if the person has faith in the object.  "The cross will not work unless the person holding it believes that it will cause vampires to turn" (Worley).  Even a creature as powerful as the Count cannot fight against one who puts his faith in the religious symbol.
   But another allusion to the cross is used in the beginning.  "The estate is called Carfax, no doubt a corruption of the old Quarte Face, as the house is four sided, agreeing with all cardinal points of the compass" (Stoker 28).  Again symbolism comes into play to remind the reader of what folklore said about the dead years ago.  Romanians believed that some people who died after committing sins or killing themselves would return back to life as vampires.  "Because those who had done evil during
their lives might do evil after death, measures were taken to thwart their return.  Criminals were hanged at distant crossroads so that their revenants would have difficulty finding their way back home" (Dorst 79).
   But what do the stake crosses and other folklore elements have in common? Vlad the Impaler was no doubt the main inspiration for Stoker's novel and looking at the folklore of Romania.  Vampires always existed in this part of the world and were known as "the Strigoi based on the Roman term strix for screech owl which also came to mean demon or witch" (Richardson).  According to Romanian belief, "A person born with a tail, born out of wedlock, or one who died an unnatural death or died before baptism was doomed to become a vampire" (Richardson).  Not to much surprise the Romanians believed that on St. George's Day witches and vampires would also come out and kill for the sake of blood on August 22nd, St. George's Eve.
   So what did the Romanians do to protect themselves against vampires? Folklore provides many preventative measures so people were not harmed.  Even garlic was used as a cure all and the people found, "Living vampires by distributing garlic in church and seeing who didn't eat it" (Richardson).  This was one way to detect the undead was to check the burial place of the dead.  "Graves were often opened three years after death of a child, five years after the death of a young person, or seven years after the death of an adult to check for vampirism." And of course "to destroy a vampire, a stake was driven through the body followed by decapitation and placing garlic in the mouth.  By the 19th century people were shooting a bullet through the coffin.  For resistant cases, the body was dismembered and the pieces burned, mixed with water, and given to family members as a cure" (Richardson).
   The folklore influences in Dracula are quite obvious and are even apparent in vampire movies of today.  Most of these creatures become alive at night and feast on blood like the Count.  Crosses and stakes being vulnerable to them, the new creatures of the night are subject to the lore of the old. Stoker has immortalized this lore in his novel for many generations and will continue to do so.
 
 

Dorst, John.  Dragons.  Alexandria, VA:  Time Life Books, 1985. 

-----.  Night Creatures.  Alexandria, VA:  Time Life Books, 1985.

Froud, Brian.  Faeries.  New York:  Rufus Publications, 1978.

McCoy, Edaine.  A Witch's Guide to Faery Folk.  Minnesota:  Llewellyn
   Publications, 1997.

Richardson, Beverly.  "Vampires in Myth and History."  The
   Vampire's Vault.  February 7, 1997. <http://www. chebucto.ns.ca
   /~vampire/vhist.html>  (20 April 1999).

Stoker, Bram.  Dracula.  Ed. Nina Auerbach and David J. Skal. 
   New York:  WW Norton & Company, 1997.

Worley, Lloyd.  "Impaling, Dracula and the Bible."  Vampire Classifieds.
   June 27,1997. <http://members.wbs.net/homepages/v/w/p/
   vwpvampires.html> (23 April 1999).