Dracula

Jonathan Harker, a young English lawyer, was traveling through the Carpathian Mountains to meet a client named Count Dracula.He kept a careful diary of his journey, noting the strange customs and wild beauty of the villages he passed.When he reached the town of Bistritz, a letter from the Count was already waiting for him at his hotel.

The Count’s letter welcomed Jonathan warmly and promised that a carriage would meet him at the Borgo Pass the next evening.The next morning, Jonathan asked his landlord for more details about Count Dracula and his castle.At the mere mention of the name, the landlord and his wife grew pale and crossed themselves, refusing to say another word.

Just before Jonathan left, the old landlady hurried to his room, looking deeply frightened.She begged him to wait a day or two before traveling, and asked if he knew what night it was.It was the eve of St. George’s Day, she said, when every evil thing in the world was said to gain its full power.

Jonathan tried to comfort her, but explained that important business would not allow him to delay his journey.Seeing that she could not change his mind, the old woman took the crucifix from around her own neck and offered it to him.Though he felt a little embarrassed to accept it, he did not want to seem ungrateful, so he let her place it around his neck.

When the coach finally arrived, Jonathan noticed a small crowd had gathered near the inn, watching him with open pity.Some of them murmured strange foreign words that Jonathan later found meant “witch” and “werewolf” in a small dictionary he carried.As the coach pulled away, everyone in the crowd made the sign of the cross and pointed two fingers toward him, an old charm against the evil eye.

Jonathan admitted in his diary that, despite feeling foolish, their genuine fear and kindness had left him strangely uneasy.Still, he told himself it was only old superstition, and that no harm could truly come from a simple journey to visit a client.With the crucifix still around his neck, he settled back in his seat as the coach carried him deeper into the dark mountains, toward the Borgo Pass and Castle Dracula.