How I found a scene from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast buried in Stoker’s Notes for Dracula
(Art by my good friend Em ‒ who is available for commissions, in case you were wondering)
You know a work has left its mark on a culture when someone can get away with publishing wholeextra books* containing nothing but copies of the author’s original working notes.
For the dedicated Dracula-nerd, though, there is some fascinating stuff buried in Stoker’s notes ‒ mostly in all those ideas thatdidn’tmake the final draft. I could go on about my favourite details, but I don’t think any one thing gave me so much joy as discovering that an early plan for chapter 6 (back while Jonathan Harker is trapped in Dracula’s castle) included what sounds, to modern ears, far too much likethat one scene from a certain Disney film:
Chapter 6 Jonathan Harker’s Diary Cont. Attempt to get away from castle—Wolves—wehr wolf—old chapel—carting earth—shrieks from grave—sights of terror & falling senseless—found by Count
