First published in 1897, Dracula has had a long and multifaceted afterlife - one rivaling even its immortal creation; yet Bram Stoker has remained a hovering specter in this pervasive mythology. In Something in the Blood, David J. Skal exhumes the inner world and strange genius of the writer who birthed an undying cultural icon, painting an astonishing portrait of the age in which Stoker was born - a time when death was no metaphor but a constant...

Dracula: A vampire terrorizes the countryside in his search for human blood. Frankenstein: Tampering with life and death, Dr. Frankenstein pieces together salvaged body parts to create a human monster. The Mummy: An Egyptian priest who was buried alive comes back to life after an archaeological dig and searches for his lost love. The Invisible Man: A scientist discovers how to make himself invisible but can't reverse the process. He realizes with...