Dracula Readings part 3

After about 8 chapters that had somewhat lost my interest in the story, it has finally regained my attention. A somewhat shocking revelation about Lucy has finally come to light. Although the book still has not used the term vampire. There was a story about a woman in the night preying on kids, and some died. The kids all had puncture wounds on their necks, yet no one knew what had caused it. Reminds me a bit of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, people trying to make excuses for these neck punctures, anything other than vampire bites. At first I thought that this mysterious woman might have been maybe one of the three sisters of Dracula, or someone that had bit Lucy. But I loved the shocking reveal that the woman was Lucy herself. So, we still don't know who bit Lucy, but I'm starting to enjoy the story again.

I love the interactions between Mina and Van Helsing, and how she turned to him to help Jonathon. After reading Jonathon's journal, I assume Van Helsing, has figured out that the Count is a vampire. I'm curious to see if this is what draws the characters back to Castle Dracula. I'm still not sure how Renfield plays into the story, or if we will return to his character again.

Back to Lucy, I like that Van Helsing was clever enough to catch vampire Lucy in a trap by laying garlic on her grave. The book is doing a good job of setting up the mythology of how vampires work. As a big fan of Buffy, I thought it curious when Van Helsing said to drive the stake through the heart using a hammer. It had just occurred to me why it is called a “stake”. Buffy makes it look easy to stake vamps. Anyway the mystery is finally coming together, and I'm starting to enjoy the story again.