Dracula

I decided to download and read one of the classic books on evil, Dracula by Bram Stoker, 1897. My rationale was that if I wanted to understand a dark triad personality, books written with truly evil villains would help me understand that. I could not have been more right.

Dracula thinks and operates exactly the way my dad does, although of course perhaps in less dramatic format.

Although perhaps not. Dracula always has a smile on his face, and he is always in control. He doesn’t look the part of the villain, and that is part of the evil. He is a psychopath, not a sociopath. He is in control of himself, and in control of others.

One thing that especially stood out to me is that for his first victim, he says, “come freely, leave some of your joy, and leave as you will." This theme of free will is played out. Actually, Dracula traps his victim. There is no way out. When he tries to escape, he finds that he is surrounded by supernatural dangers: vampire sisters that wish to suck his blood, and wolves that can be summoned by Dracula.

Finally, he demands to leave. And Dracula accepts, with a flourish, and with grandiose willingness, and faked woundedness. But as the door slowly opens to allow the victim to leave, wolves are magically summoned, and begin barking and slavering all over the door. And so he has to beg Dracula to spare his life. This pattern of being rescued by the very person who has imprisoned him breaks down his mind. He does not seem sane after that.

Later, he sees Dracula lying in his crypt during the daytime. Dracula is unable to move, and he takes a shovel to try to kill him. But he suddenly feels himself frozen, as though he had stared at the mythical creature, a basilisk (a serpent which could kill with a stare). Even the look of the man in sleep paralyzes him with fear, and he just runs away.

I think this is exactly the sort of feeling of mastery that I have struggled with with my dad. Feeling mastered by my abuser. I think this is called Stockholm syndrome, and complex PTSD.

I think I have found victory over a lot of it, but it is helpful to see it played out.

I think that in the day when I had my migraine, scenes from Dracula kept playing over and over in my mind. The author has a power to almost make the reader feel as though he is under the influence of Dracula. As the Dracula will come out of the pages and take over his life. I think this is part of the power of that classic book. It almost gives the reader a mild farm of Stockholm syndrome. Especially if they are already prone to it.

This is a very fascinating book. There’s a reason it is a classic. But I will need to be careful of it.