Abraham Stoker was an Irish author who wrote the 1897 Gothic horror novel Dracula. During his lifetime, he was better known as the personal assistant of the famous Shakespearean actor Sir Henry Irving and the business manager of the West End’s Lyceum Theatre, which Irving owned.

In his early years, Stoker worked as a theatre critic for an Irish newspaper, and wrote stories as well as commentaries. Since his death, his magnum opus Dracula has become one of the best-known works in English literature, and the novel has been adapted for numerous films and plays. Stoker’s stories are today included in the categories of horror fiction, romanticized Gothic stories, and melodrama. They are classified alongside other works of popular fiction, such as Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, which also used the myth-making and story-telling method of having multiple narrators telling the same tale from different perspectives.

Collected here are nine BBC Radio productions of Stoker works, plus a drama by Joseph O’Connor which explores the close collaboration and intense friendship between Bram Stoker and Henry Irving.

Dracula – Bram Stoker’s masterpiece: a disturbing vampire tale of horror. An all-action adventure story, with ghosts, ghouls, lunatics, and seriously gripping chase sequences. A thrilling ride through the dark psyche of Victorian England.

Dracula’s Guest – Count Dracula looks out for a curious Englishman.

The Lair of the White Worm – It’s 1870 in Derbyshire’s High Peak district. While on a visit to his elderly uncle in the tiny village of Penda’s Dale, Adam Salton – already shocked by the oppressive melancholic atmosphere in the village – quickly realises that the disappearance of several local men is not accidental. His investigations lead him to the discovery of a terrifying and ancient secret: a malevolent force is at work in Penda’s Dale.

The Judge’s House – Malcolm Malcolmson discovers the truth of ‘absurd prejudices’ which have accrued around an empty property.

The Secret of the Growing Gold – Fair hair becomes an unusual tool of marital revenge.

The Coming of Abel Behenna – Two rivals in love make a pact. Will it end in betrayal?

The Dream in the Dead House – An Englishman in Munich receives a most unexpected rescue.

A Dream of Red Hands – Jacob Settle hides a dark past. What does his dream mean?

The Squaw – An arrogant American earns himself a horrific retribution.

Vampyre Man – A drama about the close collaboration and intense friendship between Bram Stoker and the famous Shakespearean actor Henry Irving. Under Irving’s reckless tutelage, the young Irish accountant struggled to keep the theatre afloat. Irving’s demands were indomitable and over the years Stoker endured the actor’s outrageous whims and acerbic tongue. And yet, Stoker remained mesmerised by him, absorbing his traits and suffering his humiliations all the while letting him grow in his imagination until he was ready to release him into the world as Count Dracula.