Dracula

Perfect October read. The atmosphere is thick and the horror builds slowly but effectively.

Mina Harker is the real hero and doesn't get enough credit. Stoker accidentally wrote a feminist character.

The way multiple narrators piece together the mystery is ahead of its time. A proto-thriller.

Jonathan Harker's journal entries at Castle Dracula are some of the most suspenseful pages in all of literature.

Historically significant but some sections drag. Van Helsing's speeches go on forever.

A Victorian masterpiece of dread. The themes of sexuality, immigration anxiety, and modernity vs tradition are fascinating.

Stoker created the template for modern horror. The Count barely appears but his presence is felt on every page.

The first third set in Transylvania is incredible. The pace slows when they get to England but picks up again.

Forget every vampire movie you've seen. The original Dracula is genuinely creepy and psychologically rich.

The epistolary format is genius - reading diary entries and letters makes the horror feel intimate and real.