Dracula

Dracula in an "At the Dance" sketch on The Muppet Show.

The classic novel Snackula

Bram, the sinister voice coach from Dog City.

Espinete disguised as Dracula.

Count Gonzula in "Dental Hyjinks."

Count Fozzicula in "The Teeth Chattering Tale of the Haunted Pancakes."

Dracula is an 1897 novel by Irish author Bram Stoker, using letters and journals to chronicle the activities of Transylvanian nobleman Count Dracula, a centuries-old vampire who inhabits a decaying castle in the Carpathian Mountains. Dracula exudes a veneer of aristocratic charm which masks his unfathomable evil. Although Stoker did not invent the concept of vampires, the novel's influence on the popularity of vampires has been responsible for many theatrical and film interpretations throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, including the classic 1931 film adaptation starring Bela Lugosi.

References

• Count von Count, a gentle and friendly character on Sesame Street, is a takeoff on the character of Count Dracula, particularly the appearance, voice, and mannerisms of Lugosi.

• Morgan Freeman reprised his The Electric Company role as Dracula in the 1974 special Out to Lunch, joining his co-stars and the Sesame Street Muppets for the opening number "We're in Charge."

• In episode 119 of The Muppet Show, Dracula (performed by Jerry Nelson) appears in Muppet form "At the Dance."

• Alice Cooper is dressed as Dracula (albeit without fangs) in "Welcome to My Nightmare" from episode 307 of The Muppet Show, beginning the number by rising from within a coffin.

• In Episode 1420 of Sesame Street, Bob plays a game with the kids where he names a feeling and has them talk about the last time they felt that way. When he has them talk about being afraid, one girl mentions, "I'm afraid of Count Dracula, because he sucks blood!"

• Reading a book about famous movie monsters in the December 16, 1982 edition of The Muppets comic strip, Fozzie Bear wonders whatever happened to Dracula, Frankenstein, and Wolfman. Kermit, who is busy paying bills, says he thinks they all got jobs with the phone company.

• Espinete disguises himself as Dracula as a way to fight his own fear of monsters in a 1980s episode of Barrio Sésamo.

• Baby Gonzo plays Count Gonzula in a Frankenstein parody in the first season Muppet Babies episode "Dental Hyjinks."

• Kermit is transformed into Count Frogula in "Little Swamp of Horrors," a comic book story in Muppet Magazine issue 16.

• Baby Gonzo's Dracula interest continued in the eighth season episode "Remote Control Cornballs". He watches (footage of Bela Lugosi from Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein and the non-Dracula film White Zombie) and again plays Count Gonzula.

• In the Dog City episode "The Bloodhound," Eliot Shag is visited by Bram, a sinister-seeming dog with a cape, sharp teeth and a Lugosi-style Transylvanian accent (although he turns out not to be a vampire). The character's name is a reference to Bram Stoker.

• Some of the 113 horror movies Eliot Shag has been watching in the Dog City episode "Comedy of Horrors" include Dogula, Bride of Dogula (referencing Bride of Frankenstein), and Son of Dogula (1943's Son of Dracula).

• In the 2002 book What's in Oscar's Trash Can?, Oscar's bookcase contains a copy of Grouchula.

• Jim Henson's Creature Shop built a cast of Dracula puppets for the 2008 film Forgetting Sarah Marshall, which Henson puppeteers performed.

• Baby Fozzie plays Count Fozzicula — mimicking Lugosi's accent, covering his face with his cowl, bat transformation, and saying "blah!" — in the 2018 Muppet Babies episode "The Teeth Chattering Tale of the Haunted Pancakes".

• In a Sesame Street social media video released in November 2023, Alistair Cookie promotes the value of reading, including the novel Snackula. The book transports him to a familiar castle with bats, while the cover design mimics the Barnes & Noble imprint Dracula book cover.

Connections

• Awkwafina played Rebecca Quincy in Renfield (2023)
• Anne Bancroft played Madame Ouspenskaya in Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995 film)
• Geoffrey Bayldon played a porter in Horror of Dracula (1958 film)
• Mel Brooks played Professor Van Helsing in Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995 film)
• Alan Cumming played Dr. Seward in a 2012 audiobook version
• Tim Curry played Van Helsing in a 2012 audiobook version
• James D'Arcy played Dr. Seward in a Book at Bedtime version (2003, radio)
• Mitchel Young Evans puppeteered shadow sequences in the 1992 film version
• Michael Fassbender played Jonathan Harker in a Book at Bedtime version (2003, radio)
• John Franklyn-Robbins played a minister in Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972 film)
• Lorne Greene played Dracula on Stage 49 (1949, radio)
• James V. Hart wrote the screenplay for the 1992 film version
• Tony Haygarth played Renfield in the 1979 film version
• Tom Hiddleston played Jonathan Harker in a 2006 BBC radio adaptation
• Alice Hill played Mina on Stage 49 (1949, radio)
• I. M. Hobson played Hobbs in the 1992 film
• Klaus Höhne played Herr Hubert in Lady Dracula (1977 film)
• Freddie Jones played Professor Keeley in The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973 film), Baron Frankenstein in the spoof Son of Dracula (1974 film), and Gilmore in Old Dracula (1974 film)
• Raúl Juliá was a replacement as Dracula on Broadway (1978, 1979)
• Udo Kier played Dracula in Blood for Dracula (1974 film)
• Harvey Korman played Dr. Seward in Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995 film)
• Frank Langella played Dracula on Broadway (1977) and in the 1979 film version
• James Murray puppeteered shadow sequences in the 1992 film version
• Leslie Nielsen played Dracula in Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995 film)
• Gary Oldman played Dracula in the 1992 film version
• Clive Revill played Sykes in Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995 film)
• Avery Schreiber played a peasant coach passenger in Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995 film)
• Ben Schwartz played Tedward Lobo in Renfield (2023)
• Richard Vernon played Mathews in The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973 film)
• Orson Welles played Dracula and Dr. Seward in the first broadcast of The Mercury Theater of the Air (1938, radio)