While Dracula appears in the novel as a character, he most often functions as a symbol of horror: As Vlad Ţepeş, he commits actions that are terrifying and inhumane, thus the nickname Vlad the Impaler. As Dracula, he represents the horror of defying all that is natural and good. Not only does he live on after death but he also insinuates himself into history, orchestrating and cataloguing evil events throughout the centuries. His capacity to invoke horror, ironically, also contributes to the source of his mysterious appeal. Horror is a reaction always tinged with titillation and surprise. Paul uses the phrase “a thrill of horror” (46) to describe his first encounter with Dracula, though he is barely aware of the vampire’s presence at the time. Throughout the novel, Paul and other characters are variously repulsed and enthralled by the prince’s dark powers.

Dracula himself comes into focus more clearly in Bora’s study, where his “face was everywhere” (247), the predatory gaze both penetrating and mesmerizing. His physical appearance is fitting of a man who once impaled his enemies on stakes and a vampire who employs evil to extend his life.

Dracula thinks of himself, however, as “a scholar at heart,” and his interest in history, though it runs to the barbarous, is genuine (607).