Tale of Terror

Claudia Capos’ article, “Dracula Is Being Rediscovered in Romania” (Feb. 12), was tainted by one major error. Although I always believed author Bram Stoker was a Scot, I’ll accept her contention that he was Irish. But she says that in Stoker’s tale Jonathan Harker went to Dracula’s Carpathian Castle. Not so. It was the realtor, Renfield, who made that forbidding journey and was offered a crucifix for protection by the superstitious burghers of the Borgo Pass. Despite this, Renfield fell under Dracula’s spell while there to obtain the count’s signature on the lease to Carfax Abbey. The estate Stoker used as a model can be seen if one visits Yorkshire, England, where he wrote the Gothic horror tale.

OLIVER BERLINER

Beverly Hills