Introduction & Notes by Dr David Rogers Kingston University & There he lay looking as if youth had been half-renewed for the white hair & moustache were changed to dark iron-grey the cheeks were fuller & the white skin seemed ruby-red underneath; the mouth was redder than ever for on the lips were gouts of fresh blood which trickled from the corners of the mouth & ran over the chin & neck Even the deep burning eyes seemed set amongst the swollen flesh for the lids & pouches underneath were bloated It seemed as if the whole awful creature were simply gorged with blood; he lay like a filthy leech exhausted with his repletion& Thus Bram Stoker one of the greatest exponents of the supernatural narrative describes the demonic subject of his chilling masterpiece Dracula a truly iconic & unsettling tale of vampirism