Classic Count Dracula Tale Reveals Bible Truths?

By Gabrielle Devenish, Christian Post Reporter Monday, October 31, 2011

Watch out: A vampire may enter your next Bible study.

Just in time for Halloween, Ron Brackin, bestselling co-author of Son of Hamas, recently released his latest book, The Gospel According to Dracula: A Bible Study. Brackin tells the classic tale of Dracula in a fashion true to Bram Stoker, and draw parables from each chapter to teach Christians how to have a deeper intimacy with God.

“I want this book to help people see deeper into the Kingdom,” Brackin said in an interview with The Christian Post. “I want them to know they have an invitation to come farther in.”

The book is true to Stoker’s original form, though Brackin states in the introduction “the original manuscript can be a bit tedious in spots … I have modified Stoker’s mind-numbing use of parenthetical phrases and abridged the text slightly…. You’ll thank me later.”

Otherwise, the plot, characters, dialogue and historical facts remain unchanged.

Each of the 27 chapters is written in Victorian prose, and is followed by a section of Bible study with four features: Food For Thought, Getting Personal, Let’s Talk About It and N’Stuff. Each chapter is used as a parable “in a similar way that Jesus used the flora, fauna and culture of his day, to present the gospel of the Kingdom of God,” Brackin writes.

Those parables are drawn from things such as the crucifix purportedly used to ward off evil. Brackin teaches that Christians may have superstitions as well, and, like the symbol of the cross, can be in and of themselves good things. However, “it’s when something becomes a superstition they lose their meaning,” Brackin said to CP.

“The devil can take anything and twist it just a little to move us away from the Lord,” Brackin said.

The story follows main character Jonathan Harker who journeys to Transylvania to do business with Count Dracula, whom he has never met. The plot unfolds in Harkin’s letters to his beloved, Lucy, back in Britain, his journal and the letters and writings of other characters.

The scenes and characters are painted vividly – one can even feel the chill of the Count’s old Transylvania castle or smell the freshly-dug earth in the graveyard. Harker’s fear becomes the readers own when he realizes “There is no longer any doubt …” that he was entering a nightmare.

“What manner of man is this, or what manner of creature in the semblance of man?” Harker wonders.

Trapped, the book then follows Harker’s attempts to escape and Dracula’s growing heinousness. Then suddenly, it jumps to Britain and focuses on Lucy and her friend, Mina, as well as their suitors, as they experience Dracula's evil descension upon British society.

The story itself is not a departure from Stoker’s original tale, and many readers may already know the end. However, what stands out are the thought-provoking features, in which simple phrases or passages are used to teach basic truths. Readers will find themselves saying, "Wow, that totally relates to my walk with God!" The N’Stuff feature is fun, too, providing historical facts and trivia tidbits.

Lovers of literature and Christians alike will want to read the gripping novel-Bible study, which is in line with the vampire trend of the day. But with this book, readers will come away with a positive experience, hopefully having learned something about God’s truth.

The book is available as an eBook on Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble Nook, and in the iTunes Store.