''Fangland'' is a 2007 novel written by John Marks, a former producer for ''

60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who distinguished it from other news programs by using a unique style o ...

''. It is a reimagined version of ''

Dracula ''Dracula'' is an 1897 Gothic fiction, Gothic horror fiction, horror novel by Irish author Bram Stoker. The narrative is Epistolary novel, related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist and opens ...

'' by

Bram Stoker Abraham Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912), better known by his pen name Bram Stoker, was an Irish novelist who wrote the 1897 Gothic horror novel ''Dracula''. The book is widely considered a milestone in Vampire fiction, and one of t ...

, set in a

post-9/11 The post-9/11 period is the time after the September 11 attacks, characterized by heightened suspicion of non-Americans in the United States, increased government efforts to address terrorism, and a more aggressive American foreign policy. Some ...

New York. Like ''Dracula'', ''Fangland'' is written in parts as an

epistolary novel An epistolary novel () is a novel written as a series of letters between the fictional characters of a narrative. The term is often extended to cover novels that intersperse other kinds of fictional document with the letters, most commonly di ...

through e-mails, diary entries and letters. It received a

World Fantasy Award The World Fantasy Awards are a set of awards given each year for the best fantasy fiction published during the previous calendar year. Organized and overseen by the World Fantasy Convention, the awards are given each year at the eponymous ann ...

nomination.

Plot summary

The story begins with Evangeline Harker, an associate producer of the television news program, ''The Hour'', and the daughter of a rich Texan magnate. Harker is tasked with investigating the notorious Eastern European crime lord Ion Torgu in

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

, to see if there is a story for ''The Hour'' there. She reluctantly accepts and travels to

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

where she meets Clementine Spence, a fellow American who tries to warn her about things beyond natural comprehension. After meeting with Torgu, Evangeline is convinced to accompany him to a remote hotel. While Evangeline encounters horrors at the hotel, she goes missing in the eyes of the world. Meanwhile, mysterious tapes are delivered to the offices of ''The Hours'', infecting the entire audio system with a strange noise.

Characters

* Evangeline Harker: daughter of a Texan oil magnate, who works as an associate producer on ''The Hour'' and who is sent to Transylvania to scout a possible story on Ion Torgu. She slowly becomes insane as she is held hostage by Torgu and finally manages to escape from his estate. She is saved by Clemmie Spence, whom she travels with for some time and ends up becoming her lesbian partner and eventually murdering her. Meanwhile, she discovers symbols appearing on her body as she is slowly becoming a vampire. She is eventually found by the officials in a Transylvanian monastery, with her memories partially suppressed. She returns to New York only to face Torgu again. The character is based on

Jonathan Harker Jonathan Harker is a fictional character and one of the main protagonists of Bram Stoker's 1897 Gothic horror novel ''Dracula''. An English solicitor, his journey to Transylvania and encounter with the vampire Count Dracula and his Brides at Ca ...

and

Mina Murray Wilhelmina "Mina" Harker (née Murray) is a fictional character and the main female character in Bram Stoker's 1897 Gothic novel, Gothic horror novel ''Dracula''. In the novel She begins the story as Miss Mina Murray, a young schoolmistress who ...

. * Ion Torgu: The antagonist of the novel, based on

Count Dracula Count Dracula () is the title character of Bram Stoker's 1897 gothic horror novel ''Dracula''. He is considered the prototypical and archetypal vampire in subsequent works of fiction. Aspects of the character are believed by some to have been i ...

. While apparently a

vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead humanoid creatures that often visited loved ones and c ...

, Torgu does not have fangs and is unafraid of sunlight. His main gift is communicating with the dead through drinking human blood, which he apparently wishes to share with the whole world. He speaks enigmatically of his past and seems to be terrified of

human sexuality Human sexuality is the way people experience and express themselves sexually. This involves biological, psychological, physical, erotic, emotional, social, or spiritual feelings and behaviors. Because it is a broad term, which has varied ...

. * Clementine "Clemmie" Spence: A young, blond, fellow American missionary with a troubled past. She rescues Evangeline after her first encounter with Torgu, and is revealed to be an agent for an apparently

witch-hunting A witch hunt, or a witch purge, is a search for people who have been labeled witches or a search for evidence of witchcraft. Practicing evil spells or incantations was proscribed and punishable in early human civilizations in the Middle East. ...

organization called World Ministries Central, which is investigating Ion Torgu. Clemmie is partially based on both

Van Helsing Professor Abraham Van Helsing () is a fictional character from the 1897 gothic horror novel ''Dracula'' written by Bram Stoker. Van Helsing is a Dutch polymath doctor with a wide range of interests and accomplishments, partly attested by the P ...

and

Lucy Westenra Lucy Westenra is a fictional character in the 1897 novel ''Dracula'' by Bram Stoker. She is the 19-year-old daughter of a wealthy family and is Mina Harker, Mina Murray's best friend. Early in the story, Lucy gets proposed to by three suitors, A ...

. * Austen Trotta: One of the head businessmen at ''The Hour'' serving as long-time correspondent. He is at first oblivious to what is going on around him in the newsroom, although he is greatly concerned about the safety of his associate producer. Also based on

. * Julia Barnes: A competent, clear-headed woman who is an ex-rebel turned editor at ''The Hour''. She teams up with Trotta and Sally Benchborn against Torgu's overtaking of the offices. * Stimson Beevers: A young, geeky production associate who is secretly in love with Evangeline. After her disappearance he tries desperately to reach her through the e-mail, only to be answered by Torgu impersonating her. Slowly driven insane by Torgu's influence, he ends up trying to murder Evangeline's fiancé. Based on

Renfield R. M. Renfield is a fictional character who appears in Bram Stoker's 1897 Gothic horror novel ''Dracula''.

. * Sally Benchborn: Producer and Civil War re-enactor. * Ian: Evangeline's coworker and friend who dies shortly after her departure and communicates with her as a ghost later in the novel. * Robert: Evangeline Harker's fiancé, who is attacked and nearly killed by Torgu. * Mr. Harker: Evangeline's father, a wealthy Texan oil magnate. * James O'Malley: while absent from the novel's plot, O'Malley is the creator of the report which essentially is the novel, as well as the author of certain parts of it. He is Evangeline's former boss and is mentioned to have had a short-lived affair with her. The prologue indicates that the report also serves as a suicide note for him, while the epilogue implies that he is being visited by Evangeline.

Film adaptation

A film adaptation was announced in 2007, with

Hilary Swank Hilary Ann Swank (born July 30, 1974) is an American actress and film producer. She first became known in 1992 for her role on the television series '' Camp Wilder'' and made her film debut with a minor role in ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' (19 ...

involved. Mark Wheaton wrote the first draft of the adaptation before the Writers Guild of America strike, and the

2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...

. Sriram Das and Jason Blum produced the film for Blumhouse Prods. However, Swank is not involved.Hilary Swank Says No to Fangland
/ref> Before his death it was announced that

Wes Craven Wesley Earl Craven (August 2, 1939 – August 30, 2015) was an American film director, screenwriter and producer. Amongst his Wes Craven filmography, prolific filmography, Craven worked primarily in the Horror film, horror genre, particularly sla ...

had been hired to direct the adaptation, replacing Carpenter. The film has since been abandoned.

References

External links

Fangland.net
* {{Dracula 2007 American novels Epistolary novels American vampire novels American horror novels Novels based on novels Novels set in New York City Works based on Dracula