Bram Stoker's Dracula

Dracula is without doubt the most popular vampire in history, but where did the story come from?
Dracula was written by an Irish author called Bram Stoker, in 1897. The story follows a young man called Jonathan Harker who visits Transylvania at the request of a client. Count Dracula is a strange man who ends up taking Jonathan captive before fleeing to London to seek out Jonathan's fiance, Mina. 
Dracula has the ability to shape shift and his shadow seems to have a life of its own. In the book, Bram Stoker depicted Dracula as Vlad the Impaler, who was cursed to drink the blood of the living to survive. Jonathan escapes eventually and along with several hunters, they track Dracula down and kill him.
The book was adapted many times, but in 1992 it was adapted into a movie starring Keanu Reeves, Gary Oldman and Winona Ryder. 
Bram Stoker wrote several books in his lifetime, but Dracula remains the most well known. He died from a stroke in April, 1912.