''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 chose to set it apart from other news programs by using a unique styl ...

''. It is a reimagined version of ''

Dracula ''Dracula'' is a novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897. As an epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist, but opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taking ...

'' by

Bram Stoker Abraham Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912) was an Irish author who is celebrated for his 1897 Gothic horror novel '' Dracula''. During his lifetime, he was better known as the personal assistant of actor Sir Henry Irving and busine ...

, 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. Pol ...

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. The term is often extended to cover novels that intersperse documents of other kinds with the letters, most commonly diary entries and newspaper clippings, and sometimes considered ...

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 literature, fantasy fiction published during the previous calendar year. Organized and overseen by the World Fantasy Convention, the awards are given each year a ...

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 ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

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

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

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''. His journey to Transylvania and encounter with the vampire Count Dracula and his Brides at Castle Dracula consti ...

and

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

. * 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 to be both the prototypical and the archetypal vampire in subsequent works of fiction. Aspects of the character are believed by som ...

. 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 creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mi ...

, 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. The classical period of witch-hunts in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America took place in the Early Modern perio ...

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

Van Helsing A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. Depending on the type of van, it can be bigger or smaller than a pickup truck and SUV, and bigger than a common car. There is some varying in the scope of the word across th ...

and

Lucy Westenra Lucy Westenra is a fictional character in the 1897 novel ''Dracula'' by Bram Stoker. The 19-year-old daughter of a wealthy family, she is Mina Murray's best friend and Count Dracula's first English victim. She subsequently transforms into a vam ...

. * 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'' (1992 ...

involved. Mark Wheaton wrote the first draft of the adaptation before the Writers Guild of America strike, and the global economic crisis. 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, producer, actor, and editor. Craven has commonly been recognized as one of the greatest masters of the horror genre due to the cultural imp ...

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 set in New York City Works based on Dracula