From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Dracula Society
Named after
| Dracula
|
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Formation
| 1973
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Founders
| Bernard Davies
Bruce Wightman
|
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Location
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Main organ
| Voices from the Vaults
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Website
| The Dracula Society
|
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The
Dracula Society
is a
London
-based
literature
and travel group with an interest in
supernatural
and macabre works of fiction, as exemplified by
Bram Stoker
's
Dracula
.
The Society
[
edit
]
The society was founded in October 1973 by two actors, Bernard Davies (1924?2010)
[1]
and
Bruce Wightman
(1925-2009)
[2]
to organize Dracula-themed tours of
Transylvania
and
Czechoslovakia
.
[3]
Despite the name, its field of interest encompasses all
Gothic literature
, as well as stage and screen adaptations, and their sources in myth and folklore. The society meets regularly five times a year, but also organises occasional one-off events, and trips to locations in the UK and Europe.
[4]
Awards
[
edit
]
The Society presents two awards at its annual dinner, which is held in early November to mark
Bram Stoker
's birthday.
- The "
Hamilton Deane
Award" is presented for the best dramatic performance or presentation in the Gothic horror/supernatural genres during the previous year. Recent winners include:
Mark Gatiss
(2013) for his TV adaptation of
M. R. James
'
The Tractate Middoth
,
Jane Goldman
(2012) for her screenplay of the film
The Woman in Black
, and
Benedict Cumberbatch
(2011) for his performance in
Danny Boyle
's theatre production of
Frankenstein
.
[5]
- The "Children of the Night Award" is presented for the best piece of literature published in the Gothic (including horror or supernatural) genre - novel, short story, or biography - during the previous year. Recent winners include: Anna Taborska (2013) for her short story collection
For Those Who Dream Monsters
,
Tim Powers
(2012) for his novel
Hide Me Among the Graves
, and
Reggie Oliver
(2011) for his collection
Mrs. Midnight, and Other Stories
.
[6]
A third award, the Bernard Davies Award, was inaugurated in 2012, and is presented only occasionally, for achievement in scholarship. The first recipient was Dr.
Elizabeth Miller
, Professor (
Emerita
) of English of the
Memorial University of Newfoundland
,
[4]
and president of the Canadian Chapter of the
Transylvanian Society of Dracula
.
[7]
Journal
[
edit
]
The society also publishes a quarterly journal
Voices from the Vaults
which contains reviews and articles of direct or related interest to members.
[8]
Membership
[
edit
]
As well as its regular membership the society also presents Honorary Life Memberships; current holders include
Richard Dalby
,
Christopher Frayling
,
Jonathan Rigby
,
Janina Faye
and
Caroline Munro
, and former holders include
Michael Carreras
,
Radu Florescu
,
Raymond T. McNally
and
Vincent Price
.
[9]
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
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Original characters
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Alternative versions
of Dracula
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Relatives of Dracula
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Other
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