Well, I'd like to take you to a November evening surrounded by mountains and a blanket of white all around. The woods in the distance look mysterious. It's just a few seconds before sunset and the red ball is gleaming right over the mountain top. It could've been all silent and soothing to the eyes but amidst all this natural beauty, is a group of people who have just carried out a grave duty and there lays an open wooden box that contains ashes.........just ashes.
Not ordinary ashes though ! These were the remains of Count Dracula after he was stabbed by two brave men....and the story ended on a happy note. But how real was this happiness ????
Dracula's death left many more unanswered questions. I have a request for the readers. Please forget for a while that we are only talking about fiction ! Let's just lead ourselves into truly believing that "Dracula" was a real story and then discuss his death !
I'd first like to state how a vampire is supposed to be killed. It's not child's play of course ! We all must know that vampires are very powerful. The worst part is that they're immortal because they are already dead....They are just bodies haunting the earth without breath, without heartbeats, without souls. All the functions of a normal human body can't be seen in a vampire's body. They do not grow old, their hair, nails, cells remain unchanged. They don't fall sick nor does their health fade into decay. So how do you kill such a creature ?
According to the experts, a vampire must be stabbed in the heart with a wooden stake while it lays asleep and unaware of the world. The head should also be slashed off and according to the ancient traditions, the mouth must be filled with garlic. In the book, detailed explanations are given about the process of killing them.
There were, in all, five main vampires mentioned in the book including the Count. Lucy, his victim and the three women at his castle better known as his brides were all killed in the proper prescribed way...wooden stake through the heart and decapitation. However, in Dracula's case, none of these measures were taken or to put it better, none of these measures got a chance as Dracula's body crumbled into dust before anyone could do anything !
Dracula was stabbed in the heart by an ordinary bowie knife and immediately he turned to ashes. No wooden stake, no cutting off the head, no garlic, nothing ! Isn't it weird? If all the other vampires who were far younger and inexperienced needed to be killed in the traditional manner then why would it just take a simple bowie knife to kill the lead vampire ? This is the true mystery of the story.
Dracula was very very clever.We can observe his scheming mind right when he's introduced in the book. He had studied the dark arts also when he was alive which only added to his evil. He could control the fog, the storm, even some of the nocturnal animals. Moreover, he was capable of changing into a bat as well as a wolf whenever he willed. If he had all these powers then is it not possible that he merely shape shifted in the end leading the "good people" think that he died? Mina's marks disappeared which we say was a "proof" of Dracula's death but couldn't it be another of his powers ? He had fooled his enemies so many times. Couldn't he do it at the most crucial moment ?
Dracula was the head vampire with inexplicable intelligence, experience and strength. We have seen him turn into mist and what not ! Then couldn't he turn into dust too for a final escape from a life threatening situation ?
The novel is very informative in parts about how to kill a vampire. As the story progresses, we see four vampires been killed for sure but are left to question the fifth.The most powerful vampire dies in the weakest way. A simple knife plunged into the heart ? Damn ! That's how you kill a common man not the most powerful, head vampire ! This is the reason that I believe ....DRACULA IS STILL ALIVE !!!
