WAS THE PREFACE TO THE SWEDISH DRACULA VERSION WRITTEN BY A PRIEST? BERNHARD WADSTRÖM AND THE “WHITE LADY” by Hans Corneel de Roos, MA Email:
[email protected] Dedicated to Richie, Jane and Jiven, who shared the excitement of this strange discovery with me. Note: References to the Swedish text of the Dagen variant of Mörkrets makter are given in [square brackets], indicating the page numbers as given in the newspaper serialization. For the section describing Harker’s adventures in Transylvania (up to the middle of page 196), the Dagen and the Aftonbladets Halfvecko- upplaga variants have the same text and identical page numbers; in fact, these serializations must have been printed from the same matrices. The Tip-Top republication of 1916-1918 was typeset in a different format, without continuous page numbers. Note: The Icelandic text of Makt myrkranna and the Swedish text of the variants of Mörkrets makter are in the public domain; my translations of these texts and my comments are protected by international copyright laws. Hans Corneel de Roos | 26 May 2018 | Vamped.org | World Dracula Day Special | Was the Preface to the Swedish Dracula Version Written by a Priest? Bernhard Wadström and the “White Lady” | Page 2 WAS THE PREFACE TO THE SWEDISH DRACULA VERSION WRITTEN BY A PRIEST? BERNHARD WADSTRÖM AND THE “WHITE LADY” by Hans Corneel de Roos, MA For 52 months now, the question whether Bram Stoker personally contributed to the modified plot and the changed style of Makt myrkranna, the Icelandic version of Dracula, has haunted me. A surprising discovery I made at the start of May 2018 now throws a new light on the matter and dramatically narrows down the options.