The Sussex Vampire

"The Sussex Vampire" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is a case about fact versus fantasy, has our detectives wondering whether a vampire exists or not in Holmes's time. Holmes and Watson receive a letter from Bob Ferguson's attorney, requesting their help in investigating Ferguson's Peruvian second wife being a vampire or not. Watson knew Ferguson from his college days, where they were Rugby players from rival schools. In the letter, Mr. Ferguson is suspicious of his wife after he found Mrs. Ferguson on her knees, with blood on her lips and the baby having a bite mark on his neck. When they go to house to investigate the incident, Ferguson also tells Holmes and Watson, he has caught his wife hitting his son Jack "once with a stick and once very savagely with her hands." They meet Ferguson's son, Jack from his first marriage, who is crippled from a childhood accident. Ferguson tells them, he is the only one Jack "likes" and Jack does not like his second wife or the new baby. They find out, after Ferguson's last confrontation, Mrs. Ferguson locked her self in her room, only letting her maid Dolores see her and bring her food, refusing to see her husband. Holmes concludes that it was Jack who poisoned the baby because he see his face "with jealousy, such cruel hatred" while Mr. Ferguson was playing with the baby. Mrs. Ferguson isn't a vampire and was just trying to suck the poison out of the baby's blood stream. She told Dolores to protect the baby from Jack in her absence, while she was recovering from the poison being in her system. Ferguson's dog, Carlo, appeared to ill, having Spinal Meningitis, but Holmes deducts he was the first victim of Jack's poison to see how it would work.



I watched "Dracula" starring Bela Lugosi and it was the first time I had seen the film the whole way through, instead of seeing clips of Lugosi as Dracula in various programs, but never the entire film. I thought Lugosi did an accurate portrayer, making him look slick and sophisticated yet creepy. I have seen the Gary Oldman version and can't help but compare that version to the original and the book by Bram Stoker. I thought the Oldman version was closer to the book than this one, giving us more of a back-story as to why Dracula was so obsessed with Mina, trying to keep her away from Harker and how he kept Harker prisoner at his castle. I would give the film 3 out of 4 stars, because I thought it was scary and quite a good if not accurate adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel. Obviously the original film version trailed from Stoker's version, having character Renfield going to visit Dracula instead of Jonathan Harker in the beginning. The film cut out Lucy having a fiancé or her final death. They captured Dracula's "psychic" connection with Mina, like they have in the book, rather well. Unlike the book, Dracula is staked in London instead of in his castle in Transylvania. In the book, Harker stakes Dracula, where as in the film, Dr. Van Helsing is the culprit. They both end with Harker and Mena getting married. I liked how they brightened Dracula's eyes through a spotlight as well as how creepy they made Renfield. The film, being made in 1931, had backdrop scenery with mountains as the carriage passed, which definitely looked fake. I also wish they would have had better special effects and could have shown Dracula's death on screen, instead of us hearing him moaning while John looked for Mina.



"Dracula" (1931) begins with carriage riders, trying to get home in fear of Count Dracula. A woman warns Renfield, not to go visit him, and gives him a crucifix. At sunset, in Dracula's castle, we seem him and his three wives waking. Renfield gets into carriage until the driver disappears. Renfield arrives in the castle, seeing a dirt floor with several small animals. Dracula greets his guest with a candle and we hear a wolf cry. After dinner, Renfield sees a bat and passes out, with Dracula coming inside. We see text on the screen saying, "Aboard the Vesta- Bound for England." When the boat arrives in England, all the crew is dead, and they find Renfield with Dracula's coffin. Renfield is observed by Dr. Seward, at his sanitarium, after Renfield wants to eat, "ants, flies," and other small creatures. Dracula attacks a girl selling flowers before he goes to the London symphony. At the symphony, he meets Dr. Seward, Mena Seward, John Harker, and Lucy. Lucy is attacked in her room by Dracula and Dr. Seward tries to give her blood transfusions, but she dies. Dr. Van Helsing tests Renfield's blood, and declares he was bitten by "vampires." After watching Renfield, Dracula bites Mena, but lets her live. He visits while she is telling John and Van Helsing about her foggy dream and they discover the bite mark on her neck. Van Helsing holds up a box to Dracula and he knocks out of his hands, declaring, "I dislike mirrors," confirming to Van Helsing that he is a vampire. Dracula escapes by transforming into a wolf. He has Mena meet him in the garden, folding his cape over the both of them. Renfield warns Van Helsing to take Mena away before it is too late. Nurse screams after finding Mena in the garden and Renfield makes her pass out. Meanwhile, we learn Lucy is a vampire, who "attacks children" by promising them chocolates. A wolf bane wreath is put on Mena's door to protect her. Dracula tells Van Helsing, "My blood flows through [Mena's] veins" and Van Helsing threatens to "stake him." Dracula tries to use mind control on Van Helsing, but he has drank wolf bane. A bat flies over John and Mena while they are sitting on the terrace, causing Mena to attack John. Van Helsing and Dr. Seward save John. Dracula forces the nurse to take the wreath down and open the door. Dracula kidnaps Mena, taking her to the abbey, where they are tracked down by Van Helsing and John. Van Helsing stakes Dracula while he is in his coffin and as Mena and John leave, we hear church bells.



"Dracula" starring Bela Lugosi and "The Sussex Vampire" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle have very little in common in story line, except for someone drinking someone else's blood and the idea of vampires. The book was faster paced than the movie, but the movie was more suspenseful. The book questions vampires more, instead of just telling us they are real like the film. Watson in the book says, "the vampire was not necessarily a dead man? A living person might have the habit. I have read, for example, of the sucking the blood of the young in order to retain their youth." Holmes says in response, "You are right. It mentions the legend in one of these references. But are we to give serious attention to such things? This agency stands flat-footed upon the ground, and there it must remain." This scene in the book almost seems like Doyle's own beliefs in science are being by attacked by idea of vampires and he is trying to see logic instead of fantasy. I wondered if Doyle was influenced in writing the story of "The Sussex Vampire" after reading Bram Stoker's "Dracula" and was interested in the idea of vampires really existing. Both the book and film's stories deal with ancient mythology and customs, such as vampires from Transylvania or poison from South America. Mrs. Ferguson in the book is not a real vampire by Dracula, just someone trying to protect her child from poison. She is Peruvian, making her seem exotic like Dracula coming from Transylvania. Jack's character in the book, reminds me more of Renfield in the film than Dracula, because he is crazy as well. Sherlock Holmes would be Van Helsing, if he was in the film, trying to solve the case and Harker would be Watson, trying to help, but not completely understanding everything.