Script

DRACULA
Chapter II - Part I
By Liam Goodsell
CAST
NARRATOR:....... ................ ............Jess
DRACULA:........ ................ .........Tristan
HARKER:......... ................ .........Anthony
----------------------------------------------------
RECORD: Wednesday 24th April 2019
STUDIO: The Oakes Film/Radio Studio
PRODUCER: Liam Goodsell

1. FX : Lightning and Rain
2. NARRATOR: I stood in silence where I was,
for I did not know what to do.
3. NARRATOR: Of bell or knocker there was no
sign; through these frowning
walls and dark window openings
it was not likely that my voice
could penetrate.
4. FX : Thunder Clap and rain against
hood
5. NARRATOR: The time I waited seemed
endless, and I felt doubts and
fears crowding upon me. What
sort of place had I come to, and
among what kind of people?
6. FX : Car driving away in stones and
crows flapping wings
7. NARRATOR: What sort of grim adventure was
it on which I had embarked?

8. GRAMS : Spooky music plays softly in
background
9. FX : Rain clears up and birds chirp
10. NARRATOR: Was this a customary incident in
the life of a solicitor’s clerk
sent out to explain the purchase
of a London estate to a
foreigner?
11. NARRATOR: Solicitor’s clerk! Mina would
not like that. Solicitor—for
just before leaving London I got
word that my examination was
successful; and I am now a
full-blown solicitor!
12. FX : A laughing man and a bee buzzing
around

13. NARRATOR: I began to rub my eyes and pinch
myself to see if I were awake.
It all seemed like a horrible
nightmare to me, and I expected
that I should suddenly awake,
and find myself at home, with
the dawn struggling in through
the windows, as I had now and
again felt in the morning after
a day of overwork.
14. FX : A huge crash of drums
15. NARRATOR: But my flesh answered the
pinching test, and my eyes were
not to be deceived. I was indeed
awake and among the Carpathians.
16. FX : Howling wind, leaves brushing
across the ground
17. NARRATOR: All I could do now was to be
patient, and to wait the coming
of the morning.
18. GRAMS : Intense Music

19. NARRATOR: Just as I had come to this
conclusion I heard a heavy step
approaching behind the great
door, and saw through the chinks
the gleam of a coming light.
20. FX : Heavy footsteps muffled through
a heavy door
21. NARRATOR: Then there was the sound of
rattling chains and the clanking
of massive bolts drawn back.
22. FX : Rattling of metal, clanking of
metal bolts
23. NARRATOR: A key was turned with the loud
grating noise of long disuse,
and the great door swung back.
24. FX : A key turning and unlocking a
door

25. NARRATOR: Within, stood a tall old man,
clean shaven save for a long
white moustache, and clad in
black from head to foot, without
a single speck of colour about
him anywhere.
26. FX : Footsteps become more defined
and the door creaks open
27. NARRATOR: He held in his hand an antique
silver lamp, in which the flame
burned without chimney or globe
of any kind, throwing long
quivering shadows as it
flickered in the draught of the
open door.
28. FX : Light flame of a candle, gust of
cold air and room silence
30. NARRATOR: The old man motioned me in with
his right hand with a courtly
gesture, saying in excellent
English, but with a strange
intonation:—

31. DRACULA: Welcome to my house! Enter
freely and of your own will!
32. FX : Bats flapping from inside
33. NARRATOR: He made no motion of stepping to
meet me, but stood like a
statue, as though his gesture of
welcome had fixed him into
stone.
34. NARRATOR: The instant, however, that I had
stepped over the threshold, he
moved impulsively forward, and
holding out his hand grasped
mine with a strength which made
me wince, an effect which was
not lessened by the fact that it
seemed as cold as ice—more like
the hand of a dead than a living
man. Again he said:—
35. FX : Grabbing of hand and two foots
steps moving around

36. DRACULA: Welcome to my house. Come
freely. Go safely; and leave
something of the happiness you
bring!
37. NARRATOR: The strength of the handshake
was so much akin to that which I
had noticed in the driver, whose
face I had not seen, that for a
moment I doubted if it were not
the same person to whom I was
speaking; so to make sure, I
said interrogatively:—
38. HARKER: Count Dracula?
39. NARRATOR: He bowed in a courtly way as he
replied:—
40. DRACULA: I am Dracula; and I bid you
welcome, Mr. Harker, to my
house. Come in; the night air is
chill, and you must need to eat
and rest.

41. NARRATOR: As he was speaking, he put the
lamp on a bracket on the wall,
and stepping out, took my
luggage; he had carried it in
before I could forestall him. I
protested but he insisted:—
42. DRACULA: Nay, sir, you are my guest. It
is late, and my people are not
available. Let me see to your
comfort myself.
43. NARRATOR: He insisted on carrying my traps
along the passage, and then up a
great winding stair, and along
another great passage, on whose
stone floor our steps rang
heavily.
44. FX : Footsteps echoing

45. NARRATOR: At the end of this he threw open
a heavy door, and I rejoiced to
see within a well-lit room in
which a table was spread for
supper, and on whose mighty
hearth a great fire of logs,
freshly replenished, flamed and
flared.
46. FX : Heavy door swinging open.
Banging sound. A burning fire
47. GRAMS : [ ]
48. NARRATOR: The Count halted, putting down
my bags, closed the door, and
crossing the room, opened
another door, which led into a
small octagonal room lit by a
single lamp, and seemingly
without a window of any sort.
49. FX : Door closing, room silence

50. NARRATOR: Passing through this, he opened
another door, and motioned me to
enter.
51. FX : Another door opening
52. NARRATOR: It was a welcome sight; for here
was a great bedroom well lighted
and warmed with another log
fire,—also added to but lately,
for the top logs were
fresh—which sent a hollow roar
up the wide chimney.
53. FX : Burning log fire, light wind
54. NARRATOR: The Count himself left my
luggage inside and withdrew,
saying, before he closed the
door:—

55. DRACULA: You will need, after your
journey, to refresh yourself by
making your toilet. I trust you
will find all you wish. When you
are ready, come into the other
room, where you will find your
supper prepared.
56. NARRATOR: The light and warmth and the
Count’s courteous welcome seemed
to have dissipated all my doubts
and fears. Having then reached
my normal state, I discovered
that I was half famished with
hunger; so making a hasty
toilet, I went into the other
room.
57. FX : Belly growling from hunger
58. NARRATOR: I found supper already laid out.
My host, who stood on one side
of the great fireplace, leaning
against the stonework, made a
graceful wave of his hand to the
table, and said:—

59. DRACULA: I pray you, be seated and sup
how you please. You will, I
trust, excuse me that I do not
join you; but I have dined
already, and I do not sup.
60. NARRATOR: I handed to him the sealed
letter which Mr. Hawkins had
entrusted to me.
61. FX : Passing of paper
62. NARRATOR: He opened it and read it
gravely; then, with a charming
smile, he handed it to me to
read.
63. FX : Tearing and passing of paper
64. NARRATOR: One passage of it, at least,
gave me a thrill of pleasure.

65. HARKER: I must regret that an attack of
gout, from which malady I am a
constant sufferer, forbids
absolutely any travelling on my
part for some time to come; but
I am happy to say I can send a
sufficient substitute, one in
whom I have every possible
confidence.
66. HARKER: He is a young man, full of
energy and talent in his own
way, and of a very faithful
disposition.
67. HARKER: He is discrete and silent, and
has grown into manhood in my
service.
68. HARKER: He shall be ready to attend on
you when you will during his
stay, and shall take your
instructions in all matters.

69. NARRATOR: The Count himself came forward
and took off the cover of a
dish, and I fell to at once on
an excellent roast chicken.
70. FX : Pulling away of covers. A sniff
71. NARRATOR: This, with some cheese and a
salad and a bottle of old Tokay,
of which I had two glasses, was
my supper.
72. NARRATOR: During the time I was eating it
the Count asked me many
questions as to my journey, and
I told him by degrees all I had
experienced.
73. FX : Forks and knives hitting against
a plate

74. NARRATOR: By this time I had finished my
supper, and by my host’s desire
had drawn up a chair by the fire
and begun to smoke a cigar which
he offered me, at the same time
excusing himself that he did not
smoke.
75. FX : Breathing in a cigar
76. FX : Burning log fire
77. NARRATOR: I had now an opportunity of
observing him, and found him of
a very marked physiognomy.
78. NARRATOR: His face was a strong—a very
strong—aquiline, with high
bridge of the thin nose and
peculiarly arched nostrils; with
lofty domed forehead, and hair
growing scantily round the
temples but profusely elsewhere.

79. NARRATOR: His eyebrows were very massive,
almost meeting over the nose,
and with bushy hair that seemed
to curl in its own profusion.
80. NARRATOR: The mouth, so far as I could see
it under the heavy moustache,
was fixed and rather
cruel-looking, with peculiarly
sharp white teeth; these
protruded over the lips, whose
remarkable ruddiness showed
astonishing vitality in a man of
his years.
81. NARRATOR: For the rest, his ears were
pale, and at the tops extremely
pointed; the chin was broad and
strong, and the cheeks firm
though thin.
82. NARRATOR: The general effect was one of
extraordinary pallor.

83. NARRATOR: Hitherto I had noticed the backs
of his hands as they lay on his
knees in the firelight, and they
had seemed rather white and
fine; but seeing them now close
to me, I could not but notice
that they were rather
coarse—broad, with squat
fingers.
84. NARRATOR: Strange to say, there were hairs
in the centre of the palm. The
nails were long and fine, and
cut to a sharp point.
85. NARRATOR: As the Count leaned over me and
his hands touched me, I could
not repress a shudder.
86. FX : Small gasp
87. NARRATOR: It may have been that his breath
was rank, but a horrible feeling
of nausea came over me, which,
do what I would, I could not
conceal.

88. FX : Stomach growling
89. NARRATOR: The Count, evidently noticing
it, drew back; and with a grim
sort of smile, which showed more
than he had yet done his
protuberant teeth, sat himself
down again on his own side of
the fireplace.
90. GRAMS : Silence [STOP]
91. FX : Fire place
91. NARRATOR: We were both silent for a while;
and as I looked towards the
window I saw the first dim
streak of the coming dawn.
92. NARRATOR: There seemed a strange stillness
over everything; but as I
listened I heard as if from down
below in the valley the howling
of many wolves.

93. FX : Wolves howling in the distance
94. NARRATOR: The Count’s eyes gleamed, and he
said:—
95. DRACULA: Listen to them—the children of
the night. What music they make!
96. NARRATOR: Seeing, I suppose, some
expression in my face strange to
him, he added:—
97. DRACULA: Ah, sir, you dwellers in the
city cannot enter into the
feelings of the hunter.
98. NARRATOR: Then he rose and said:—
99. DRACULA: But you must be tired. Your
bedroom is all ready, and
to-morrow you shall sleep as
late as you will. I have to be
away till the afternoon; so
sleep well and dream well!

100. NARRATOR: With a courteous bow, he opened
for me himself the door to the
octagonal room, and I entered my
bedroom....

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