A record of our events from last year.

Use the Meetings and Trips links at the left for information about future events planned for this year.

The Christmas Social

Wednesday 12th December 2007

In November we put our hair up for the Bram Stoker Birthday Dinner, but in December it all comes tumbling down for the ever popular Christmas Social. Many members and guests gathered for an evening of festive fun at The Victoria in Paddington. Santa's Sack and the raffle provided opportunities for the redistribution of Gothic memorabilia, and the caption competition once again produced a very mixed bag of wit, erudition and smut - a good time was had by all.

The Christmas raffle prizes this time included items of our Society merchandise, such as Society T-shirts and DVDs.

The event helped to raise funds for the Society, which will go towards improving facilities at our events, and help with the promotion of future trips and our merchandise.

The Bram Stoker Birthday Dinner

Saturday 10th November 2007

Our annual night of celebration, a formal evening of dinner, drinks and fine company, was this year enhanced by two special guests. Carol Marsh, who played Lucy in the 1958 film version of Dracula was in attendance, reunited with the little girl in the film who nearly fell victim to her blood lust, Tania, as played by Janina Faye.
 
The weekend marked 50 years since the classic Hammer Horror first began production, and we were fortunate to have both these actors in attendance.

Also in attendance was our Children of the Night Award winner, John L. Probert, who after receiving his award for The Faculty of Terror, gave a hugely entertaining and enthusiastic acceptance speech. The Hamilton Deane Award winner, Guillermo del Toro, was unable to be with us in person to accept his award for Pan's Labyrinth, but the award was accepted on his behalf by our good Society friend, writer Alan Jones, who later delivered the award to Guillermo, pictured with the award.

The evening was held at "The Lounge Bar" in Holborn, London, a short walk from the tube station. This is our second year at this venue, which proved to be a great success once again.

Our private upstairs bar showed clips from our special Society 30th anniversary DVD, and also from the 1958 Hammer Dracula. The downstairs atmospheric restaurant had candlelit tables, moody music, our portrait of Bram Stoker on the wall, and our famous cloak, as worn by Christopher Lee in those classic Hammer films, on display.
 

Dracula Readings at 'The Library'

Friday 26th October 2007

Following up on our 'Back to the Book' question and answer panel evening, a group of Society members met at our usual Library Evening venue, the "Library" room at the Victoria pub in Paddington.

This time it was to enjoy members' readings from "The Book". An enjoyable evening as always. Events such as this serve to remind us of our literary roots.

Autumn Meeting ‘Back to the Book’

Saturday 29th September 2007

Once in a blue moon, as the saying goes, we return to the reason for our existence and debate Bram Stoker’s book Dracula with an audience and panel made up of the membership. This took place on Saturday 29th September at The Old Star, by St. James's Park tube station, London, and this time we elected for a BBC Question Time format. Instead of the weekly political situation being debated, it was questions about the book you always wanted answering. The panel of 4 selected members, including the chairman, were bombarded with questions and gave their answers in a short 80 minutes. It left at least half of all the planned questions left unanswered, until the next time!

Weekend Trip to Rye

Saturday 28th-Monday 30th July 2007

Mrs Amworth and The Turn of the Screw was the title of this 3-day trip to Sussex. In the past, we had only done this as a day trip, but this year we decided to take in more of this marvellous location. We visited Lamb House, the home of Henry James for 18 years of his life, which later became the home of E. F. Benson. Rye itself is a treat in itself, with many tea-rooms, restaurants and drinking establishments.

On the Sunday we availed ourselves of a coach, and headed off to see Smallhythe Place, former home of actress Ellen Terry, and Bateman’s, Rudyard Kipling’s Jacobean house.

Bodium Castle, a medieval pile with superb moat and battlements, was a great playground and made for a fine finish to the weekend.

Le Gothique Restaurant

Sunday July 8th 2007

This Gothic pile, formerly an asylum for the physically, rather than mentally ill, was the location in South London for an addition to our calendar of events. Lunch was taken in the courtyard by a large number of members who had gathered to imbibe the Victorian atmosphere and splendour of this marvellous building. An excellent lunch was served on this rare hot summers day.

The Summer Meeting at The Spaniards Inn

Our regular summer haunt saw us once again in Turpin's Bar above this historic pub on Hampstead Heath, London, on the 16th June.

This year we had a continuity girl who used to work for Hammer Films in the 1960s and 1970s, Renee Glynne, being interviewed by Dracula Society member and broadcaster Donna Dawson. Renee gave us a gossipy insight into the world of temperamental actors and demanding directors.

An earlier start time of 5.00 pm meant a more leisurely evening of eating and drinking in this fine hostelry.

On Friday the 8th of June members of the Dracula Society set off from Luton Airport for a long weekend in Dublin.

We arrived at our hotel mid-afternoon, which allowed time for a little relaxed sightseeing (particularly to get a first view of the amazing Dublin Spire which had been just a hole in the ground on our last visit in 2002).

In the evening we met for dinner at the 101 Talbot restaurant where we were joined by Brian J. Showers, the author of Literary Walking Tours of Gothic Dublin who was to be our guide for the serious expedition on Saturday.

Bright and early on Saturday morning we congregated at Trinity College for the grand tour which took in many sites with literary connections, including the homes of Oscar Wilde, Sheriden Le Fanu and Bram Stoker. We visited the church where Stoker married Florence Balcombe in 1878. We lunched in "The Bleeding Horse" (a splendid pub mentioned in Le Fanu’s The Cock and the Anchor). The afternoon provided more leisure time which many used to take advantage of the glorious weather with a spot of sun-bathing.

On Sunday morning we took a train to Clontarf to visit the birthplace of Stoker in Marino Crescent. We also visited The "Bram Stoker Dracula Experience" which was both entertaining and informative, but sadly lacking in souvenirs. In the afternoon we visited the Dublin Writers’ Museum and had more time for shopping, afternoon tea and relaxation. In the evening we had a very enjoyable meal at "Gallagher’s Boxty House".

Monday provided opportunities to visit St Michan’s Church with its mummified bodies in the crypt, followed by an educational visit to Jameson’s Whiskey Distillery.  We made our way back to the airport only to be faced with massive delays – but nevertheless we left with many happy memories of the sites we had seen, the excellent company, the food we had eaten, the films we had seen and of course the whiskey and the wine.

Saturday 31st March 2007

Saturday 31st March saw our usual AGM, this year held at the newly refurbished upstairs room at The Barley Mow in Horseferry Road, London.

After the usual business necessary to ensure the Society had a committee in place to smoothly run the busy calendar of events and trips for the next year, it was on with our auction. Usually held every 2 or 3 years, this always gets the members reaching for their pockets to buy an (almost) priceless gem for their collection, be that an early edition of Dracula, or rare plastic model kit of the Count himself.

The usual buffet was served beforehand, and members left that evening with bags full of successful auction purchases.

Saturday 3rd February 2007

Twenty-seven DS members and guests gathered at the Paper Moon in Southwark for an excellent buffet supper and wonderful film evening to mark the release, 50 years ago, of Hammer's Curse of Frankenstein - Britain's first colour horror film and one that helped propel horror stars Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee to iconic genre status. This film also started the journey that ultimately established Hammer Films as one of the greatest film companies to date.

Prior to the screening of Curse of Frankenstein, there were talks on the origins of Exclusive / Hammer and Hammer's cycle of Frankenstein films as well as a screening of some fascinating Exclusive / Hammer trailers ranging from the 1930s to the 1970s.

A Winter’s Tale

Thursday 25th January 2007

Thirteen DS members and guests gathered around the fireplace in The Victoria’s wonderful library on Burns’ Night to read or simply listen to seasonal ghostly tales. We had a most pleasing evening with a variety of spine-chilling stories that turned the blood to ice.

These were:

A Long Way From Elsinore by Sue Gedge

The Snow Came Softly Down by Brian J. Showers

The Pond by Nigel Kneale

The Judge’s House by Bram Stoker

The Drifting Snow by August Derleth