The Wolfman 1941 

“Van Helsing”

“Bram” was a shortened form of “Abraham,” a name Stoker shared with his father. That he selected this name for one of his leading characters suggests a degree of identification with that fictional person. “Abraham” also has biblical resonance, echoing the name of the patriarch and leader of the ancient Israelites.

As for the surname “Van Helsing,” a number of possibilities have been suggested. It may derive from Dr Hesselius, the fictional narrator of Sheridan Le Fanu’s famous vampire tale “Carmilla” (1872). Given Stoker’s familiarity with Shakespearean plays as manager of the Lyceum Theatre, the origin is possibly “Helsingor the Danish town in which Hamlets’ castle is located. A third consideration is Van Helmont, an ancient alchemist mentioned briefly in T J Pettigrew’s On Superstitions Connected with the History and Nature of Medicine and Surgery (1844), one of Stokers known source-texts for Dracula.

Whether Stoker intended to base Van Helsing on anyone he knew is uncertain. There has been some speculation, but that is all it is. For example, some point out that Van Helsing shares a few traits with Stoker himself: not only the same first name but a Dutch ancestry.  Others contend that Van Helsing was modeled loosely on Arminius Vambery, a learned Hungarian professor that Stoker met in London. They argue that Stoker’s knowledge about vampires (and about the real Dracula) came from Vambery, and are transmitted in the novel through Van Helsing. The problem is that there is no evidence to indicate that Vambery told Stoker anything about either vampires or Vlad Dracula.

Perhaps the strongest case for a model (assuming there was one) is a contemporary German professor, Max Muller, who was a specialist in religion and mythology. In his early Notes for Dracula, Stoker conceived of three characters who were later combined into one (Van Helsing): one of these was identified as “a German professor of history” who was to be named Max Windshoeffel. The change from German to Dutchman was made later.

If we read the novel as a story of the supremacy of good over evil, then Van Helsing is undoubtedly the representation of all that is positive. He combines a number of traits:  he is the man of knowledge who combines science and superstition to solve the mystery of the attacks on Lucy; he is the fearless leader in the hunt to track down Dracula; he provides the moral inspiration (in terms of his Christian faith) to bolster the others as they contend with the horrors of the vampire.

Van Helsing, who comes from Amsterdam, is brought into the story through Dr John Seward who is attempting to solve the mystery of Lucy’s illness. Seward refers to Van Helsing as his “old friend and master,” a world expert on “obscure diseases” and  philosopher and a metaphysician, and one of the most advanced scientists of his day.” While Van Helsing's age is never given, there are several references to the fact that he is "old.” His professional credentials are very well advertised, beginning with the list of degrees that follows his name. He is a medical doctor, a doctor of philosophy, etc., etc. His knowledge is encyclopedic, ranging from Tacitus to the latest theories about hypnotism.

As for his disposition, we are told he has “an iron nerve, a temper of the ice-brook, and indomitable resolution, self-command and toleration.” We are given a few hints about Van Helsing’s personal life: his wife still lives, presumably committed to an asylum, his son (who would have been Arthur’s age) died as a child.

Perhaps Van Helsing’s greatest claim to fame is that it is through him that Stoker presents to the reader the details of vampire lore: what predisposes a person to become a vampire, what the strengths and limitations of vampires are, and how to destroy the creatures. His “lecture” to the others in Chapter 18 reads as a primer on vampirism.

Van Helsing, The Wolfman, Werewolfs and more.....