Bram Stoker, Father of Vampire Fiction

We're remembering Bram Stoker on his birthday with a look at his most famous creation, Count Dracula.

Fans of "Twilight," take note: on the 8th of November in 1847, Bram Stoker was born. Though kids with Robert Pattison posters on their walls may not be familiar with the name, they have Stoker to thank for bringing the modern vampire to life.

But it’s Bram Stoker’s "Dracula" that has had the greatest influence, leaving its fang marks on movies, TV shows, and books for more than 100 years and counting.

Stoker was by all accounts quite mild-mannered. A native of Ireland, he started his writing career as a theatre reviewer for the Dublin Evening Mail.

He married the lovely Florence Balcome; enjoyed trips to America, where he met Presidents McKinley and Roosevelt; and remained friends with Henry Irving until Irving’s death. Stoker had a distinctly occult-free life.

Even the four novels Stoker wrote before "Dracula" were quite tame and grounded in reality, from "The Primrose Path," about a carpenter who descends into alcoholism, to romance novel "The Shoulder of Shasta."

In some cases, Stoker invented Dracula’s abilities; in others he simply solidified shaky bits of folklore.

And, of course, there are those who share few of Dracula’s characteristics…like vampires who sparkle. The "Twilight" vampires may not have a whole lot in common with Dracula, but they still owe him — and Bram Stoker — a debt.

Bram Stoker died April 20, 1912. More than a century later, his legacy remains undead.