Dracula: Chronological Order

Mina writes to her friend Lucy that she receives word that Jonathan is well and will return in a week.

Lucy writes to Mina regarding her three proposals from Dr. John Seward, Quincey P. Morris and Hon. Arthur Holmwood. She appears to feel sadness at rejecting the first two men, but is delighted having accepted the proposal from Arthur.

Dr. Seward is recording his journal on a phonograph - very high-tech for 1897. He is saddened by Lucy's rejection. Renfield (Seward's patient) begins collecting flies.

Quincey P. Morris invites Hon. Arthur Holmwood to 'the camp-fire in the prairies', which Arthur agrees to

According to Seward's journal, Renfield's case is becoming more interesting. He is collecting flies.

Renfield begins feeding his flies to spiders in his rooms.

Dr. Seward instructs Renfield to get rid of spiders and witnesses him eating a fly. Dr. Seward gives Renfield a sleeping drug and looks at his journal. Turns out he has been counting the flies he feeds to the spiders

Renfield begins feeding his spiders to a sparrow

Renfield asks for a kitten to play with/eat. Nurse discovers he has eaten all of his sparrows. Dr. Seward diagnoses him as a zoophagus (life-eating) maniac

Mina visits Lucy in Whitby and talks to an old man (Mr. Swales) in a graveyard - about old folklore and legends

Mina becomes anxious, because she hasn't heard from Jonathan. Arthur's father is ill. Lucy starts sleepwalking. Lucy used to do it when she was a child, but it's more dangerous now.

Still no sign from Jonathan. A big storm is brewing out at sea. Mr. Swales tells Mina that he believes he is going to die soon and apologises for offending the ladies about the corpses. He notices that the strange ship that is approaching the harbour is being steered bizarrely.

'Demeter' sets sail to England, carrying boxes of Earth

13th: Crew seems upset, but won't say why
16th: Crew member goes missing
24th: Another man disappears

Crew member sees strange man on ship. Captain believes it is just superstition, but he the ship searched anyway.

Another man goes missing on 'Demeter'

Another man goes missing on the 'Demeter' ship

First mate begins behaving weird, claiming "it" is onboard the ship. He declares that he'll find it and kill it - the Captain assumes he has gone crazy. The first mate returns and throws himself overboard.

Captain discovers what 'it' is, but refuses to throw himself overboard, since he is the Captain. Instead, he ties himself to wheel with rosary between hands (rosary to keep 'it' away). This ends his logs, since his hands are tied (duh)

A newspaper article (in Mina's journal) describes the storm - in a tone peculiar for a modern newspaper. The storm was vicious and people from the town gathered on top of the hill to watch the strange ship in the harbour - everyone commented on how strangely it was being steered. As the ship got closed, everyone realised this was because the pilot was dead. As the ship hit the shore, a big dog leapt out of the boat and disappeared.

Lucy got up twice in the night to get dressed. Mina had to get up and put her back to bed.

Boxes full of dirt discovered on ship. Mina is allowed to read Captain's log, and discovers the crew members disappearing.

Mr. Swales (the old man) is found dead with a broken neck. This is the same day as the funeral procession for the ship's captain (which Mina and Lucy watched).

Mina wakes up to discover Lucy isn't in her bed. Mina finds her in the graveyard on the cliff, with a dark figure with red eyes behind her. Mina wraps a shawl around her and later finds 2 pin pricks on her neck.

Mina goes to bed with the door locked and the key on her wrist. Lucy (still asleep) points out the window in the middle of the night. Mina looks out to see a bat flitting around.

Lucy mutters something about 'red eyes' (referring to her encounter with Dracula when sleepwalking). Mina remembers the figure with the red eyes, but does not discuss this with her. Later on: Mina returns from a walk and spots Lucy at their bedroom window. When she reaches her, she is asleep and clutching her throat. As Mina approaches Lucy, what seems to be a big bird flies away.

17th: The pin pricks in Lucy's throat haven't healed, but are looking inflamed and nasty.
18th: Mina says that Lucy is happier than she has been, but is still weak. Lucy finally brings up her sleepwalking adventure and describes her vague memory of a long, dark figure with red eyes.

Mina receives a letter saying that Jonathan is in a convent in Budapest with a brain fever. She is invited to nurse him back to health, and then marry him. Mina leaves Whitby immediately.

Renfield claims 'the Master is at hand!' and escapes the asylum that night. Seward catches up to Renfield outside the old chapel of Carfax, apparently mumbling through the door to someone.

Renfield: 'I shall be patient, Master!'

20th: Renfield has calmed down, repeatedly saying that he can wait
23rd: Renfield escapes again, returning to the chapel of the big house next door. They catch him again, but this time he doesn't struggle.

Lucy is back in London (suburb of Hillingham). She feels very weak again and is having trouble sleeping (weird dreams)

Mina Harker writes to Lucy ('Harker' implying Mina is now married to Jonathan). Mina promises Jonathan not to read his journal unless something happened.

Lucy wants her mother to sleep in her bedroom with her, but her mum refuses (in order to hide her illness).
Lucy remembers hearing a 'flapping' noise at her window during the night - probably a bat.
Her face has become very pale and she has a sore throat.

Lucy responds to Mina's news of her marriage with congratulations and news of her wedding date and tells Mina all about Arthur being in Whitby.

Arthur writes to Dr. Seward, asking him to examine Lucy (whose health is still worsening). This letter is followed by a telegram from Arthuer, saying that he has to leave Lucy to take care of his sick father.

Dr. Seward tells Arthur that Lucy doesn't have any official "disease", but she is certainly sick. He runs a blood test on her (high-tech) but there is nothing wrong. He then requests help from Abraham Van Helsing, who is an expert in 'obscure diseases - he trained Dr. Seward himself.
Van Helsing says he will come at once (apparently Seward saved his life at one time)

4th-5th: Dr. Seward sends a telegram to Van Helsing in Amsterdam to tell him that Lucy has improved.
6th: Seward sends another telegram saying that she's worse and that Van Helsing should come at once.

Renfield starts getting "restless" in the middle of the day. Later in the afternoon, he says that he has been abandoned and that he must 'do it for [him]self'. Then he asks Dr. Seward for more sugar to start collecting flies again.

Van Helsing arrives and has an idea what is wrong with her (but doesn't tell Seward). He gives Lucy a blood transfusion from Arthur (VERY high-tech) - Seward initially offers, but Arthur arrives before he could donate his blood. After the transfusion, Lucy is sleeping peacefully and looks a little better. The black ribbon around her neck slips aside, and Van Helsing sees a 'red mark' (10.29) on her throat and is concerned.
Arthur leaves to go back to his father, who is on his deathbed. Van Helsing instructs Dr. Seward to stay with Lucy all night and to call him if anything happens.

Lucy writes in her diary that she is feeling a lot better, especially knowing that Dr. Seward is just outside her room in case she needs him.

Dr. Seward is getting pretty worn out - he has now sat up with Lucy for two nights in a row.
Lucy tells him to sleep on the sofa just outside her room - she'll call him if she needs anything during the night.

Dr. Seward is woken up by Dr. Van Helsing and tells him that Lucy looked good the night before, and insisted that he catch up on his sleep.
They find her worse than ever - she needs another blood transfusion (Dr. Seward donates the blood this time)
Lucy sleeps for a long time, and still looks weak, although better than she did before. Dr. Seward goes home to sleep that night, and Van Helsing agrees to stay and watch Lucy during the night.

Lucy seems much better, and Van Helsing seems cheerful.
Van Helsing puts a bunch of garlic flowers in Lucy's room, and tells her that they are medicinal, so she shouldn't throw them out or move them without his permission.
He puts some of them over her window and around her neck. Lucy is skeptical at first, but then accepts them and thanks him. Seward doesn't get it either, but Van Helsing won't explain it to him.

Lucy looks pale, so Van Helsing performs another blood transfusion, this time from Dr. Seward

Mrs. Westenra tells Seward and Van Helsing that she moved all those smelly flowers out of Lucy's room during the night. As soon as Mrs. Westenra leaves, they rush up to check on Lucy, who is worse than ever, and needs another transfusion. This time, it has to be Van Helsing - Dr. Seward just donated blood so he's already too weak. They give her a sleeping pill, and when she wakes up, she seems a lot better.

Lucy has slept well for several days now - ever since Van Helsing started insisting on leaving the garlic flowers in her room all night. Lucy says that one night she heard the sound of a bat at the window, flapping "almost angrily."

The escaped wolf crashes through Lucy's window. Her mother dies of terror. Unfortunately, someone has spiked the servants' sherry, and they all collapse.

Renfield attacks Seward with a knife. Dr. Seward gets a cut on the wrist, which bleeds onto the floor. Renfield dives for the puddle of blood, and starts licking it up, saying 'The blood is the life!'

Van Helsing sends a telegram for Seward, commanding him to come at once, but the telegram is 22 hours late.

The journalist for the newspaper interviews the zookeeper and asks about the wolf in question.
The zookeeper says that the day before the wolf escaped, a stranger (a tall, thin guy with a hooked hose and a pointy beard) had stood in front of the wolf's pen. When the zookeeper warned the stranger about the wolf, the stranger said that he was used to dealing with them, and then scratched the wolf's ears.
That night the zookeeper found the wolf's cage all twisted up and the wolf gone. But as the journalist is finishing his interview with the zookeeper, the wolf comes trotting back, looking a bit worse for wear (he's got some cuts from broken glass).

Mina writes apologising for not writing sooner. Lucy, however, is too ill to read the letter before she dies.

Mina writes to Lucy, detailing Mr. Hawkins' death. Lucy never opens the letter.

'Death had given back part of her beauty'

Dr. Seward receives a letter regarding Renfield. It explains an outburst he had, which resulted in him screaming about his Master and breaking one of the attendant's fingers.

Jonathan sees a 'tall, thin man, with a beaky nose and a black moustache and pointed beard' and believes it is the Count.

Reports/articles detailing a mysterious woman - later called 'the Bloofer Lady' - who is attacking young/small children (this is Lucy)

She's horrified, but decides to transcribe it

When he arrives, he asks about Lucy's illness, prompting Mina to give him her typed out journal entries (the entries that detailed Lucy's condition and sleepwalking)

Van Helsing tells Dr. Seward that he believes that the bites on the children's necks were made by Lucy herself. Dr. Seward is shocked about this claim, as Lucy is dead.

Van Helsing confirms that all of what Jonathan has written in his journal is true

Van Hesling suggests going to the Westenra tomb to prove that he is claim is right: Lucy is a vampire

Van Helsing and Dr. Seward discover that Lucy is missing from her coffin and discover an injured child nearby.

Van Helsing and Dr. Seward return to Lucy's coffin, finding her body inside it. Her body was intact, even though she's been dead for a week. Dr. Seward finally realises that Lucy is a vampire, and agrees to the terms of her death - if that's what it takes to save the children's lives.

After a good night's sleep, Dr. Seward doesn't believe it anymore - he thinks maybe Van Helsing is crazy.

Van Helsing persuades the men to return to Lucy's tomb with him, to prove that she is the Un-Dead. He explains the need to kill her and how they would do so; naturally Arthur objects. The men agree to (at least) go with him to the tomb.

Lucy calls to Arthur and he almost goes to her, but Van Helsing stops him and holds up a crucifix (causing Lucy to recoil)

Having found Lucy's coffin empty, Van Helsing places a communion wafer in the door of the tomb, so that vampire-Lucy cannot get in.

Arthur agrees to let Van Helsing kill Lucy. Val Helsing removes the communion wafer from the door of Lucy's tomb, causing her to slip under the door (like magic). He then puts the wafer back in the door to keep her trapped in the tomb.

The men encounter Lucy at her tomb, and end up killing her by driving a stake through her heart

Men travel to Carfax Abbey, where they find that 21 boxes had been removed from the Abbey

Dr. Seward discovers the connection between Dracula and Renfield.

Dracula realises the group is using Mina's connection with him to find out his location, then releases hold on her.

Van Helsing hypnotises Mina and she feels everything Dracula feels - thus discovering that he is on a boat

Van Helsing finds ship Dracula is on. Everyone (except Mina and Jonathan|) plan a trip to Transylvania

Mina forces the men into promising to kill her if she becomes a vampire

Czarina Catherine (Dracula's boat) docks, causing the group to split up to find him

Dr. Seward and Quincey Morris find the gypsies with Dracula's box/coffin

3 vampire women visit Mina and Van Helsing. He kills them and places holy wafer in Count's tomb.

Arthur cuts off Dracula's head and Quincey stabs him through the heart.

A gypsy stabs Quincey Morris, he dies