Bram Stoker’s Dracula is a gothic novel because it contains all the classic elements. The story takes place in a dark crumbling castle, the tone is mysterious, there is a villainous character, and the hero is battling against an inevitable fate. London is a perfect setting for Dracula because London contains castles, hidden streets, waterways, recurring rainy weather, European architecture, and mystique. The novel includes many terrifying scenes, such as when Dracula raises a sack with a deceased child in it in front of three female vampires. Stoker may have been influenced by London's numerous attractions; it is no surprise why he chose it to be the setting of his novel, London seems to be "exotic" and unknown. Stoker was inspired by London's…show more content… According to the Oxford Companion to English Literature 1 "Gothic" is a style of architecture found in Western Europe from the 12th to the 16th century, characterized by the pointed arch, the ribbed vault and the clustered pillars. The name was usually used in connection with someone who behaves like a barbarian, due to the early destructive Germanic tribe of the Goths. The Oxford English Dictionary has 5 different definitions of the word; it is connected to the Goths or their language; it is a characteristic of the Middle Ages, medieval, romantic as opposed to classical; it is a synonym for barbarous, rude, savage; it is used "for some kind of written character resembling black letter"; a style of architecture…show more content… He had 4 brothers and 2 sisters. During his childhood, he had a chronic disease that restricted him from leaving his bed. He went to Trinity College in 1864 and studied mathematics and graduated with honors in 1870. He was the president of the Philosophical Society while he was in college and after college, he joined the Irish Civil Service in the Dublin Castle. In 1878, he married Florence Balcombe and a year later in 1879 they had a son, Irving Noel Thornley Stoker. They later moved to London because of job as a business manager of the Lyceum Theatre. He continued to be manager at the Lyceum Theater, traveling with theater group in Europe and North America, while also publishing short stories and novels. He died on April 20th 1912 in London from an unknown cause, people thought he died by strokes or