The transmedial triangulation of Dracula: how cinema turned the Gothic bloodsucker into a Gothicized serial killer

This article explores how the first Romanian vampire novel, *Vampirul* (1938), was influenced by 1930s horror cinema. It argues that *Vampirul*, while seemingly inspired by Bram Stoker's *Dracula*, was significantly shaped by films that reinterpreted the vampire trope, particularly through the lens of real-life serial killer cases like that of the Vampire of Düsseldorf. The authors introduce the concept of "transmedial triangulation," where cinema acts as an intermediary, modifying the literary reception of *Dracula* before its reinterpretation in *Vampirul* as a serial killer vampire priest, reflecting societal anxieties of the time.

Anca Simina Martin, Stefan Baghiu