Dracula Returns -
A Conference and Celebration

This took place on Thursday 15 – Sunday 18 May 2025

Dracula Returns was a conference and celebration marking the 101st anniversary of Dracula’s first licensed stage appearance. The event was the culmination of an Arts and Humanities Research Council Curiosity research project charging Derby with the dark energy of the Count.

The conference took place at Derby’s iconic Museum of Making – itself the home to as much history as the renowned vampire himself – across four days, with it kicking off on Thursday 15 May and concluding on Sunday 18 May 2025. There were explorations of the many diverse aspects of Dracula and vampires in media, science and technology from our varied array of participants!

Over the course of four days, there were insightful presentations, helpful panels, exciting keynote speeches, engaging screenings and more. Alongside these daytime events there was a variety of evening entertainment from Thursday to Saturday nights, taking in theatre, poetry and music!

A person in black evening dress and eyeliner with slicked back hair drinking red liquid outside of the Old Bell Hotel in Derby
Image courtesy of Visit Derby


What did the Conference include?

This event brought together scholars, practitioners, and members of the public for four days of events and discussions about Dracula in its many forms including theatre, literature, cinema, television, photography, and digital and online media. The multidisciplinary nature of the conference was aimed at a broad spectrum of speakers.

The conference period included celebratory cultural activities that we warmly encouraged all to attend:

Conference tickets cost £101 plus booking fee. A limited amount of bursaries were available for students, low-income and project partners.

For any queries, please email dracula@derby.ac.uk

Dracula in Derby

In 1924, at the world premiere in Derby, Dracula stepped onto the stage. He was charming and suave, a different vampire to the monster of Bram Stoker’s novel.

When the curtain rose, Hamilton Deane's adaptation debuted Dracula in evening dress and a cloak. The monstrous Nosferatu of the novel was recast as an urbane and sophisticated figure, while retaining a threatening edge. The Derby Dracula became wildly successful; the show toured the country and, from the West End, transferred to Broadway, where Bela Lugosi was cast as the Count. This production was then adapted by Hollywood for the iconic 1931 film.

Since then Dracula has manifested in diverse forms: books, cartoons, toys, video games and many hundreds of films, from Blacula (1972) to children's favourite Hotel Transylvania (2012). Dracula is one of the most adapted characters in the world, reappearing in diverse cultures and forms, transcending gender and ethnic boundaries through his/her/its appeal. The home of this cultural journey is Derby.