Written in 1897, Dracula introduces the character of Count Dracula, a centuries-old vampire, and a Transylvanian nobleman. Unlike corpse-like, carnivorous vampires of Eastern European folklore, Count Dracula is charming and handsome. Characterized by an aristocratic appeal, Dracula is deeply proud of his boyar heritage and remains nostalgic for the past. 

David Seed, in his article, “The Narrative Method of Dracula" asserts Count Dracula is a combination of Gothic villain and monster: “The vampire in English culture, in Polidori, in Bram Stoker and elsewhere, is a fundamentally anti-bourgeois figure. He is elegant, well dressed, a master of seduction, a cynic, a person exempt from prevailing socio-moral codes” (62). The Gothic villain resembles less of the folklore monster than of a socially, or mentally twisted individual. This serves to highlight the Gothic concern of social groups and shows the instability of belonging in particular social groups. 

Seed, David. “The Narrative Method of Dracula.” Nineteenth-Century Fiction, vol. 40, no. 1, 1985, pp. 61–75., doi:10.2307/3044836.