“Dracula’s Guest” is a short story by Bram Stoker, first published posthumously in 1914 in the collection Dracula’s Guest and Other Weird Stories.  It is widely believed to be an excised or early draft of the original opening chapter of Bram Stoker’s famous novel Dracula. 

It is about a young, unidentified Englishman, en route to Transylvania, found himself in Munich. Against the hotelier’s urgent warnings about the approaching storm and the ominous significance of Walpurgis Night, he hired a coach for a countryside excursion. Ignoring the coachman’s reluctance, he insisted on exploring a secluded valley road. The driver, visibly shaken, declared the path led only to a cursed, deserted village and refused to proceed. Undeterred, the Englishman continued on foot. As the carriage departed, a chilling figure, tall and gaunt, materialized on the hill’s crest. The horses, seized by terror, bolted towards Munich. The figure vanished.

Descending into the valley, the Englishman was engulfed by a sudden snowstorm. Seeking refuge, he found himself amidst a grove of dark cypress and yew trees, where the mournful howl of a wolf echoed through the air. The snow ceased, and he ventured forth, hoping to find shelter in the abandoned village. Moonlight pierced the clouds, revealing a chilling truth: he stood in a desolate graveyard, before the tomb of Countess Dolingen of Graz, Styria. As the storm returned with renewed ferocity, he sought shelter against the tomb’s door. It yielded, and a blinding flash of lightning revealed a beautiful woman, seemingly asleep, upon a bier. A second, devastating bolt struck the tomb, extinguishing her life. The Englishman was hurled from the tomb, collapsing unconscious amidst the hail.

As a stand-alone story, it probably does not work as well as it could. But read in conjunction with Stoker’s novel, it hits all the right notes. I highly recommend it.