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Season Two travels to Transylvania to uncover the folklore that helped shape Dracula. Iris Ichishita and Dacre Stoker welcome Transylvanian-born tour guide and practicing Wiccan Nora Vintila.  She traces back Bram Stoker's fascination with the writings of Scottish author Emily Gerard, whose journeys through the region introduced her to restless spirits, the evil eye, protective garlic, strange omens, and the legendary devil's school known as the Scholomance.  The journey explores which traditions remain alive in Transylvania today, how "Nosferatu" may have emerged from a linguistic misunderstanding, and what Stoker borrowed, misunderstood, or transformed for Dracula.  Along the way, Nora reveals how surprisingly close some Victorian accounts come to traditions still practiced more than a century later. Powers of Darkness, Season One: www.orwhatevermovies.com/limited-series Noa Vintila with Experience Transylvania: https://www.transylvania.se/en-gb The Ally of Madness and Related Horrors by Dacre Stoker: https://a.co/d/0chh6LX5 The Bram Stoker Estate: https://www.bramstokerestate.com Dacre Stoker: http://dacrestoker.com

Season Two of Powers of Darkness turns to the medicine, science, and unsettling ethics behind Dracula. Iris Ichishita and Dacre Stoker welcome physician and film historian Dr. Lokke Heiss to explore Bram Stoker's close ties to the medical world, including his brother Sir William Thornley Stoker, a prominent surgeon whose influence can be found in the novel itself. From Victorian vivisection and experimental brain surgery to Dr. Seward's treatment of Renfield and Van Helsing's willingness to look beyond conventional science, the conversation asks where scientific curiosity crosses an ethical line. And what if Dracula himself is the novel's true mad doctor, experimenting on Renfield, Lucy, and Mina without conscience or restraint? The investigation ultimately leads back to Powers of Darkness, where Dracula's experiments may extend beyond individual victims to society itself, revealing a story less concerned with science versus superstition than with what happens when knowledge is separated from humanity. Powers of Darkness, Season One: www.orwhatevermovies.com/limited-series Lokke Heiss on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lokke_heiss/ The Ally of Madness and Related Horrors by Dacre Stoker: https://a.co/d/0chh6LX5 The Bram Stoker Estate: https://www.bramstokerestate.com Dacre Stoker: http://dacrestoker.com

Season Two of Powers of Darkness begins with Bram Stoker himself. Iris Ichishita and Dacre Stoker welcome Paul Murray, author of FROM THE SHADOW OF DRACULA: A LIFE OF BRAM STOKER, to explore the man behind the world's most famous vampire and the influences that shaped his work. Speaking from a Dublin house where Stoker once gathered, Murray traces the fingerprints he left across his writing, from Irish folklore and Scottish legend to the theater, modern technology, and the supernatural. Together they ask whether the mysterious POWERS OF DARKNESS sounds authentically Stokerian and consider a more personal question: was Bram happy with the life he lived? IN THE IMAGINATION OF BRAM STOKER is the starting point for a new season that follows Dracula beyond its creator, across countries, languages, disciplines, interpretations, and ultimately onto the screen, to discover what happens to a story once it leaves the hands of the person who created it. Powers of Darkness, Season One: www.orwhatevermovies.com/limited-series From the Shadow of Dracula: A Life of Bram Stoker by Paul Murray: https://a.co/d/0eZkDiIH The Ally of Madness and Related Horrors: https://a.co/d/0chh6LX5 The Bram Stoker Estate: https://www.bramstokerestate.com Dacre Stoker: http://dacrestoker.com

Iris and the main characters reflect on the wildest literary conspiracy in history, which may be just the tip of the iceberg. In an emotional conclusion with the key players.

Iris picks up pieces, confronts biases, and busts myths--to set us on course with those on the forefront of the Powers mystery, some of whom believe in a Stoker conspiracy and some who don't.

Iris goes back to the beginning to understand why we are where we are today. To better understand why Powers of Darkness is so important. If Stoker wrote Powers, then why? If he didn't, then who?

Iris drills down into her original theory. Starting with copyright and corroborated by Bram Stoker's experiences--with Whitman, Irving/Shakespeare, and his development notes for Dracula.

Maggie flies to England to walk in the footsteps of Stoker. The mystery is overshadowed by controversy. Preemptive research and translations suck the joy out of a long-awaited release.

Iris dives headlong into the Powers of Darkness mystery, bringing us up to speed on the discovery and counter-discovery, setting the stage for research and drama to come.

We all know and love Dracula. Though published 128 years ago, Dracula has captivated our collective psyche, infiltrating all aspects of pop culture. But in 2014 - the scholarly world of Dracula research was shaken when a new version of Bram Stoker's classic was found in Iceland… and soon after that, another version was found in Sweden. Join host and documentarian Iris Ichishita as she tries to unravel of the mystery of who wrote Powers of Darkness and why?    For more info about the podcast and suggested reading visit: https://orwhatevermovies.com/limited-series/