What was the original title of Bram Stoker's novel Dracula?

Bram Stoker’s original title for Dracula was The Un-Dead.

The title appears on the surviving typescript and was still associated with the work during its preparation for publication. Stoker’s manuscript uses the hyphenated form “The Un-Dead,” describing the unnatural condition at the heart of the story: a being suspended between life and death. The title was later changed to Dracula, the name of the novel’s central vampire aristocrat.

The change happened close to publication in 1897. A theatrical version was advertised as Dracula, or the Un-Dead, while the published book appeared simply as Dracula. This history explains why both titles can appear in discussions of Stoker’s drafts, contracts, stage adaptation, and publishing process. “The Un-Dead” was not the title of a later sequel and does not refer to the 1922 film Nosferatu.

The final title was a powerful marketing choice because it placed the mysterious Count at the center of the book’s identity. Dracula’s name also carried historical associations with Vlad III, often called Vlad the Impaler, although Stoker’s fictional character is not a straightforward biography of that ruler. The title change helped create one of literature’s most enduring names.