Who wrote the screenplay for the 1922 film Nosferatu?

Henrik Galeen wrote the screenplay for the 1922 film Nosferatu. His script turned Bram Stoker’s Dracula into an unauthorized German silent-film adaptation, changing names, locations, and several important plot details.

Galeen was an Austrian-born screenwriter, actor, and director associated with the development of German Expressionist cinema. For Nosferatu, he created the fictional north German town of Wisborg and renamed Stoker’s characters: Jonathan Harker became Thomas Hutter, Mina became Ellen, and Dracula became Count Orlok. He also introduced the idea that the vampire carries plague through rats arriving on a ship.

F. W. Murnau directed the film, while Albin Grau helped shape its striking visual design and production. Because the filmmakers had not secured the rights to Stoker’s novel, the production attempted to disguise its source through those changes. The effort did not prevent legal action from Stoker’s widow, Florence Balcombe, and a court later ordered surviving prints destroyed. Copies nevertheless endured, allowing Nosferatu to become a landmark of silent cinema. Murnau also rewrote portions of the working script, especially the ending, but Galeen remains the credited screenplay writer.