百年惊情

原作節选

On 4th May I arrived at the little town called Bistritz. Transylvania was a strange and beautiful country. There were mountains， trees and rivers everywhere. And somewhere high in the mountains was the Counts1 home， Castle Dracula. I had six hours to wait before the coach2 came to take me there， so I went into a little hotel. Inside it was warm and friendly. The people there were all laughing and talking. “Where are you going？”they asked me.

“To Castle Dracula，” I replied.

Suddenly， the room was silent and everyone turned to look at me. I could not understand why they all looked afraid.

“Dont go there，” someone said.

“But I have to，” I answered. “Its business.”

They began to talk again， but they were no longer3 laughing. Slowly， the hotel keepers wife took the gold cross4 from her neck and put it into my hand. “Take this，” she said. “There is danger at Castle Dracula. Perhaps this will help you.”

When the coach arrived and I got into it， a crowd5 of people came to watch， and I heard the word “vampire”6.

The coach traveled up into the mountains. Higher and higher it went， faster and faster. The sun was bright， but above the trees there was snow on the mountain tops. Then suddenly the sun went down behind the mountains and everywhere was dark. In the forest around us， the wolves were howling7. It was a terrible sound.

Suddenly the coach stopped. A small carriage8 came down the narrow road on the right. Four black horses were pulling it， and the driver was dressed in9 black， with a black hat pulled down over his face.

“Wheres the Englishman？” he called. “Ive come from Castle Dracula！ ”

He looked strange， standing there in the moonlight， and suddenly I was afraid. But it was too late. I could not go back now.

Soon we were on our way to Castle Dracula. The mountains were all around us and the moon was behind black clouds. I could see nothing—but I could still hear the wolves. The horses went faster and faster， and the driver laughed wildly10.

Suddenly the carriage stopped. I opened the door and got out. At once the carriage drove away and I was alone in front of the dark， silent castle. I stood there， looking up at it， and slowly， the big wooden door opened. A tall man stood in front of me. His hair was white and he was dressed in black from head to foot.

“Come in， Mr. Harker，” he said. “I am Count Dracula.” He held out his hand and I took it. It was as cold as ice！

I went into the castle and the Count carefully locked the door behind me. He put the key into his pocket and turned to go upstairs. I followed him， and we came to a room where a wood fire burned brightly. In front of it there was a little table with food and drink on it. The Count asked me to sit down and eat， but he did not eat with me. Later， we sat and talked by the fire. His English was very good， and while we talked， I had time to look at him carefully. His face was very white， his ears were like the ears of a cat， and his teeth were strong like the teeth of an animal. There was hair on his hands and his fingers were very long. When he touched me， I was afraid.

It was nearly morning when I went to bed， and outside， the wolves were still howling.

The next morning I found my breakfast on the little table in front of the fire. Now that it was light， I could see that Castle Dracula was old and dirty. I saw no servants all that day.

The Count did not come to breakfast， but there was letter from him on the table.

“Go anywhere in the castle”， it said， “ but some of the rooms are locked. Do not try to go into these rooms. ”

Tip

Transylvania：特兰西瓦尼亚，位于罗马尼亚中西部地区，地形以高海拔茂密森林为主。众多的城堡以及为抵挡敌人入侵而被城墙包围住的教堂，为这里增添了诸多神秘色彩。它更因小说《德拉库拉》（Dracula）被誉为“吸血鬼故乡”，而成为许多人趋之若鹜的旅游胜地。近几年深受大家喜爱的迪士尼动画系列《精灵旅社》（Hotel Transylvania）的故事便发生在此。

5月4日，我到达一个叫毕斯特里兹的小镇。特兰西瓦尼亚是个奇怪而美丽的国家，到处山峦起伏，树木葱郁，河流纵横。山中有一处高高耸立的地方就是伯爵的家，德拉库拉城堡。我必须等6个小时才能有马车来接我去那里，所以我进了一家小旅馆。里面一派温暖祥和的气氛，人们又说又笑，好不热闹。“你要去哪儿？”他们问我。

“去德拉库拉城堡。”我回答。

屋内顿时一片寂静，人们都转过身看着我。我不明白为什么他们看起来如此害怕。

“别去那儿。”有人说道。

“但我不能不去，”我回答，“是公事。”

他们又开始说话，但不再有人大笑了。旅店的老板娘慢慢地摘下脖子上的金十字架，把它放到我手里。“拿着这个，”她说，“在德拉库拉城堡有危险，也许这个能对你有点儿帮助。”

马车终于来了。当我坐进去时，一群人出来观看，我听到有人说“吸血鬼”这个词。

马车径直朝山上驶去，越走越高，也越走越快。这里阳光明媚，树木上方的山顶上却白雪皑皑。突然，太阳落山了，四周一片黑暗。周围的森林里传来狼嚎的声音，非常可怕。

忽然，马车停了。一辆小型四轮马车从右边狭窄的山路上驶下来。拉车的是四匹黑马，车夫也身着黑衣，一顶黑色的帽子拉下来遮住了他的脸。

“那個英国人在哪儿？”他喊道，“我是从德拉库拉城堡来的！”

他站在月光下，看起来很怪异。我突然感到一阵恐惧。但已经太晚了，我现在已无法返回。

很快我们就上路直奔德拉库拉城堡。四周全是山，月亮被乌云遮蔽。我什么也看不见——但我仍能听到狼嚎的声音。马跑得越来越快，车夫大声狂笑着。

车突然停了。我打开门，下了车。马车立刻就离开了，我被独自留在这个漆黑死寂的城堡前。我站在那儿，抬头望着城堡，这时那扇巨大的木门慢慢打开了。一个身材高大的男人站在我面前。他满头白发，从头到脚一身黑衣。

“请进，哈克先生，”他说，“我就是德拉库拉伯爵。”他伸出手，我握了一下。他的手冰凉！

我一走进城堡，伯爵就在我身后小心地把门锁上了。他把钥匙放进口袋，转身上楼。我跟着他来到一间屋里，壁炉里一堆柴火烧得正旺。炉火前面的一张桌子上摆着食物和饮料。伯爵让我坐下来吃点儿东西，他却不和我一块儿用餐。后来我们就坐在火边谈话。他英语说得非常好，我们说话时，我也有时间仔细打量他。他脸色苍白，耳朵有点儿像猫，牙齿却如野兽般锋利。他的手毛茸茸的，手指非常长。他碰到我时，我有些害怕。

天快亮时，我才去睡觉。外面，狼依然在嚎叫。

第二天早晨，我发现早餐已经放在炉火前的小桌上了。这时天已大亮，可以看出德拉库拉城堡又旧又脏。我一整天也没看见一个佣人。

伯爵没有来吃早点，但桌上放着他写的一封信。

“你可以在城堡四处走走，”信上说，“但有些屋子是锁着的，不要试图进去。”

肤色苍白，身形消瘦，有着尖利的獠牙与猫状的耳朵；没有体温也无灵魂，以嗜血为生，昼伏夜出；不老不死，古老神秘，徘徊在光明与幽暗之间，穿梭于时光的尽头……没错，他们就是在西方世界流传了数百年，始终独具生命力的“吸血鬼”（vampire）形象。

关于吸血鬼的起源说法不一，大体分为三类：一是源于希腊神话中半人半蛇的女妖拉米亚（Lamia）。拉米亚原为利比亚王国的皇后，因受天后赫拉嫉妒，失去孩子。悲痛之下，她化为女妖杀害孩童与青年男子，吸取其血液，宣泄愤怒。“圣经”中亚当和夏娃的长子该隐（Cain）也被视为吸血鬼的先祖之一。据说他因为弑弟遭受诅咒，永不能行于白昼之下，只能在夜间出没，依靠吸食动物的血液为生。最后一种说法依旧来源于“圣经”中的人物——犹大（Judas）。出卖耶稣的门徒犹大因无法面对自己的良心，自缢身亡。死后他的灵魂无法安息，便回归本体成为了吸血鬼。所以，吸血鬼一直具备一丝“反基督”的意味。传说中对抗吸血鬼的物件一般都是基督教的象征物，例如十字架、圣水等，此外，还有阳光、洋葱和大蒜。

作为西方古老传说中不死者种族最迷人的成员，吸血鬼一直是各種创作的宠儿，已经成为了一种经典的文学形象。从丑陋凶残的嗜血怪物到美貌诱人的贵族绅士，从阴暗幽冷的古堡主人变为深情款款的小镇医生……随着社会的发展，其形象不断演化，并被赋予了不同的时代意义。浪漫主义文豪拜伦、济慈、柯勒律治都曾对吸血鬼情有独钟。上世纪七八十年代的美国小说《吸血鬼编年史》（The Vampire Chronicles）系列、《撒冷地》（Salems Lot）等，催生了新一波的“吸血鬼热潮”。一直到青少年文学《暮光之城》（Twilight）的大热，各种改编电影与剧集也不断出现在各个时期的屏幕上，让成千上万的“吸血鬼迷”们为之倾倒。

谈起吸血鬼，有部无论如何也绕不开的伟大作品，那便是现代吸血鬼小说的开山鼻祖、爱尔兰小说家布莱姆·斯托克（Bram Stoker）于19世纪末创作的《德拉库拉》（Dracula）。自1897年出版以来，它风靡英国，继而被翻译成多国文字，征服了全世界的读者，影响了一代又一代的作家，以至于“德拉库拉”近乎成为了“吸血鬼”的代名词。多少人曾因一袭黑色斗篷的德拉库拉伯爵夜不能寐，毛骨悚然；大批的专家、学者从不同角度给予解读，试图分析其形象背后的文化内涵。大概再也没有像这般生命力强大且深入人心的恐怖角色了。

小说引用了诸多角色的书信、日记、电报等，给读者讲述故事的进展，悬念迭起。一位名叫乔纳森·哈克（Jonathan Harker）的年轻人被派往特兰西瓦尼亚处理德拉库拉伯爵的购房事宜，却未曾料到被幽禁在古堡之中。期间种种迹象让乔纳森意识到伯爵的黑暗力量与自身的危险，一个更大的阴谋也逐渐浮出水面。本期节选自小说的第一部分《乔纳森·哈克的日记》，描写的正是故事伊始，乔纳森初入古堡的情景。旅店里客人的谈“德”色变，老板娘意味深长的赠予，沿途的狼嚎与月光，古怪的车夫与骇人的堡主，以及那些昏暗禁忌的带锁房间……每一处都挑动着读者紧绷的神经，引领其一步步靠近鬼魅的暗夜之王。

（Coocoo/赏析）